Oil leak - possibly from cam cover

[andrewbrm]

My car is leaking oil enough to make a drip on the garage floor every night. It seems to be coming from the timing belt cover on the gearbox end of the engine, so I assume it's the cam cover leaking. Before I whip it off (the cam cover, that is), is there a gasket there, or do I just use silicone to seal it?

[Adam]

The cam carrier doesn't have a gasket. We found a very good product that seals it fine though (trade secret ;) ). Although if there is enough to drip onto the floor i'd be careful to check other oil seals such as cams, crank, vvc mechs, etc as they can all cause leaks.

[andrewbrm]

Erm, didn't mean the cam carrier, I mean the Cam cover. (some call it the rocker cover, but I don't think the K has rockers does it?)

Anyway, I took off the timing covers, but the oil seals behind the pulleys look dry, so I'm going to swap the Cam cover / rocker cover gasket because it's quite easy. Do I need any supplementary sealant, or will the gasket on it's own be ok?

[andrewbrm]

Well, I put a new gasket on, but it's still leaking. I'm certain it is the rocker cover gasket leaking, so I took it off again. It looks like either the top of the cam carrier is warped or the rocker cover is warped because it doesn't sit flat when the bolts are loose. I might try and get another rocker cover just to try it.

There's a freelander one on ebay at the moment. Will that be the same?

[Adam]

Should be the same, yup.

[andrewbrm]

I swapped the rocker cover (or cam cover or whatever you kids call it these days) with the perfectly flat freelander one, and its still dripping. The oil looks to be gathering in the little valley on top of the head between the rocker cover and the timing cover. The only other place it could be coming from is the VVC mech. Can I remove the VVC mech without taking the whole cam carrier off?

[Adam]

Can I remove the VVC mech without taking the whole cam carrier off?

Yes, but I wouldn't advise it. You'll have to take the belts & pulleys off and then the VVC mechs are held on by 4 bolts. Bit of a stressful thing to do as if it all goes wrong then you end up with bits of VVC all over the floor.

[andrewbrm]

Ok, I'll file this under "Things not to do the day before you move house". It has a very noisy tappet, and I'm tired of people asking if it has a diesel engine, so I can see a plan developing which involves sorting out both issues at the same time.

[Adam]

Tappets are relatively easy to sort, but that's a cam carrier off job, etc.

It would be best to do the whole lot at once, just save it for a nice sunny weekend.

[andrewbrm]

Tappets are relatively easy to sort, but that's a cam carrier off job, etc.

It would be best to do the whole lot at once, just save it for a nice sunny weekend.

So, the noisy tappet can be fixed by replacing the bucket tappet thingy? How do I find out which one, or do I just replace them all?

[Adam]

So, the noisy tappet can be fixed by replacing the bucket tappet thingy? How do I find out which one, or do I just replace them all?

You don't have to replace them, just clean them. Basically take each one out, grab the 'nipple' in the middle with a pair of pliers and give it a judicious yank (but being careful not to lose the spring, etc inside). When its all apart just clean it out with some petrol or suchlike and dry it all off. Put it back together with a wee bit of oil and the 'nipple' should now be able to be pushed in under thumb pressure and some oil come out of the oil drilling in the side of the 'bucket'.

Voila :D

[andrewbrm]

Ah, a low cost solution. My favourite!

[Adam]

Here to help :D