Camshaft lip seal.

[Gingerbread Man]

My engine decided to spit it's oil everywhere today. Yippee.

A mechanic friend has taken a look and he's pretty sure that it is the camshaft lip seal which is letting by. If I start the engine, oil sprays out something rotten. Guessing the belts spinning around disperses it everywhere, plus the fact that I was driving at the time with air rushing through the engine bay made detecting to leak impossible.

It's a VVC engine. Camshaft lip seal on the front of the engine. Does anyone know A: what bit I'm on about! and B: If it'll be an easy quick job, or would it be best to get it recovered to a garage?

[BertBert]

It can't be a super-simple job. I've seen a rear one done on a trackday. But at the front it all feels a lot harder. The sprockets will have to come off and I'm not sure you could do it then without taking the cams out.

[BertBert]

MR Haynes concurs. Cam belt and sprockets off. Pull out old seals (drill two holes and use slef tappers), drift in new seals. Refit sprockets and belt and re-tension.

Not that hard I guess.

[DVandrews]

It it's a VVC be careful with the seal in the front VVC mech, it should only be knocked in until it is level with te front of the mech., if it goes in too far it will destroy itself. Make sure the seals are completely square or they will soon wipe themselves out. Otherwise as above.

Dave

[Gingerbread Man]

Cheers for the help guys. My weekends just become full up with something more important unfortuneatly.
So I'm putting it into a garage tomorrow morning.

You'll know the car Dave, it's a blue/ silver VVC that arrived on your drive one evening with a loose pulley (?) awaiting it's 175 kit in the morning.

[DVandrews]

I remember, it was fortunate that the pulley didn't detach itself .

Dave

[Gingerbread Man]

Right, garage rung today. It seems that it wasn't the lip seal as guessed. It seems that the timing belt had rubbed through one of the pipes going to the apollo tank causing a leak.

So new timing belt and hose fabricated. Hopefully it'll be back on the road tomorrow!

[BertBert]

Do you run without the timing belt cover on then?

[Incorrigible]

BertBert said:

Do you run without the timing belt cover on then?

I'd guess it was the alternator belt as that's where the Apollo pipes run

[Gingerbread Man]

Incorrigible said:

'd guess it was the alternator belt as that's where the Apollo pipes run

Too many pipes for me to get my head around. It would have been in your lucky hands if it could drive any distance.

[DVandrews]

The Apollo pipes run through the centre of the alternator belt run so it is certainly the alternator belt as they are hell and away from the cambelt even with the covers off.

Dave

[Gingerbread Man]

Probably got lost in translation within the garage as I didn't get the call so it was sent in a text as a summary and a 'give us a call' message.

Ready to pick up tomorrow morning.