Engine leaking oil!!!

[foxy600]

I have been trying to trace an oil leak for ages on my S2. I washed the engine last week and have been looking for the leak since.
I have now spotted two leaks! One from the valley gasket at the top of the engine and one from the head on the right side of the engine.

I went over to Guglielmi's this morning and they have confirmed that the head is weeping oil and the engine will need to come out!

To be honest I am still in shock, I have spent loads on the car recently and this is really annoying. I can't imagine this will be a cheap repair and I now need to make a decision:

1. Run the car with both leaks and hope for the best, the head is only weeping oil and the car runs fine
2. Bite the bullet and get the work done...more money to throw at the car!

What would you do?...

[Jed-S]

Valley gasket is easy to replace but takes a few hours to do. I've just re-assembled mine today took about 2 hours including filling the coolant and I guess about an hour to strip so 3 hours seems reasonable.

The other leak from the head is the interesting one. Are you sure it isn't leaking from the rocker covers? The choices are rocker cover gasket (most likely), leaking headgasket (not very likely plus oil would be leaking onto the block) or a cracked head. Chances of that are very slim although in the US they allegedly had problems with the 2.9 heads cracking.

To do either you don't need to remove the engine. I've had the heads off mine recently and it was all done in situ.

Personally, I'd run it until you can find out where the head leak is then find a local garage who can repair it. After all it is only a Ford lump so any garage can repair it.

Jed

[Mr Clifford]

Yours is a stunning car Chris, trust the garage, get it done properly, pay the bill and keep the car for years knowing its fixed properly. Good luck !

[foxy600]

Thanks Jed-s and Mr Clifford, I appreciate the feedback. I had the rocker cover gaskets changed last year, but have noticed one side has a slight leak already (yes that's the third leak I didn't mention!)
It may be the rocker cover gasket the other side instead of the head, but I am not sure. The guys at the garage seem to think it is definitely the head and they have always been trustworthy in the past

[tvrgit]

Mr Clifford said:

Yours is a stunning car Chris, trust the garage, get it done properly, pay the bill and keep the car for years knowing its fixed properly. Good luck !

Disagree

The engine does not have to come out to fix any of those leaks properly.

[MrLtic]

Seriously, dont worry about it, i was told by my local ford garage (and they know ford engines well!!) that small leaks are ok. Just check your oil levels frequently and if you are loosing a lot then do something about it, also check the rocker covers for any leaks. if they do leak tighten them a bit and monitor the situation, the engine doesnt need to come off to sort these problems out.

Edited by MrLtic on Sunday 10th June 03:37

[Mr Clifford]

tvrgit said:

Mr Clifford said:

Yours is a stunning car Chris, trust the garage, get it done properly, pay the bill and keep the car for years knowing its fixed properly. Good luck !

Disagree

The engine does not have to come out to fix any of those leaks properly.

So dont trust the garage then ?

[tvrgit]

Mr Clifford said:

tvrgit said:

Mr Clifford said:

Yours is a stunning car Chris, trust the garage, get it done properly, pay the bill and keep the car for years knowing its fixed properly. Good luck !

Disagree

The engine does not have to come out to fix any of those leaks properly.

So dont trust the garage then ?

not if they say you have to take the engine out to fix an oil leak from the cylinder head, no.

You MIGHT have to take the engine out if, say, you snapped off a bolt in the block (unlikely - you might snap one in the heads, but you're taking them off anyway) but otherwise, normally, you can take the heads off in situ.

[foxy600]

I am certainly going to mention this to the garage tomorrow

Anyone have a rough estimate of how long it would take to change a head gasket?

[mikee boy]

Depends on the mechanic's experience. I'd estimate no longer than 3 hours though, assuming the head doesn't need any work.

IMHO, IF it isn't leaking too badly leave it until you have to work on it and find a competent mechanic who won't rip you off unless you want to waste money like a lot of TVR owners do. At the end of the day it's a Ford Sierra, expect to pay Ford Sierra money to get the work done.

I doubt the engine would need to come out.

[Barkychoc]

Do I assume that you would take the head off with the manifold still attached to avoid the dreaded snapping manifold studs ?
Or would you just snap em anyway then replace them when you have the head off ? (More labour!).

I can't see any reason why you would need to take the engine out - seems like a lot of unnecessary labour to me, but I don't profess to be anything more than an enthusiastic amateur.

Chris

[tvrgit]

mikee boy said:

Depends on the mechanic's experience. I'd estimate no longer than 3 hours though, assuming the head doesn't need any work.

IMHO, IF it isn't leaking too badly leave it until you have to work on it and find a competent mechanic who won't rip you off unless you want to waste money like a lot of TVR owners do. At the end of the day it's a Ford Sierra, expect to pay Ford Sierra money to get the work done.

I doubt the engine would need to come out.

What he said.

[jimed]

I doubt it will help the head leak but I had the usual rear crankshaft leak which slowly came on over the years I've had the S. A friend mentioned some oil additive that would do the job and I made some enquiries. Apparently the oil seals shrink/lose their elasticity after time which causes the leaks and this is allegedly made worse by the unleaded additives; the oil additive reswells the seals and restores the elasticity and stops the leaks. A damaged seal won't be fixed but otherwise OK. Anyway I got some Forte stop leak (I think thats what it was called - other people do a similar one as well) and put it in the oil (doesn't change the oil performance so they say)- after some time to get round the engine and work - no rear oil seal leak so a result
I still need to check the rocker covers for tightness every now and then though...
Jim