simonbell Posted March 3, 2007 Share Posted March 3, 2007 Has anyone else had an oil leak on a duratec and if so where was it from. Mine has been weeping oil for a while now but its getting onto the alternator belt which in turn is flicking it everywhere so its hard to pinpoint the source. Now I,ve had the front cover off a few times so I'm always careful to ensure it is well sealed when put back on. I've cleaned the block today to see if I could locate the leak but there is nothing obvious. I actually thought it might be the front crank oil seal but the area behing the front pulley looks to be clean and dry. One thing which I did discover was that the two blanking plugs for getting access to the timing chain tensioner and the hole for locking the chain guide had not been sealed, ie the blanking plugs had just been screwed in. The Haynes manual suggests using thread sealant on these when replacing them to prevent leaks. I've done that but I'm not convinced they were the source of the leak. Any experiences anyone? I,ve decided not to pull the front cover for now, I'm going to drive it a bit and see if the problem goes away now that the blanking plugs have been sealed. If not I guess its front cover off for resealing and a new front crank oil seal while we are at it. Simon Bell - Caterham 7 Duratec R I`ve seen the future.....and it`s powered by duratec Check out the website here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mic Posted March 3, 2007 Share Posted March 3, 2007 Simon Make sure you seal all the bolt down the center of the cover including the 3 (front)engine mount ones. Mick Edited by - mic on 3 Mar 2007 17:19:04 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonbell Posted March 3, 2007 Author Share Posted March 3, 2007 Mick Done that........like I say I've had the cover off a couple of times now and as its a PITA to clean every time I make sure everything is well sealed to avoid having to take it off again. I run the bead to the inside of all the bolt holes and around all the ones in the centre. I guess its possible that one hasn't sealed properly........I just want to explore all options before trailing it off again. Simon Bell - Caterham 7 Duratec R I`ve seen the future.....and it`s powered by duratec Check out the website here Edited by - simonbell on 3 Mar 2007 17:21:01 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mic Posted March 3, 2007 Share Posted March 3, 2007 Simon It may be a porous cover, you can coat the inside with a sealer available from Frosts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonbell Posted March 3, 2007 Author Share Posted March 3, 2007 I don't think so. On the previous occasions I've had it off it went back on and was fine.......its just this time its sprung a leak somewhere. Even the local xflow owners are beginning to take the piss out of me.............. Simon Bell - Caterham 7 Duratec R I`ve seen the future.....and it`s powered by duratec Check out the website here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonbell Posted April 15, 2007 Author Share Posted April 15, 2007 After sealing the two blanking plugs and running the engine the oil was still leaking. We then removed the front pulley and replaced the front crank oil seal.......and sealed the small bolt just behind the pulley which appeared to be weeping slightly. 100 miles later and it seems to be dry so far. Simon Bell - Caterham 7 Duratec R I`ve seen the future.....and it`s powered by duratec Check out the website here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Walker Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 The small hole behind the crank pulley is a blind hole tapped to 6mm for setting the crank pulley at TDC, this cannot weep oil , if cured the leak must be from the front crank seal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMMO Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 Simon Forgetting about the tapped hole for setting the timing. There is an M6 bolt is fitted behind the pulley above the seal. The drilling goes straight into the crankcase and may leak if it has not been sealed from the inside the timing cover with sealant when it was fitted. If you have omitted to do this (and if this is the cause of your problem), rather than take it all apart, you could try to fit an ali or copper washer with some sealant to the bolt to stop the leak. Best of luck. AMMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonbell Posted April 16, 2007 Author Share Posted April 16, 2007 Ammo That's the one, the small one behind the pulley, not the timing one. I suspect it wasn't sealed correctly last time the cover was off. We have sealed the bolt just to be sure. It's hard to pinpoint the oil leak as the oil was getting flicked about by the pulley but there was a lot of oil around the front crank oil seal when we removed it, it could have been the seal or the bolt or both......seems to be dry for now anyway. Simon Bell - Caterham 7 Duratec R I`ve seen the future.....and it`s powered by duratec Check out the website here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMMO Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 "seems to be dry for now anyway" Hope it stays that way Timing cover seals tend to be very good and don't leak. So it may have been the bolt behind the pulley. AMMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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