Author Topic: Oil all over engine (Read 11051 times)

Milky · « **on:** July 12, 2005, 08:44:32 PM »

Hi folks

Just registered after buying a 1991 BIS off Ebay. There seems to be a lot of oil on the top of the engine, on the top of the filler cap etc. Bit of a pain as it is dripping onto the exhaust and smoking a bit.

Any ideas wgat it may be? No obvious pipes off.

slater · « **Reply #1 on:** July 13, 2005, 09:01:42 AM »

Wash it off and refill the oil to its proper level then see if it re appears/where it reappears. That should help you in diagnosing where its leaking from.

Chris Lakin · « **Reply #2 on:** July 13, 2005, 10:30:54 AM »

i have had the same prob, i found by tightening the bolts around the fuel pump mounting and any other bolts ontop of the engine, cured it instantly!!

regards

Chris

ChrisRLewis · « **Reply #3 on:** July 13, 2005, 10:56:46 AM »

Quote from: "slater"

Wash it off and refill the oil to its proper level then see if it re appears/where it reappears. That should help you in diagnosing where its leaking from.

yes I would go along with that!
Use gunk or an engine cleaner, hose down after a few mintues taking care not to get water into any delicate parts, alternator, carb, starter motor, ignition system etc

Some oil leaks are very deceiving they can be in a completely different place than you expect!

C

Milky · « **Reply #4 on:** July 13, 2005, 09:31:51 PM »

Many thanks to all who have replied. I will try all the suggestions and post a reply.

Thanks again all

maxlee · « **Reply #5 on:** July 15, 2005, 12:50:04 AM »

Quote from: "Chris Lakin"

i have had the same prob, i found by tightening the bolts around the fuel pump mounting and any other bolts ontop of the engine, cured it instantly!!

regards

Chris

after replacing my fuel pump i would say have a look at that if its leaking from there nip to a parts place and by a new gasgit and some instent gasgit

clean the engine off 1st tho as said above will be easy to find

Milky · « **Reply #6 on:** July 20, 2005, 10:29:25 PM »

Just a bit of feedback: Tightened the fuel pump bolts down, and this seems to have cured the problem. Only thing is, it is still burning the oil off the exhaust from the previous leak.

Any ides what the exhaust is like to remove? Would I need to replace any gaskets when I refit it?

Would Gunk be OK to clean the exhaust with?

Looks like there is some oil on what looks like a side cover on the engine, but not had time to get it totally clean yet. This may be a gasket change.

Thanks for the continuing ideas

Milky

Chris Lakin · « **Reply #7 on:** July 21, 2005, 12:39:16 AM »

Hi Milky, were those bolts loose which you tightened? mine where very loose.

yes gunk will be fine to clean it off!

The exhaust is easy to get off, undo manifold bolts then there are some bracket bolts. If your very carefull with those gaskets you can use them again. Dont break them up, as they contain asbestos!

You can buy engine cleaner from halfords which is in a squirty bottle. Very good, made my engine look clean.

regards

Chris[/b]

Milky · « **Reply #8 on:** July 21, 2005, 08:48:07 AM »

Thanks Chris

The bolts were not really loose, but went about a 1/4 turn with a socket.

I will try the Halfords stuff.

Thanks

Maddog · « **Reply #9 on:** July 22, 2005, 04:35:42 PM »

tip for cleaning dirty engines, before using expensive gunk.

use whiie spirit in a skoosher bottle, the plastic type you Nan uses to water her plants, you might want to be carefull of some rubber parts and any hand painted bits, (I'm not so carefull and have never had a problem), work it into the greasy dirty corners with a stiff paint brush & leave it for 10 mins before cleaning off with rags/water/stiff brush or whatever is easiest for you

wash it off, finish any stubborn bits with your expensive cleaner.

Richie

Chris Lakin · « **Reply #10 on:** July 22, 2005, 05:16:38 PM »

sounds a good little tip!! there are so many different products on the market, its difficult to know what to buy!

thanks

regards

Chris

ChrisRLewis · « **Reply #11 on:** July 22, 2005, 05:52:42 PM »

Don't forget to give all linkages, throttle cables etc some lubrication after a degreasing!
I give them a spray with WD40
C

126dave · « **Reply #12 on:** July 24, 2005, 09:04:27 AM »

good one on the white spirit tip,cheap and easy to use,here's another one,if your doing your brakes and want to clean up inside the drums,dont pay for expensive aerosols of ''stuff'' that will melt your drive! use hot soapy water and a stiff brush, it works really well on brake fluid leaks etc and its even cheaper than white spirit (that wont work)!,and also stops the asbestos dust from floating down your neck!

ChrisRLewis · « **Reply #13 on:** July 24, 2005, 10:31:02 AM »

Another good tip if you are cleaning aluminium parts.
use thinners, it's better than anything..just take care with any plastic, nylon parts!

Milky · « **Reply #14 on:** August 05, 2005, 09:34:21 PM »

Found the oil leak!!

It turned out to be two pinprick sized holes in the rocker cover, letting oil seep onto the exhaust. Only found it after taking the exhaust off twice. :roll:

An odd thing happened as I was putting the rocker cover back on, the car would only fire on one cylinder. I nearly gave up after about 2 hours of checking everything, only to find the home made rocker cover gasket must have fouled a valve or something.

I slackened and then re-tightened the rocker cover bolts, and the beast burst into life.

Strange Huh?