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Head gasket oil leak :(

12K views 34 replies 11 participants last post by  GreenT 
#1 ·
Just investigated the oil leak further and found that the offside rear corner head gasket is leaking oil ... From what I can see it is leaking oil Black Stock photography Photography Fictional character Personal protective equipment

That's the rear corner head gasket leaking -
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Drips down and drips from where the gearbox meets ...any suggestions advices - I feel that leak is too slow to able to be dripping like this and creating a small puddle but I can't see any other leaks but I changed the lower sump and left the upper sump alone - maybe it's a combination of the upper sump leak and the leaking head gasket .... Gutted !??


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#3 ·
Make sure it's not the timing cover that is leaking oil, i see moisture above the head gasket also.

May have to try degreasing the location and drying with brake cleaner and to check and see periodically where the leak is exactly coming from.

Thanks will check - the leak from head gasket is very slow , but the oil is dripping on to the exhaust manifold at the bottom causing smoke at the lights -- I can't see how that slow leak from the head gasket can cause one drip per second at the bottom maybe it's from someplace else - this started after replacing the oil sump gasket ...


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#5 ·
I will look at that too I have a hydraulic fluid leak at the rear strut hose ,waiting for the part -but funny enough this dripping started once I filled the hydraulic fluid too , I will look at both leakage and compare the oil and see if my oil level goes down too - also I had changed the oil from Mobil 1 to Castrol both 10w 40 semi maybe that had something to do with it - but I know Mobil 1 is the infamous one finding places to leak from ..


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#6 ·
If you can verify that the head is just seeping near the pressure port, it would not cause that amount of buildup. I agree you need to get her up on ramps, crawl under and look at sources. SLS level would be zero if the pressure hose had a hole in it (mine ruptured and it was no doubt the hose, so check fluid level. PS lines from gear box to pump and to/from cooler are known weepers, but if the rubber is bad enough the pressure could squirt it anywhere. Rear main and valve covers. Clean and check them off in that order.
 
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#9 ·
valve covers begin to bell curve out due to over torque, the don't seal so if that was your case, clearly you would see it. I know a few members who routinely go thru the torque sequence on the heads to cinch them down properly, I have not done it myself but will. How is your consumption of oil, I use 20w50 and I have no evidence of leakage into the valves, no smoke but I am using about a QT over a 2000 interval which is normal. Forget the seal issue as you are dripping from above. I bet it is something else like Mike said, SLS, PS line with a pinhole under pressure. Better pics and clean the area with some brake cleaner on a cold engine. Better to helps see what is happening.
 
#10 ·
Well oil consumptions, I can't really tell because of this leak - I had a very good look and since I changed the oil and filled it up to max the high pressure also have led to the leak I think - and it looks like head gasket leak and also next to that I can see the steering rack is also covered in oil but same oil like the engine ..I will clean and take better pics -


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#11 ·
The head gasket leaks a little oil on my SE, at the rear corner. It's been like that a long time I think, my garage showed me. They said not to worry about it too much as it may well not do anything much. Big bill otherwise, I'm not up for doing it so it'd cost me a pretty penny..
 
#12 ·
Stop, wait a minute, hold it, time out, Halte Bitte, WHOA,

"but funny enough this dripping started once I filled the hydraulic fluid too , I will look at both leakage and compare the oil and see if my oil level goes down too - "

let's not get TOO far ahead of ourselves here, if a drippage wasn't noticed until SLS was filled up, could be a good possibility IT is doing the leakage, yea, check engine oil level just in case is has really sprung a leak :grin

Juss a thought here, fissing to go get ready to chase down a dog if ya know what I mean :wink
 
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#14 ·
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#18 ·
check quality of hose coming out of back valve cover into airbox. Have you had valve covers off (too lazy to read) recently? could you be getting too much pressure and it has to go somewhere? cam oilers and tube condition? Drain and change filter refill again?
 
#19 ·
I don't know if it was replaced - but when the timing chain, tensioners , guides and can oilers were replaced I think they have replaced the valve covers but can't recall that's was about 6-7 months ago ..
Which tube are you referring to ? And also drain and refill with the old brand of oil ? It was 10w40 Mobil 1 and now it is 10w40 castrol ..


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#22 ·
While I haven't looked closely at where they come from there are 2 hoses/pipes that go to my air box/filter housing. One comes up to the front right side and plugs into a small filter, the other comes up under the bottom of the box on the right side also, this one is a rubber hose to a metal pipe and if not connected correctly will drip oil all over the back side (I discovered this early on in my SEC ownership :wink )

Funny it seems about the air box, it has several points to line up all at the same time but they are from slightly different directions which requires one to "hold your mouth right" to get it in place LOL
 
#23 ·
IMO, if you are replacing the head gasket, you are there. Why not do it right and check the heads for warping, do the valve job, replace any wear items associated with cams. Since you are removing the upper manifold, you guessed it -- at a minimum if the rubber is original, replace them all and the injector seats. If its rubber or plastic, its bound to be leaking soon if it isn't already. No better time to do this than now. Should be good for another 125k. I don't mean to spend your money, but really consider it if this is a car with no rust and you plan to keep her as a classic collectible.
 
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#24 ·
Just read your thread.
If it's leaking around the rear, where the head meets the block, there's a good chance your head bolts are either loose, or stripped, (hence loose).

Been there, done that. Therefore if the car is not overheating, and the leak doesn't bother you much, just leave it alone. What may happen, is you'll end up having to timesert, or helicoil the block if the threads are in fact stripped out, if you want to replace the head gasket.

Definitely not something you can do with the motor in place, or without experience.
 
#25 ·
Thanks guys for you valuable inputs - I took it to this specialist - he asked to pop the hood and took a mirror out and checked the rocker covers gaskets first and said he can see a leak at the back , so he suggested he will do that first and he will replace the breather hoses too .. So no harm in trying the easy bits you all mentioned above ... And yes of course if I was to do the job I would do everything , it would be stupid not to since I plan on keeping the car as long as I live ??? as I wanted this particular car since I was 10 ;) so will keep us updated :)


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#26 ·
So leak is seepage near the back right of left side bank at the main oil port?

Let it go or torque heads down per spec, but I have small seepage there and will pull trigger with spare heads in about 25k more miles (185k target miles)
 
#28 ·
Update - got it back with new VCG but still leaking and he said the head gasket is only seeping very slowly he said the front raining cover is leaking and suggested to do everything as in everything when I'm ready - gave me a quote for an engine renewal .. So should I just drive it around for now and then later take the plunge ? I'm gonna try one more thing , one last effort - I'm going to go back to my old Mobil one 10w 40 oil and see if that makes any difference ..


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#29 ·
Do what you can, cardboard under the car is cheap, so save cash and be prepared. VC do flare out and leak...
 
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