Gear box oil leak :-(

[nemo]

So there's some thick black oil dripping from under the car, it only drops after I park the car, and then it drips for a while but stops.

I know it's not engine oil because I put new stuff in, and I'm not losing any.
It's coming from the drivers side, dripping off some big hose, I'm not 100% but I don't think it the driveshaft as it sits further back.
I did some reading on google and it was said that the oil pressure core plug can work it's way loose, has any one experienced this or know how I get to it, also says the breather hose could be blocked and this causes oil to find it's way out somewhere, where is the breather hose?

Thanks all

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Pictures of the leak??

 

[nemo]

I'll try get some uploaded later ehen im at the computer, cant really see much though, dont suppose there's any one in the kent area?

 

[quest63]

If its on the drivers side its not going to be the gearbox oil.
Possibly it might be a power steering fluid pipe if it is indeed oil. Or it might be a leaking rocker gasket (very common) the breather valve and pipe is on the front of the engine above the oil filter. It may be a water leak from around the thermostat housing area,or a crankshaft oil seal. However if your 100% certain its not losing oil it narrows down the choices a lot. Chances are it is engine oil you just havent lost enough to notice on the stick yet.

Getting it gunked and steam cleaned may help you find where its coming from

 

[nemo]

To be far, the rocker gasket wasn't seating properly on that side, would it just be black because it's collecting the dirt on the way down? If it is the crankshaft seal is that going to make my pocket cry? I'm not a praying man, but i'll start now

 

[JonB]

As Quest mentioned the rocker gasket is a favourite for Pumas, if your engine is dirty (aka normal) then yes it will be slowly cleaning itself.
Crank and cam seals require the belt to be removed, so check your service history for a belt change and do the lot while you are there.
As for Kent members, all over the county.

 

[quest63]

Whats the story with your rocker gasket have you had a new one fitted?

new oil leaking could be darker than you expect if its leaking slowly and bringing down old dirt and oil with it yes.

Dont get ahead with the speculation but a crankshaft oil seal would be expensive on labour near on 4 hours I think, however the seal itself is cheap less than a tenner iirc so it would be best to have it done at the same time as a cambelt job, if that is indeed the problem

 

[nemo]

It was a new gasket but not sure if it was an oem part, it started leaking so i took it upon myself to try refit, dismatled it (easier than expected), and use a bit of gasket sealant to secure it a bit better, but the side of the cam belt kept popping out. I just thought (wrongly maybe) that because the oil is black that it must have come from somewhere else

 

[quest63]

Sounds like it may still be the gasket, did you torque it up properely to 10nm iirc

 

[nemo]

I had to guess :-( didn't wanna do it too tight just in case i brake the, i'll borrow one from someone, it's still pretty tight though.

 

[ScubaSteve]

10nm isnt very tight at all, you may distort the gasket if its too tight

 

[Daftgit]

Definitely sounds like the rocker cover gasket! Most of us, including me have had problems with it. I made the mistake of buying a non-genuine rocker cover gasket the first time and despite stripping it down and rebuilding it with sealer three times I couldn't get it to seal properly. So I bit the bullet and bought a genuine Ford gasket for about £30 off the net. Fitted it with NO SEALER, torqued the rocker cover bolts to 10nm and I've not had a leak since!

Have you had your timing belt replayed recently? The reason I ask is that there is a locating pin cover that is on the driver side of the engine, at the back of the block. If this hasn't been replaced or has come loose and dropped out, when the engine is running it will spray oil onto the driverside drive shaft. When the car is moving, it will make a right mess of the back of the engine and bulk head! You'll have lots of oil dripping from all over the place, but it's worth checking it too, just in case.

Hope you sort it soon as there's nothing worse than an oil leak - unless you drive a classic mini or a Mecedes and then you'll be used to it!

 

[Severio]

Hey, have you checked the oil pressure switch? mine went on a mk 4 fiesta an would only drip oil when the engine was hot, was a bugger to find where it was leaking!

Im also suffering with a leaky rocker gasket on the puma...