Oil leak - power steering pump

[gargravarr]

Wildcat's p!ssing me off again!

This is it, the deal-breaker. I want to do the bare minimum necessary to get the car in a saleable condition then get rid of it. I've had enough of the atrocious build quality of these cars.

This time, I've got three issues to fix - rubber boots split on both lower control arm ball joints, oil leaks from the driver's side of the diff (pretty spectacular) and oil peeing down the back of the engine from what I have been told is the power steering pump. It goes through about half the engine oil every few hundred miles.

My question is: how much aggro is it to change the pump? I'm wondering, why does oil leak from here in the first place - does the pump use engine oil as lubricant and not the steering fluid? Also, as the power steering is otherwise working, should I change the pump, or could it be a gasket or something my incompetent local mechanic (who is never touching my cars again) failed to replace properly?

Having spent £1,500 in repairs on a £995 car I am not keen on throwing good money after bad. Any advice you guys can offer so I can get this awful car into a saleable condition as cheaply as possible would be appreciated.

 

[oilburner]

I can't see how the PAS pump would leak oil down the back of the engine as it's at the side, sounds like the rocker cover gasket, use a genuine Ford one as pattern ones are useless

 

[quest63]

Ditto ^^^^

about £30 from ford and theres a how to guide on here

 

[gargravarr]

Thanks for the replies guys. The mechanic was the one who told me the persistent oil leak was from the PS pump, and I can see a lot of oil around the unit. Would the rocker cover gasket cover the pump in oil?

 

[oilburner]

Most definitely, along with everything near like the spark plugs etc, maybe your mechanic is trying to take the blame away from him not fixing the gasket properly

 

[gargravarr]

All right, I'll get a Ford gasket then. Thanks for the advice!

 

[quest63]

The rocker gasket can leak anywhere around the engine including into the hole where the spark plugs are.

Particular care is needed to fit the gasket and seal it around that end of the engine above the pas pump.

 

[Wild E. Coyote]

What colour is the oil? If it is greenish, than it is PAS pump.
If it is yellowish/blackish, it is engine oil leaking….

 

[ElDude at Allison Automotive]

it sounds like all your problems stem from complete muppets who have worked on the car previously...

this is the problem when a car gets older, if you take the car to the main dealor you pay a premium for the work but you've got far more chance of retaining the same build quality and attention to detail (as per assembly line) and of course the right quality of parts than when you take it to a local garage.... that is a very sweeping statement but true 99% of time probably..

the rocker cover gasket isn't exactly a bullet proof design on the 1.7 but it does work if replaced when 'fiddled with'...

A lot of garages cause as many issues as they fix unfortunately by doing careless work.. sad but true

 

[oilburner]

Hear hear! I'm an ex main dealer techie myself so it's nice to hear someone not slagging them off!

 

[gargravarr]

It's looking likely that it was the gasket, thanks for the advice guys. I bought one today and fitted it, following ScubaSteve's guide. Will let the instant-gasket set overnight and try it tomorrow, see if that's improved matters.

The metal around the rocker cover seam on the exhaust side was pretty covered in oil, as were the standoffs for the timing cover and earth strap bolts. There was also a small amount of oil in the spark plug valley (really not a lot, probably dribbled in during some careless filling. Interestingly, despite the back of the engine being caked in oil, I never noticed any on the exhaust manifold; the smell of hot oil might have pointed me in the right direction. And to think I nearly bought a new PAS pump!