Oily smell inside the cabin

[Brian']

Hey everyone,

I've been experiencing an oily smell inside the cabin every now and then, mostly on long trips (1hr+). When I'm driving the smell is not there (probably because of the ventilation etc.) but when driving in slow traffic the smell is unforgivable. I've had a look at it myself and found out that there is oil dripping on the exhaust manifold causing it to burn and get sucking in via the vents.

So I was thinking rocker cover gasket but wanted a confirmation for here because the rocker cover gasket was changed not even a year ago by my local garage..(exact date 8th July 2014) They might have skipped corners and used a cheap gasket,which still costs 28GBP according to the bill), who knows..

So what do you guys reckon? Is it the rocker cover gasket? And what if it is the rocker cover gasket should I ask the garage for a refund or a re-do?

Thanks!
Brian

 

[trublustu]

Hi Brian.
The only place for oil to get out of the engine above the manifold, is the rocker cover gasket.

If the garage re-used the rocket cover `washers` they can leak. (The rubber hardens over the years so doesn`t compress correctly when torqued up.)
It`s also possible they didnt use sealant or just plain rushed it.

I`d say your first port of call should be that garage, but a year is a long time...

I hope this is helpful, Stu..

 

[ElDude at Allison Automotive]

Hey everyone,

They might have skipped corners and used a cheap gasket,which still costs 28GBP according to the bill), who knows..
Brian

The Ford one retails at a fair bit more, (probably more like £40ish over the counter) so you can bet they used one that probably cost them 20 quid... and threw it on!

:x

 

[tuonokid]

If it's any help mine cost about £34 from Polar Ford last year.
Barry

 

[YOG]

£33.23 delivered, from National Clearance Centre:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Genuine-Ford-Fiesta-Puma-Rocker-Cover-Gasket-/181713443807?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2a4ef71bdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Brian']

Hey,

Today I've had time to take a look into the oil leak/smell. So first thing was to remove the engine cover, The rocker cover (metal bit) had a bit of oil on it that was laying against the engine cover. So I cleaned that off and was hoping for the best.. No luck.. So I then checked if there was oil near my spark plugs, no sight of oil there, I then checked if there were any oil drips near the edges of the rocker cover gasket, there were none..

Then I decided to take it for a drive so that the engine would be a bit warmer so that I could smell where the leak is coming from. I then discovered this, The photo's aren't really clear but I hope they are useful to solve my problem.. I still might be the rocker cover gasket, but I'm not sure because it's really dripping from the same level as the manifold is.

When the engine was on temperature there was a boiling sound coming from the place I showed in the previous pictures, And I believe that every now and then there was a bit of oil released from that place onto the manifold, which gives a bad bad oil smell when driving slowly.

I hope someone can help me or point me into the right direction, I don't feel like going to the garage to see a big bill

Brian'

Btw: I have no loss of coolant, oil or whatsoever, It started doing this after I've refreshed the oil. I have used 5L of Ford Formula 5W30 oil. The 5L might be too much causing it to spit it out over my manifold?

 

[Brian']

Does anyone have a clue?

 

[Frank]

I have used 5L of Ford Formula 5W30 oil. The 5L might be too much causing it to spit it out over my manifold?

4.62 litres is the correct amount on a 1.7.

 

[Brian']

Yeah, there was still a bit left in the can, so that isn't it. Well I suspect that it is the rocker cover gasket than.. :roll: - There isn't really anything else that can cause this problem, right?