Oil leak help

[240]

i have a small oil leak however i can not seem to find where its coming from!!! thought it was the oil filter, have cleaned the underneath ran engine for a few minutes and left it overnight and the oil has returned again, there is a small bracket that goes around the rear drivers side of the sump and it seems to be running along that and drops of a bolt underneath, ive checked the sump and it looks ok, anybody have any ideas as to where it may be coming from? ive attached some photos.

cheers

[IMG][/IMG]

[240]

had a scour of the net and it seems people think it could be the flame trap causing the problem? im a bit sceptical because the top of the engine is clean and there are no signs of oil anywhere. it only appears to be leaking when the engine has been run causing pressure and making the oil leak.

[marcmarel]

Could be a leaking crankshaft seal, from excess crankcase pressure or old age. Then most of it would drip from the rectangular hole visible in the second picture.
Or a weeping oil pan gasket, but that would drip from the oil pan as well.

Look at the back of the cil. head, is that dry?

You can remove the bracket to have a better look, six largish bolts, the engine or gearbox won't fall on your head (still bolted together with six even larger bolts).

[240]

hi
te rest of the engine is clean and dry, ive removed the bracket but cant see anything!!! my negihbour said it could be the flywheel oil seal?

[marcmarel]

The "flywheel oil seal" is called crankshaft rear oil seal. If you take off the bracket you should see the flywheel, in case of a leaky oil seal that's usually quite oily as well.

[Clifford Pope]

The usual cause of an oil leak is excess crankcase pressure, caused by a blockage in the ventilation system. That is what the person meant by the flame trap being a possible cause - not that it itself is leaking, but if it is blocked it allows pressure to build up in the engine.

First thing is to clean thoroughly all the pipework between flametrap, oil separator box, inlet manifold, and anything else depending on the particular fuel system you have.

[240]

i have the 2.3 engine dont know what fuel system it has!! where do i find the flame trap? ive had a look for a Y pipe but couldnt see anything.
thanks for the help so far.

[240]

cleaned out the pipes and removed the flame trap, started the engine and ran it for a while and then looked under and its dripping quite a bit!!! so maybe its the rear oil seal?
cheers

[Paul240480]

Sounds like a possibility.

Very often this seal is replaced when clutches are done. Mine was, at 153k. The mechanic did it regardless of leakage & it only added about £20 onto the cost of the job.