Speaking of oil leaks, I had a persistent drip below my car. It was bad enough that the maintenance team at my complex started to put sheets of cardboard under my car. ouch! Still, nothing an occasional top-up couldn’t fix.
I finally got around to doing something about this leak by taking the car to a German/Exotic car specialist on the other side of town. He gave me a writeup for a full inspection, but said the oil was coming from the back of the engine by the firewall and he couldn’t say more because there was no room back there to see anything. But his suspicion was that it was a leak around the camshaft covers and that the timing chain may need to be serviced. That’s an engine out procedure and I didn’t really sign up for that.
However, I did spend some time trying to determine if the timing chain was on it’s way out with this post: S6 Rattle - timing chain going?. The general consensus is that I was probably fine, so it’s not worth an engine out just to check the camshaft covers.
In the end, I was disappointed with the diagnostic abilities of my German car mechanic. I took another shot with a local guy just a long walk from my home who had no problem doing work by the hour in dribs and drab. He came up with this incremental plan:
- reseal the oil sump pan and install a new oil sensor gasket. (cheap and easy to do)
- take the front end off and replace the front crank seal. peek under the intake with a borescope I purchased to see if there was also a leak by the oil filter.
- remove the IM and replace the oil filter gaskets, (and maybe do a carbon clean and IM mod while we’re there)
Resealing the oil sump pan helped, but the leak was still there. I’m just in the middle of 2) replacing the front crank seal, and it appears that this was a likely culprit. Here’s the before/after:
I think that will definitely slow down the leak.
He said the accessory belt was collateral damage from oil contamination. But we also discovered that the belt tensioner (above) had a small dent in it that just barely clicked on every rotation. They straightened it out with some pliers so it now spins freely, but he says there is still a slight vibration as it spins, maybe it’s out of balance and the bearings are going out. I can’t replace it yet because the part is not available locally.
The photos above are from the borescope I got from Amazon, looking under the IM at the oil filter “flange”. You can see signs of oil sludge, so it’s probably leaking from there as well.
Here’s a photo when I was in there Oct-2015 for the same thing. By comparison, this leak doesn’t seem as bad.
But before we remove the IM to deal with the oil filter housing, I have another problem with the cooling system. Apparently, the upper intake hose to the radiator has gotten brittle at the quick connect, and the bypass outlet has broken off (see below). Again, the part is not available locally, so we might have to hack this with a metal connector and hose clips.
Also, the upper inlet to the radiator is turning brown and brittle to the touch (below). I think that is a candidate for replacement. The lower outlet hose on the other side is also starting to bulge a little and could also be on the list.
My mechanic also noticed a leak at the high pressure Power Steering hose when he pulled down the protective cover (below). I hadn’t noticed any problems with the steering, but since we can get a replacement hose locally (plus they are $$$) I’m gonna have to keep PS fluid on my top-up checklist.
That’s about it for the new discoveries with the front end off. I’m not sure if I can leave the car at his shop for 10-14 days (as is) it takes to get replacement parts from Amazon. But I gotta decide how what to replace while I’m in there. And I’m probably gonna save the IM for another visit.
