Suspected Oil leak? :(

[Cosmic Bus]

Well 2010 nearly over and as a small thankyou our Penelope has decided to drop a small puddle of oil from somewhere.

It's dropping from a small hole in the middle of the bottom plastic engine cover where there is a small long oblong dip as it were. Shone the torch up in and can see nothing obvious without taking it off (easy job?, looks like some 10mm bolts holding it in) apart from maybe some weeping from sump join.

Checked engine oil, which is black as, so there's one for the jobs-to-do list, but what I have is a medium brown and no idea where it's from.

Looking in from the top passenger side I can see a couple of what look like 'flexible' hoses (I suspect it's just wiring inside) that look oily but to be honest they may have allways looked like that.

Anybody have any ideas?

At the moment I'm between 'Arrrrrgh' and 'keep an eye on it/suck it and see mode'.

[rita]

Well 2010 nearly over and as a small thankyou our Penelope has decided to drop a small puddle of oil from somewhere.

It's dropping from a small hole in the middle of the bottom plastic engine cover where there is a small long oblong dip as it were. Shone the torch up in and can see nothing obvious without taking it off (easy job?, looks like some 10mm bolts holding it in) apart from maybe some weeping from sump join.

Checked engine oil, which is black as, so there's one for the jobs-to-do list, but what I have is a medium brown and no idea where it's from.

Looking in from the top passenger side I can see a couple of what look like 'flexible' hoses (I suspect it's just wiring inside) that look oily but to be honest they may have allways looked like that.

Anybody have any ideas?

At the moment I'm between 'Arrrrrgh' and 'keep an eye on it/suck it and see mode'.

Hi,it would be worth while checking the oil filter as they have a habit of needing tightening now and again.
PS if you look in from the passengers side,check the undertray to the right it has an indent that usually fills with oil if the filter leaks..

[Doone]

Shone the torch up in and can see nothing obvious without taking it off (easy job?, looks like some 10mm bolts holding it in)

It's easier to take it off then to replace it, as it's a bit heavy and awkward to hold up. If you do need to drop it, I think there are about 4 bolts on each side, 3 at the front and another couple at the bottom.

[Cosmic Bus]

Ah, I think rita that we are on about the right indent then . Might have a quick look see before it gets too dark out, but if it is the filter, and possible stupid question, surely the oil would be darker?

I'm thinking of a 2011 birthday to Plymouth for her atm.

[Doone]

You mentioned the fluid was

medium brown

I'm just guessing, but I wonder if water's dripped onto the tray and washed out all the old muck that gathers there? Have you had a lot of rain? Or It might be worth checking the coolant level, just in case.

[dandywarhol]

Or it's auto transmission fluid

[Doone]

Yes, ATF can gather there too.
Are you ready for Hogmanay Alan?

[missfixit70]

Worth checking the steering fluid too, if the pinion top seal is leaking (common issue), then the fluid tends to blow back & drip down further back. Could also be a diesel leak? I'd check all levels, get the bottom cover off, clean it all up & see where it leaks from, taste/smell can tell you a lot too, compare it to the different oils/fluids.

[Cosmic Bus]

To further compound the situation ... it 'could' be water just draining out as I gave the hose a quick flick underneath after giving her a wash Tuesday to get the salt off. Wasn't prolonged and maybe more water got caught than I give it credit for.

She hasn't been driven since Monday when out on a trip to Mothers I had a whine some 5-10 mins into the journey. Didn't last long, couple of minutes maybe and kinda hard to pinpoint its source.

So now I have two possibilites running in my mind that it's either my doing, or mechanical somewhere.

My better half did say though that she said it was probably water in the first place. Mental note, should listen more in 2011

Still having a slight fret on it though. I think the worst thing is the fact that as I can't remember/didn't take notice what it was like underneath, it makes it more difficult to say 'oh, that's new'

Anyway, will try to do more fluid checks tomorrow but I can't see me getting round to dropping the cover.

I did think at first it smelt like diesel Kirsty, but was put off by the colour.

[missfixit70]

I did think at first it smelt like diesel Kirsty, but was put off by the colour.

If it has been leaking down onto the tray full of old oil/crud, I wouldn't just go by the colour. Bear in mind the fuel hoses have a recommended service life of 4 years, I bet most bongos still have the original hoses on - http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... =3&t=33920 - & the seals on the fuel pump are a common issue, neither is an expensive fix if it is a diesel leak.

[philpdr]

I've just had the oil filter problem,turned out to be the o ring to my huge relief.

[Cosmic Bus]

Had a look today and it's diesel. Hopefully it's a tighten nut job or something. I'm posting a video link so it can been seen more easily.

No idea what the part is called that has got the drip and not looked at lushprojects yet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYrf7e2qLVI

[dandywarhol]

Looks like the usual suspect - search diesel pump o rings

[Cosmic Bus]

Is this job going to require my best french language? Not sure it will cure my 24mpg (ish)I worked out that it was doing sadly.

[Cosmic Bus]

Just to confirm, I'm ordering the diesel pump seals from the shop @ £4.50?