Oil leak coming from the engine

AndyI · Post Wed Jan 26, 2022 8:04 pm

I recently bought a 2010 Citroen 1.4 diesel realising that the clutch was on the way out but I thought the price asked as acceptable. The MoT records mentioned an oil leak and the seller told me it was caused by a dodgy sump plug washer. I fell for it, without questioning why it was parked on the seller's lawn as opposed to the drive.
I had the clutch and transmission end oil seal changed but my mechanic told me he thought leak was coming from higher up the engine and suggested it was the head gasket. After a few days of driving around with the new clutch and with a smile on my face, this leak has increased from the odd drip to a spreading patch on my drive so something needs to be done. Can anybody tell me what I need to remove and how big a job it is to be able to identify where this leak is coming from please? Then, assuming the worst and the head has to come off, how big a job it this and would I be better off just changing the engine?
Thanks in advance.
AndyI

C3CAR · Post Wed Jan 26, 2022 8:15 pm

AndyI wrote: ↑Wed Jan 26, 2022 8:04 pm I recently bought a 2010 Citroen 1.4 diesel realising that the clutch was on the way out but I thought the price asked as acceptable. The MoT records mentioned an oil leak and the seller told me it was caused by a dodgy sump plug washer. I fell for it, without questioning why it was parked on the seller's lawn as opposed to the drive.
I had the clutch and transmission end oil seal changed but my mechanic told me he thought leak was coming from higher up the engine and suggested it was the head gasket. After a few days of driving around with the new clutch and with a smile on my face, this leak has increased from the odd drip to a spreading patch on my drive so something needs to be done. Can anybody tell me what I need to remove and how big a job it is to be able to identify where this leak is coming from please? Then, assuming the worst and the head has to come off, how big a job it this and would I be better off just changing the engine?
Thanks in advance.
AndyI

Hi

Clean the engine with some de-greaser and then run the engine for a short time, let the engine cool before searching for the leak with a torch.

It could be leaking from nearly any part of the engine so I don't think anyone can tell you what to remove, other than the under engine tray if there is one.

Was the old clutch plate contaminated with oil?

AndyI · Post Wed Jan 26, 2022 8:24 pm

No, the clutch plate was clean so my initial guess was wrong!
My mechanic had the car on a lift and he said he couldn't see exactly where the leak was coming from although he thought it was from the head gasket. This leak has been reported on the last two or three MoTs. I've looked under the bonnet and I can't see much so I assume I need to remove lots of ancilliary bits and pieces to get a good look. Can you tell me how big a job this is likely to be please?

C3CAR · Post Wed Jan 26, 2022 8:27 pm

AndyI wrote: ↑Wed Jan 26, 2022 8:24 pm No, the clutch plate was clean so my initial guess was wrong!
My mechanic had the car on a lift and he said he couldn't see exactly where the leak was coming from although he thought it was from the head gasket. This leak has been reported on the last two or three MoTs. I've looked under the bonnet and I can't see much so I assume I need to remove lots of ancilliary bits and pieces to get a good look. Can you tell me how big a job this is likely to be please?

It can be big or it could be small, you need to find the leak before you know and it may take an hour or a day to find. You won't know until you start looking.

If you don't know what you are doing, take it to a garage who do.

AndyI · Post Wed Jan 26, 2022 8:47 pm

I know what I'm doing thank you very much, I'm a mechanical engineer and as such I have learnt that the best thing to do is to ask advice of experts, which is why I came to this site. I have a bad back and a lack of dexterity in my left hand due to spinal stenosis so I don't want to undertake too big a job. I find your final comment a little dismissive and as you have failed to answer my reasonable question should I take it that you don't know?

Bigyam · Post Fri Apr 01, 2022 9:22 pm

Hi Andy, i have an oil leak too sounds very similar to yours , mines a 2010 1.6 diesel, had it less than a year but i have same advisories about oil leak on old mots , i recently serviced it myself & once i removed the under tray it was quite a heavy leak but like you i couldn't see the actual source of the leak apart from it coming from high up at the rear of the block. i doubt it is the head gasket myself more like the rocker cover gasket.
my question is did you ever find the source of the leak ?
Thanks Nige.

AndyI · Post Mon Apr 04, 2022 7:01 pm

Hi Nige,
Sorry, I don't have an answer for you yet. I stupidly failed to tighten the cap on the rocker cover after topping up the oil and as a result oil sprayed everywhere and the oil leak appeared like the Torrey Canyon disaster! Since this happened I have been monitoring the leak and the cat litter spread on my drive seems now to be relatively clean. I've done about 2000 miles and have used just under a litre of oil topping up but this includes replacement of the blown out oil.
Now the weather is improving I plan to remove the under-tray and have a good look, like you. I'm praying that it's the rocker cover gasket!

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