Zafria 1.9 Diesel rocker gasket replacement

[ETAF]

Hi,

Zafria 1.9 Diesel 2004 model

I have a small amount of oil appearing on the offside of the engine and air filter. Been suggested its the rocker cover gasket

how difficult is that to replace

i reasonably proficient on cars, having replaced a EGR valve on a saab , cleaned the EGR valve on this zafria a while back

could it be anything else - its not using a lot of oil - just a tiny amount
i am keeping an eye on the oil level and it hasnt changed in about 100 miles

but i cleaned all the side of the engine and filter this morning, and found a film of oil again this evening

Local independent garage want about £100

thanks for any replies
Wayne

 

[Peter.N.]

Check the air intake pipes, it could be that condensed oil vapour is leaking out of a join, there is nearly always some oil in there as its part of the crankcase breather system.

If not I don't think the cover gasket is to difficult to change, the main problem is all the stuff you have to remove to get at it.

Peter

 

[ETAF]

OK Thanks very much for a quick reply

"Check the air intake pipes,"

so anything I need to look at in detail - whereabouts are they ?

 

[Peter.N.]

Follow the pipes from the air filter to the inlet manifold, if its turbo, to and from the turbo charger and intercooler. If you look in the area where the oil is with a bright light you should be able to see where its coming from.

Peter

 

[ETAF]

Thanks Peter, I will have a look this evening
thanks

 

[ETAF]

Had a look and the connection to the turbo is quite oily
so i will give that a good clean tomorrow and try and get some of the oil off , so i can see whats what

the side of the engine and filter did not appear any different today

and the oil level is the same - so I filled it up to the top of the dipstick now - so i can monitor this week

also the patch of oill on the tarmac after 4 days of the car standing still was slightly to the offside , which is where this housepip and filter is

thanks for the advice - if you have any further suggestions , please let me know

after I have cleaned it all , i will update how I get on

 

[Peter.N.]

You won't normally loose a lot of oil because if it doesn't leak out it will get burnt anyway but its very good at finding an escape route and a little oil goes a long way, make sure all the hose clips are tight.

Peter

 

[ETAF]

Hi,

well I have cleaned all the pipes all the side of the engine and filter box
and had a really good look around

all I can see is a small amount of oil on a flange

parked the car on my road outside the house on a small slope (the oil level was the same as when flat at a garage)
So i filled to the top of the dipstick.

Car has been used travelling back and forwards to work a few times
also done a 125 mile trip - there and 125 miles back

checked today and just a tiny cover of oil on the flange thing - quite low down - maybe its the Head gasket area rather than rocker cover
about 6-9" below the top of the engine

the oil level after standing a while has maybe changed a few MM
but nothing major

so not sure what to do now

 

[Peter.N.]

Unless its leaking badly I wouldn't worry about it, it has the added advantage of rustproofing the chassis. There is a fair bit of dismantling to do.

Peter

 

[ETAF]

Brilliant, thanks for that

Anything to look out for ?

Any risks to be aware of?

As you say, quite a lot to dismantle and not sure where its coming from - so I suspect would be expensive via my garage.

Cheers for all the help and quick responses - Wayne

 

[Peter.N.]

Obviously if it starts to pour out it will need attention but a lot of cars have minor oil leaks and it doesn't generally cause a problem.

Peter

 

[ETAF]

Thanks again for all your help and advice

 

[ETAF]

i'm keeping an eye on the oil , its not going down much more than normal usage
But the engine light comes on and then goes off , only happened a couple of times

I put one of these readers you can buy on and no codes show up

can a vauxhall dealer get any info on what may be the cause of the engine light - problem is my other half is going away in it on Saturday for a week to Devon (250miles away)

i'm try calling a dealer tomorrow - but want to make sure Its some thing they have a chance of looking into

the car runs fine , and nothing really noticeable

 

[ETAF]

Not sure how true all this is - but heres an update anyway

talked to some people this morning - and basically as i have a code reader , which said no codes , then its unlikely they will find any stored codes - if there was a stored code , they could find more info.

but they cannot see the car until Tuesday

my local garage suggests it maybe a sensor and if it just comes on/off its going to be difficult to isolate without the codes and if the car seems to run or slight lose of power, it may go into limp mode while the light is on -so maybe a small lose of power ,but that is not due to fault - just due to the limp mode

so basically sounds like I need to wait for a breakdown or a fault code

Ihave contacted a local garage in devon, to see what happens and how they handled breakdown towed in - so they seemed great and helpful

so i will send her on her way to devon and see what happens

thanks again

 

[ETAF]

i played with the actrivator / solinoid on the EGR valve and as i moved it up and down it stuck - so i used wd40 on it and it nolonger stuck
also on the vacuum thing that controls a flap in the manifold - as that stuck about 30K ago

I have also booked into a garage in Devon on Monday 9:00 to see if they can get any codes off the car

thanks for all the help