Vauxhall combo oil leak and fuel supply issue

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Hello, so I am still holding on to my 53 plate combo as I've had a fair bit done over the years. I have two issues.
1. I have an oil leak that I have to stop. If looking at the engine, it is to the left as seems to be dripping down on to the water pump/alternator area. Coming from left of engine if looking at it. Must have been going yonks as there is a big build up underneath of black gunk
2. I had to have my EDU computer replaced about 5 months ago due to non starting. Ever since it went it every now and then there was a hesitant start the twice in the last few months it has t started, turning over with no start, when it's doing that there was no fuel coming up. Then after a while it starts but not confident it's going to hold out. Possibly air locks? As it went after cracking open 2 injectors, the middle two are underneath another component and couldn't get to them .
Help please, some photos of oil leak attached
 

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Time to remove the offside front wheel and check for leaks either on the sump or the engine crankshaft pulley I think.
As for the fuel issue, if it's a mechanical problem against an ECU one, I'd check out the fuel filter for air leaks. If it has a mechanical primer it could be allowing fuel to return to the tank, hence the long cranking time.
John :)
 
John how would I check the fuel filter for air leaks? Someone else did mention this to me, possibly cracked fuel filter.

I've got a lot of oil to degrease before I can see a leak. What's the best thing to use?

Every time I ask my mechanic to sort the oil he just says it's an old van!
If it was the sump, the oil wouldn't be that high would it?

I had an alternator changed around the same time it started, would anything have been removed?
 
Its very difficult to check for leaks in the fuel filter area as things are under negative pressure so air gets sucked in, rather than out :eek:
However, if you have a pump /primer button then give it a few presses before starting up - if there's resistance then there could be air there but the van should start promptly. Some folks like to smear grease around any joints in the filter which may work. Give us a pic of the fuel filter if you can?
Regarding the oil leak, I can't see how an alternator change should cause anything....degrease the area with Gunk or Jizer or whatever around the general area, but keep the degreasant off the belts as much as possible.
Sumps often have no gasket and the seal (silicone) can fail but I have most problems with the sump corroding through, believe it or not!
Lets know what you find.
John :)
 
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Will send fuel filter very shortly.
No idea what a pump or primer button is.
 
On many older diesels, the injection pump has to pull fuel from the tank, pressurise it and then send it to the injectors....more modern systems have a low pressure pump in the tank.
Not all vehicles have a manual primer, which can be a button type on top of the fuel filter or maybe a rubber bulb which you can squeeze. Both fill the system with fuel to provide easy starting.
If there isn't a primer then the battery is used to crank the engine over until it starts.....on this type I fill the filter with clean fuel to help it along.
John :)
 
No I don't think it has anything manual on it that can be pumped/squeezed
When breaking down before I vaguely remember the guy talking about a pump in the diesel tank.

I tried jet washing the underneath and around the water pump so it's clean of oil. Can't see as of yet any new oil forming .... and van is driving ok, but you know as soon as I need to get somewhere itl conk out
 
So after a couple of drives small amounts of oil on top of the water pump again,shown in pic and I there's small oil tickle out of the main head I think, I don't know much about motors. It's also shown in photo, but is kind of above the water pump
Also attached filter
 

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OK, we are getting nearer the disaster area now......
Two possibilities I can think of - 1) the cylinder head gasket needs replacing 2) the oil seal at the end of the camshaft is leaking. You can rule this one out by removing the plastic cover to the left of the pic.
Regarding the fuel issue, if there's no priming mechanism then its done by engine cranking and assistance by the pump inside the tank. It would be a good move to renew the filter, taking care to ascertain the seals are good around the filter bowl. All of the fuel pipe connections between the filter and the tank ideally need to be checked too.
John :)
 
Did you see this other photo? The oil definitely seems to be leaking from the head ever so slowly. Is there a head gasket leak sealer that works well? I'm guessing replacement is about the same as what the van is worth! So not worth doing. Are you saying remove the plastic cover that conceals the timing belt etc?? Is that it?
 
I have actually had water loss from coolant System as well but I thought that was the heater matrix as hoses have been on and off a number of times and the matrix itself has wear on it
 
Yep, I was referring to the recent photo - the timing belt cover is just visible on the left of that torx screw. Best to remove it and have a look behind the camshaft pulley.....hopefully the leak will be there.
I don't know of any head sealant I'm afraid, although some do exist, probably with absurd claims! Cylinder head work isn't cheap so I'd live with it, unfortunately unless it gets really bad. If the cylinder head is responsible for water loss, oil traces will be visible in the coolant header tank.
John :)
 
I actually think the water might be being evaporated. Can hear hissing when the cap is on. Rubber is deformed. New cap tomorrow, new fuel filter.
However the oil leak on the floor currently is 10x worse than it has been Have I jet washed of some old crusty oil that was in fact creating a seal!
 
Burnerman
I attempted to take the timing belt cover off, 2 off the bolts were spinning and not unscrewing. I got the top two off and could see that there was a fair bit of crap in there and very oily on the bottom of the cover. I then notice the cover was not sitting on properly and don't know if I'd popped it off or it was like it before. Either way the timing cover is now not sealed properly.....is this going to cause me problems before I can get it the mechanics midday tomorrow ??
 
The cover is there to stop any crap or whatever interfering with the belt driving the cam sprocket - I wouldn't worry about it particularly, its fitting isn't critical.
More importantly, we need to find if the camshaft oil seal is leaking.....things should be nice and dry in there, but there will be some dust and belt debris around - that's normal.
John :)
 
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