2.3 Duratec Oil Leak

[SamC]

I've got a small oil leak on my CSR260, which appears to be mostly coming from the foam around the starter motor. (Arrowed in the photo).

it doesn't leak when the engine is not running, but gives the sump a good coating when it is!

I'm presuming this may be where oil from a leaking cam seal makes itself visible? Anyone with any experience of this that can confirm or deny?

[7 wonders of the world]

Duratec has no cam seals they are all internal,

rocker covers are very good on these and rarely give issue,

any signs of fluid drips from the underside between engine and bell housing form the small gap there..?

how long hd it been like this...?

 

[SamC]

Sorry, typo in my post, I meant crank/main seal. 

It's been like it since I bought the car in Feb but there were several leaks from the swirl tower which ran down the side of the bellhousing and collected on the underside. So it's been a case of working from top down eliminating the leaks. The fluid ultimately ends up on the join between the bellhousing and the sump, so I suspect some is coming from there too. (The pic below was from when I picked the car up)

It is normally only a very small amount on the bottom of the bell housing after normal road driving (ie not enough to drip), but after a track day on Sunday there was more oil than normal around the area.

I topped it up so it was blowing into the catch tank after every run as I've heard lots about the CSR's consumption on track, so I'm confident that it was fully filled the whole time.

 

[7 wonders of the world]

engine oil gearbox oil of clutch fluid, sadly its likely to need the engine out to sort out, you might find its the seals on the oil pipes to the bell tank - you should certainly replace these whilsts it out too though

[SamC]

Ah, yes, I've heard they are a little delicate and prone to leaking. I'll add them to the list! Thanks.

Engine off it is then! 

[7 wonders of the world]

just make sure you have got an oil leak running around the sump to block and finding its way into the bell housing before you pull the motor.

brake cleaner all possible areas or leak and run up, sump front cover, breather blanking plate rocker cover etc etc.

[David Brown]

If oil was leaking from dry sump flow/return it would have to partly fill the bellhousing to leak out there - circa 5l of oil I would guess. Also oil leaking from the crank seal would need some volume to reach there. Either way if there was sufficient to splash up to that level, in any case you would have significant clutch slip from oil on the flywheel/clutch. Suggest removing the starter and running a finger around inside to see if there's any oil before going any further. 
Suspect your oil leak is elsewhere or residue from tower leak. 

[7 wonders of the world]

There is a small machined gap on the bottom edge of he bell housing to allow an escape passage for fluids, likewise there is no seal from bell housing to block so you could never fill this volume.

Oil from a leaking rear main is thrown away from the clutch as it is on the back of he flywheel and simply gets flung on the bell housing and runs down and out, likewise oil leaks on the feed or scavenge lines would migrate to the lower section out out of the gap previously mentioned..

[SamC]

Hi David, as 7 Wonders says, it will be getting flung about from the flywheel so will be everywhere, it won't be filling up per say. Definitely not residue. Tower and surrounding area is now clean. That and it drank 2L of oil in 150 miles of Silverstone National!!

I'll remove the starter and borescope it - see if that sheds any light.

Cheers both for your help!

[aerobod - near CYYC]

.....it drank 2L of oil in 150 miles of Silverstone National!!

I don't think that is unusual for a Duratec used continually in the upper third of the rev range. My 2.0 Duratec normally consumes only a small amount of oil in normal use, but on track kept between 5,500 and 7,800RPM it consumes about 1.5litres in an average 250km track day. I did try keeping the revs in the 5,000 to 7,000RPM range most of the time last weekend and only consumed half the normal amount. It has done this through the whole of the 36,000km the car has on it and has no leaks, it is all burnt.

[SamC]

Cheers James, that's reassuring! I'd made the assumption that my leak had become worse, but maybe that is not the case...