2.5td oil leaks Inlet and sensor

[acarpen9]

Hi all,

Van has been leaking oil for a while, was only slight but has significantly worsened.
Checks of engine from above and below show its dry and clean around rocker cover, injectors, and rear of block where ouput seal is.

Leaks appear to be from 2 sources,

Pot 1 on inlet manifold, have wiped and cleaned around area and run it again to make sure it is from this joint.


And this sensor appears to have unscrewed itself, about 12mm of thread showing which im sure should not be... What is this sensor? Is it the oil pressure switch? its located midway on block below fuel pump. Would this leak oil? as the leak from the inlet manifold is already running down this part of block its hard to tell if this is also leaking or not.


Thanks in advance fellas'

[MinorMatt]

Are you sure its not diesel leaking from a split return pipe?

The sensor is an oil pressure switch, and the thread is tapered. Its correct that there is thread showing - if its loose tighten it up (but I doubt it will be!)

[ColinJack]

It is easy to work out - diesel stinks! I have twice had leak off pipes split and I knew pretty well straight away - could smell it in the cab when slowing down.

[acarpen9]

Nope Matt, have snapped an injector lug before.. I know the symptoms well pipes and injector bases are dry.

Ive wiped all down again and given it a good run out.. Leaks are all from air system joints as below

[AndyG]

You missed the air intake throttle spindle (vacuum controlled gadget to the right of the EGR valve in your piccy

[F111ORY]

Hi, Picture 1 shows the oil pressure switch and the vacuum pump oil supply. Both are tapered threads and will respond to being removed and cleaned and coating with PTFE tape and refitting.

Oil pressure switches quite often develop a leak in the diaphragm and drip from the plastic part. Cheap to replace.

The manifold leak is from oil blown through the turbo . All turbo's pass some oil. Any leak in the inlet manifold will ooze oil. Ignore it or fit new gaskets.

It is worth remembering that when driving along wind will put oil far from where it originally leaked from!

[eresseraca]

Mine leaks pretty badly as well at pot 1 on the inlet manifold. 2 questions regarding this.

1. Is it possible to tighten the bolts for the first pot of the manifold without removing any other engine parts. Seems super hard to get to, any suggestions on what kind of angled/special spanner to get to reach those two bolts. Especially the first one/furthest out! Would like to try tighten the bolts in case they are loose and observe the leak, before fitting a new gasket.

2. If it doesn't help then I'll fit a new gasket. Will I be able to just remove all 8 bolts holding down the inlet manifold, slide the old gasket out and slide a new one in. OR, do I have a bigger project of taking enough parts and hoses (got the flame plug on mine e.g.) to remove the whole inlet manifold to get a new gasket in there?

[eresseraca]

Addon question...

What's the purpose of this bracket right behind the coolant sensor (circled in red in the pic attached), bolted on there with three bolts. Just guessing here but is it a lift ring for removing the engine?

Whatever it is, is it ok to loosen those three bolts and remove it temporarily? I think it might allow me to get to the first bolt on the intake manifold with a regular spanner.

[Chug]

yes its just the engine lifting eye and can be removed for access.

[cherniy_chack]

eresseraca,what are the reasons to think that the gasket of the intake manifold has been pierced by about 1 cylinder?
Is there noise?
Is there a stream of air from under the collector?
Make a soap foam, start a cold motor and apply foam to the joint of the collector and the head of the block. The foam will show the presence of air leakage.
If an oil stain near the joint makes you think about a leak, it can be a leak of diesel fuel from the nozzle through the place of soldering the intake tube to the injector body.
The intake manifold can be removed and put using only the wrenches.

[eresseraca]

Thanks chuggy! Gonna try to get that out of the way to see if I can get to the first bolt that way!

cherniy_chack The reason I suspect that area is that if I clean the oil around the first pot/connection of the intake manifold and the small oil pool that gradually collects down below the pump on the engine, it soon appears again in the very same place.

I've also read on here that it's one of the places that are prone to start leaking on the 2.5TD EPIC. That is that the oil mist blown up from the turbo to the manifold finds it way out first through the silicone hose that connects turbo pipe to inlet (I replaced that short piece of hose recently so it doesn't leak there anymore) and then through the inlet gasket if it's not tight enough/in good condition. So for me the hose is solid without drips now, but the leak from the manifold is still present and also the leak that is the worst, in the sense that it makes a mess in the engine bay.

MOT wasn't too happy with it, so I will need to get it fixed before next inspection.

This thread partially has the same problem it seems, viewtopic.php?f=4&t=147523. See pictures that the user posted here: http://imgur.com/a/yecrl. It finds it way downwards and makes a wet mess under the van as well, that's how MOT spotted it and marked it as a "need to be fixed". Mines not really as bad as in the other thread, but still a clearly visible "wet area" down under the car.

Attached some pics of my inlet manifold as well as the place where it pools up down below the pump on the engine, and then from there it gradually finds its way down under the van.

Regarding a wrench, due to the EPIC pump being in the way of that first bolt on the intake manifold it's not possible to get a normal wrench to that bolt, the other ones will probably be reachable with a socket on an extension. But that first one furthest out in the engine bay is impossible to get to due to the wrong angle and tight space. Removing the engine lifting eye might give me just enough space and the right angle to get a regular spanner on there though to check if it's tightened enough, thus see if the gasket is crap or if it's just loose and allowing the oil mist to seep out.

[cherniy_chack]

The photo shows that fuel is not flowing from under the injector of the first cylinder. This is already a good saving of about $ 100.
But fuel can flow from under the second nozzle.
The photo shows that the engine has not yet been repaired. The lining and bolts have factory specifications.
The company Ford is not a Russian Auto GAZ, a clear marriage in the assembly of motors is very rare. Because I use FT, not GAZ.
I do not believe that a bad gasket was installed and / or the bolts are loosely twisted.
Look, can there be fuel under other jets?
If not, the oil on the joint of the collector and the head can fall through a bad gasket and / or badly twisted 3 bolts at the joint of the intake manifold and the air / throttle body.
This light detail in the center of the photo.
These bolts are often untwisted, and the gasket is not always changed.
Start by replacing this shim.
Tighten the bolt on the manifold with a spanner with a spanner 13 mm.
I succeeded.
http://king-roy.in.ua/images/product_im ... f0c56.jpeg

[eresseraca]

cherniy_chack, thanks for those points! I see yours have a different or completely removed engine lifting eye than mine which also means, judging from your attached photo, that you could reach the first bolt with a regular 13mm spanner without it restricting you. Mine goes higher up and is in the way for tightening that first manifold bolt.

No diesel leaks as far as I can tell, all the fluid that leaks out pitch black, thicker than diesel and most importantly doesn't smell the way diesel does. The engine is completely stock as it's been owned by a fire department and serviced regularly completely according to the book.

The other "jets" as you call them or pots as referred to earlier in this thread are completely clean and dry, the only one that appear to be leaking is the first one. Good point regarding the joint of the intake manifold and the air/throttle body. I'll check those three bolts as well, to make sure those are tight.

And as you write, I'm pretty certain that the intake manifold has never been removed on this engine (as noted above owned by the fire department and the only other owner before me continued the precise servicing without being a mechanic himself, so he hasn't altered the engine and the service book is filled up according to recommendations) so if it's the intake manifold gasket then it has gone bad or loosened overtime. Engine has 124.000km on it, so it's not used much either.

I'll go ahead and remove that engine lifting eye that's currently in the way and then check the first bolt of the manifold to be sure, along with the three that hold the throttle body to the intake manifold as you pointed out! Hopefully this will help and there will be no need for new gaskets or shim. If not I'll go ahead to look at replacing them when spring and warmer weather arrives!

[cherniy_chack]

eresseraca,With a run of 124,000 km, the engine can be considered new!
The resource of such an engine with qualified service and use of quality oil and fuel can be 1,000,000 km.
I wish success in finding the causes of oil leaks and repair.
The gasket between the manifold and the damper body must be replaced in any case.
It can be cut from cardboard 1 mm thick or thinner, but then you need
use two or three gaskets.