OIL DISAPPEARING

[dave_dave]

Hi guys.

I bought an LDV mini bus a few months ago with one of fords "bomb proof" banana engines.
2 weeks after i got it, boom it died. crank siezed, snapped cambelt and mangled the head. so i got a new engine put in and since then ive had no end of trouble.
plumes of black smoke under heavy load. smoke on idle very poor MPG! 20 - 25
and my oil has been disappearing. took it back to the garage that supplied and fitted the new engine and they informed me that the front plate gasket was gone so they put a new one on. when fitting the new gasket they managaed to strip a thread out of the block so it was still leaking.
took it to another garage and they tapped a larger thread and put a new bolt in for me.
still leaking oil from what looks like the same place despite the new gasket and all the bolts now fitted.
i am looking 1.5L of oil per 500miles. which is just ridiculous!
i have added a pic to show the bolt that was missing and have highlighted where the oil seems to be leaking from/pooling up

any help would be great as im just about done with this "bomb proof" engine after 2 months and only about 1000miles of driving!!

[andz327]

If they've just re-tapped it without taking off its possible the original garage maybe left a bit of old gasket on the block or housing, if its definitely leaking at that point then the only way to sort properly is to remove and see what the problem is

[andz327]

Can you actually see it leaking at that point??

[dave_dave]

I can not see any leaks or drips but when ive been driving or left it overnight the engine is wet with oil in this area.

[ned]

Did the engine come with a guarantee if so ide be taking I back and demanding another engine be fitted or dom will be on his way. N

[dave_dave]

Yes it did and i had the gasket done under warranty.
Only problem is the vehicle is a campervan and i am now in france with no plans of going back to the uk for a while.

[Keef]

If you are getting through 3ltrs of oil per 1000 miles due to a leak, your engine would be an absolute oily mess and it doesn't look like it is.

I would be more likely to suspect that the engine is burning most of the oil but you also have a leak which is smaller than you think.

Are you sure the smoke is black and not blue?

Black smoke would indicate overfuelling or lack of air flow (eg. blocked air filter) whereas blue smoke would indicate that it's burning engine oil.

[DodgeRover]

Sadly I'm thinking you've been stuffed by whoever fitted that engine to start with, why on earth did you accept it if it was plumming black smoke and doing so little to the gallon? It should have been sorted out there and then, I very much doubt you'll have much joy now if someone else has worked on it - they'll just say that is what has caused the damage.

You could try ringing them and tell you are stuck in France - its chucking its oil out and blacking out the countryside and see what they suggest.

Is it a Lucas or Bosch injection pump, one is easy to adjust to try and get rid of some of the excess smoke.

[dave_dave]

im pretty sure its black smoke but i can only see it out my wing mirror. I had my uncle follow in his car and hes pretty sure it is black smoke from over fueling and not blue oil smoke.
im pretty sure it is only a small leak but i cleaned it all up earlier and within 2 hours of just sitting still not even running i have oil on the engine. 3L per 1000miles seems like a hell of a lot of oil to use!
ive uploaded a couple more pics where you can see the oil. this was from 2hrs of just sitting. you will also notice the bolt the garage had to fit due to previous garage stripping the thread out of the block!

thanks for the replys guys!

[Keef]

I still don't think you could loose that much oil through that leak and still have an engine looking that clean.

It may be that you're overfuelling and burning oil.

Is your egr blanked off?
Do you get smoke coming from the rocker breather if you take the cap off?

3L per 1000miles seems like a hell of a lot of oil to use!

It does sound like a lot but my old van with it's very worn engine but no noticeable leaks gets through more than that!

Mine burns oil and smokes very badly when cold but is fine when it's warmed up so if I do a lot of short runs, I have to top up the oil every few days. I just buy very cheap oil, keep it topped up and ignore it.

It might be worth checking the 10mm bolts that hold the rocker shaft as these are prone to come undone and if they fall out you burn lots of oil which causes lots of smoke.

[dave_dave]

the engine looks clean because the garage steam cleaned it when they were looking for the leak 600miles ago and i scrubbed it down 4hours ago to see if it was still leaking. but i still dont think its a huge leak!

yep EGR is blanked. exhaust manifold has been welded, plate put where the EGR gasket used to be and vaccum hoses have been capped.
i do get smoke from the oil cap when i take it off. is that the rocker breather?

Could you give me some more info on the 10mm bolts you are talking about, i will check that first thing in the morning!

Thanks!

[Keef]

the engine looks clean because the garage steam cleaned it when they were looking for the leak 600miles ago and i scrubbed it down 4hours ago to see if it was still leaking. but i still dont think its a huge leak!

So if it's not leaking that much oil, it must be burning it so all you have to do now is figure out why.

Unless it's something easy like the rocker pedestal bolts, you'll probably have to just put up with it until you're back because the other causes (rings/bores/valve guides or seals etc) pretty much mean you've been sold a worn engine.

Could you give me some more info on the 10mm bolts you are talking about, i will check that first thing in the morning

They are quite obvious once you have the rocker cover off.

While you'e in there, adjust the valve clearances. It may help with the smoke. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=9565

[dave_dave]

ok great stuff ill get the rocker cover off tomorrow and see whats what. fingers crossed for an easy fix hey!!

is the rocker cover an easy job? ive been reading but cant find a full write up anywhere.
so ill split the intake manifold at the midpoint and remove the passanger side section inc. EGR vavle. anything else i should be aware of?
also im in a small town in france so getting a new rocker gasket may be an issue. will it be a cork gasket or do they use 'reusable' gaskets?

what does it indicate if im getting smoke from the breather when i take the cap off?

thanks for your replys and all your help!
ill be updating you tomorrow after i get all oily

[Keef]

Yes, easy enough. As you say, take off half of the inlet manifold for access then just undo the 10mm rocker cover bolts and pop the rocker cover off.

The rocker cover gasket will either be a compound rubber one, or maybe a cork one if it's a cheap aftermarket version. If you're careful you should be able to re-use either of them.

France doesn't seem to have motor factors like we do so if you need any bits, you'll probably end up at a Ford dealer buying genuine Ford parts.

They all chuff a bit from the rocker cover but if it's chuffing a lot it's a sign of dodgy rings/bores/valves.
If you get a lot of smoke from the rocker, it's recirculated into the inlet manifold and makes the exhaust smoke even worse.
You can disconnect the breather pipe from the inlet manifold and point it elsewhere to see if it helps. If it does, point it into a makeshift catch bottle.

[dave_dave]

Good morning all!
ive got the rocker cover off this morning and cant see any immediate problems. all bolts seem pretty secure!
when i was taking the intake manifold off there was a fair amount of oil inside and seaping down into the plastic air intake. so its definetly sucking oil up through the oil breather! what could cause this and are there any easy fixes? i understand there will always be some oil that gets blown out of the breather but this seems like alot....

ive uploaded a pic of the rocker assembly though, maybe one of you guys will spot something ive missed! fingers crossed.

while i have the manifold off i will go ahead and try to clean off some of the carbon deposits.

I spoke to a friend about my poor MPG and he suggested taking something out of the intake track, but im not too sure what he ment.
as my EGR is blanked off can i go ahead and take the butterfly valve out of the housing or does that need to stay in and stay linked up with the fuel pump?

Thanks for your help guys!!