Rover 400 Oil Leak
Discussion
I have a leak coming from the top of my engine just wondering how hard it would be to fix. Someone told me it was the rocker cover gasket. I'm a real noob when it comes to cars. I have attached a couple of photos the first is of my engine and the second is where I think the leak is coming from.
I did notice that a couple of days ago that the two screws you see in the picture were loose so I tightened them and cleaned off the oil but as you can see the oil came back. I was hoping it was just a simple matter of tightening a few screws.
If it is the rocket cover gasket how much would I expect to pay at a garage to get this fixed ? Or how hard would it be for me to fix it myself.
On a side not approximately how much should I expect to pay to get a timing belt don on this car. It is a t reg rover 400.
I did notice that a couple of days ago that the two screws you see in the picture were loose so I tightened them and cleaned off the oil but as you can see the oil came back. I was hoping it was just a simple matter of tightening a few screws.
If it is the rocket cover gasket how much would I expect to pay at a garage to get this fixed ? Or how hard would it be for me to fix it myself.
On a side not approximately how much should I expect to pay to get a timing belt don on this car. It is a t reg rover 400.
Rocker cover gasket is a piece of cake to install - just undo the spark plug cover, undo the rocker cover bolts and remove the cover, replace the old gasket with the new one. Refit rocker covers making sure not to overtighten the bolts.
The common leak on the K-Series would be lower down from the weak point on the head gasket so probably isn't that.
The common leak on the K-Series would be lower down from the weak point on the head gasket so probably isn't that.
Gasket is £13: http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-ZUA000170
Should be no more than 15 minutes work to change it.
Should be no more than 15 minutes work to change it.
stuart727 said:
The oil is dirty, even though i had an oil change abut a week or so ago, during a service and MOT. I thought that when they do a oil change they would do a engine clean but the oil was diry again within a matter of days.
An engine clean? Not part of any kind of service in my experience. There's nothing wrong with the oil in an old, high-mileage engine going dirty quickly, it's par for the course. stuart727 said:
The oil is dirty, even though i had an oil change abut a week or so ago, during a service and MOT. I thought that when they do a oil change they would do a engine clean but the oil was diry again within a matter of days.
Rather depends on whether you ask for (and pay for) an oil flush. Discoloured oil isn't the same thing as knackered oil which has done tens of thousands of miles.It's not a HGF issue, judging by the pic. If it was surely the emissions would be off for the recent MOT.
It's the rocker cover gasket - they all do it - if you're not topping up by much leave it. It won't do any harm.
If you want to try fixing it yourself for the experience, get a haynes manual and do it - it's a relatively simple job to get you into home spannering.
Good luck
It's the rocker cover gasket - they all do it - if you're not topping up by much leave it. It won't do any harm.
If you want to try fixing it yourself for the experience, get a haynes manual and do it - it's a relatively simple job to get you into home spannering.
Good luck
It dosent look coffe coulerd or frothy just dirty. Like i said im a total noob when it comes to cars will look into the rocket cover. That is what i think is causing my leak. cheers for everyones replys. I just didnt know how hard it would be to replace it. Give me a computer any day i can strip and repair latopts and pc's but whe it comes to cars im lost lol
stuart727 said:
It dosent look coffe coulerd or frothy just dirty. Like i said im a total noob when it comes to cars will look into the rocket cover. That is what i think is causing my leak. cheers for everyones replys. I just didnt know how hard it would be to replace it. Give me a computer any day i can strip and repair latopts and pc's but whe it comes to cars im lost lol
Just imagine you're changing some thermal paste 
It's sort of similar. Ish.stuart727 said:
It dosent look coffe coulerd or frothy just dirty. Like i said im a total noob when it comes to cars will look into the rocket cover. That is what i think is causing my leak. cheers for everyones replys. I just didnt know how hard it would be to replace it. Give me a computer any day i can strip and repair latopts and pc's but whe it comes to cars im lost lol
Renewing the Camshaft Cover gasket is a doddle on that engine. Those gaskets do not last forever. Whereabouts are you ~ if local I'll show you how to fix it in no time. Helps to give the oily area a jet wash prior to doing the job. Keep the jet clear of electrics.When the camshaft cover is removed, about twenty 8mm small bolts, have a close look at it for any signs of emulsification (Oil/Coolant mixing). In a healthy K-Series it should look like this one removed from an 108,000 mile K-Series like the one in your car:~
The picture above shows the removed cover exposing the large metal Camshaft cover gasket. The picture below shows the Gasket removed revealing the two Camshafts:~
Not a spec of emulsification anywhere. Nice clear clean oil evidence of a healthy engine. Camshafts clean as a whistle unlike this car pictured below which does have the early stages of oil/coolant mix from a damaged cylinder head gasket. The steaks of buff coloured oil/coolant mix:~
The owner of this ten year old car had entrusted servicing professionals to replace the large coolant hose which attaches to the coolant elbow on the cylinder head. Over the years, the old hose becomes very firmly attached to the coolant elbow so removal is more easily obtained by removing the metal coolant elbow ( two 8mm bolts ) twisting the elbow to break the grip in the hose and then the hose is free. The new hose was fitted and guess what, the two securing bolts were left only finger tight. A swift run down the motorway with that coolant elbow only finger tight allowed a lot of coolant to escape. Low coolant means engine overheating and when that happens, that can seriously damage the cylinder head gasket ... on any car. Fortunately, the owner had some idea all was not well with his car and drove slowly home and parked the car up pending investigation. The head gasket had been damaged but his alertness meant more serious damge was avoided. After replacing the Cylinder Head Gasket his engine still was losing coolant. Bad news this before the real cause was identified. A light dusting of talcom powder around the engine revealed the coolant tracks escaping from the 'loose' coolant elbow. There's always always a reason for these things. Much more to this business than simply renewing the gasket. The cause of the damage should always be identified if an expensive 'repeat' is to be avoided. The picture below shows drained coolant from a car which did have bad oilk/cooant mix. Note the colour ~ hence the reference to salad dressing ...
:~
Lets hope your car simply has a worn out camshaft cover gasket and not the more serious problem mentioned by the prebvious Joker with the "It's a Rover! They all do that!" mindset because they do NOT all do that....well, none of mine have over the past twenty years.
Good luck ~ let us know how you get on that way we all learn.
..
Some more useful replies here than others.
You know who you are. People don't tell you to scrap your car when all you do is ask for advice. Even if it is in a jokey manner.
Having said that, I was looking for something that could help me a bit more, since my oil leak is from further down and to the right. It's also more serious than this one is.
You know who you are. People don't tell you to scrap your car when all you do is ask for advice. Even if it is in a jokey manner.
Having said that, I was looking for something that could help me a bit more, since my oil leak is from further down and to the right. It's also more serious than this one is.
hardcorehobbit said:
Some more useful replies here than others.
You know who you are. People don't tell you to scrap your car when all you do is ask for advice. Even if it is in a jokey manner.
Having said that, I was looking for something that could help me a bit more, since my oil leak is from further down and to the right. It's also more serious than this one is.
If you could provide pictures of the problem or a more precise description of the location, we may be able to help with advice. It's not Rocket Science fortunately although beyond the mindset of certain types on PH.You know who you are. People don't tell you to scrap your car when all you do is ask for advice. Even if it is in a jokey manner.
Having said that, I was looking for something that could help me a bit more, since my oil leak is from further down and to the right. It's also more serious than this one is.
Now for the LARGE PRINT ...;)
What a turn up! The also rans crawl out from under their stones as soon as the magic word Rover appears.
Only on "Scrap it" plonker infested PISTON HEADS.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff