oils leaks

[shaunmorris]

Hello Chaps
my 400 chim has developed very nice covering of oil on the underside. Whilst this is great for rust proofing, my garage floor is becoming a complete oil slick. The oil seems to be coming from the front of the engine but I cannot see where. Is there a common problem at the front of the engine that I can investigate or is it just a matter of Trial and error, any help would be usefull.

[torquemada]

I developed a similar leak after the last service. Seems to be coming from the oil pressure sender. Not sure if this can be nipped up, or if a gasket needs replacing, and whether this can be done without draining the oil? Hopefully an expert will be along soon.

[tahiti450]

There are many places for the engine to leak from. The pressure sender is notorious for this (mine leaks too) but other options are the rocker cover gaskets which can easily be misplaced and leave a big gap for oil to pour out of(down the side of the engine, the front crank oil seal can leak, which would probably end up dripping of the sender as well and of course the sump gasket itself could be responsible. Best thing to do if its not obvious is to give the engine a thorough clean (hot pressure wash - with care) then run it stationary for a while to see if anything shows it not try a drive with plenty of Gs to throw the oil around a bit and see if it leaks then (e.g sump gasket, crank seals).

[chimalsu]

TRY TIGHTENING THE SUMP BOLTS THESE CAN WORK LOOSE AND OIL SPREADS UP WHILST DRIVING

[andy11]

Just had the oil pressure switch go on mine, its on the drivers side of the block near the front of the engine. If you can get to a garage somewhere and get under it when its running you will soon find it.

[That Daddy]

try cleaning around the oil pressure lamp warning switch,and gauge sender switch and wrap in kitchen roll,then run for a while nice & warm, and see if you have oil being soaked into the kitchen roll,worth a go, take the previous replys advice also.

[aaandy]

As previously mentioned it may just need the sump bolts, and sump plug tightning. Guess that there is also some kind of gasket on the sump too, but not sure on that one.

[tahiti450]

aaandy said:

........ Guess that there is also some kind of gasket on the sump too, but not sure on that one.

Oh
and a word of warning - if you tighten up the sump bolts too much you can end up splitting the gasket across the bolt holes which is sometimes a cause of leakage despite the bolts being tight. Because the sump is pressed steel it flexes quite a bit along the flange so over tightening the bolts can cause distortion and may be counterproductive in terms of sealing. Obviously they need to be reasonably tight but dont go wild! 17lbft is the recommended torque.

[shaunmorris]

Thanks for that guys, took out the oil pressure sender unit to find it has a rubber seal. this has gone hard and is probably the problem. should this be a copper seal as the sump plug?