Oil Leak - might have found the source.

[clivvy]

hey guys, been looking under the new Terrano this weekend and after a good gunking and cleaning, I think today I might have found the source of the oil leak.

Removing the skid plate and looking up at the sump, I can see oil round the join where the gasket is. Just to see, I checked the bolts and found them a bit loose, only thing is I am not sure how tight they are supposed to be, can anyone confirm?

I nipped them up a turn, but it feels like I can probably do it a bit more - I am afraid to snap a bolt or damaged the sump. The sump looks fairly new by the way - no rust or marks etc, so I am wondering if, when fitted, it wasn't tightened up properly In this area? Its the front set of bolts from corner to corner, seemed less tight on the passenger side, and the skid plate has oil marks directly under this area - is it possible it did leak oil and when driving, it spread to the rear of the sump/gearbox etc?

 

[solarman216]

does not have a gasket as such, it is assembled with plastic gasket/silicon and once the bolts are nipped up that is it, tightening more will only strip/break them, are you sure the leak is not above the sump joint, if it is the sump then cure is to remove it, clean it up and apply new silicone and refit, but you do have to remove the front diff to do this, a fair job in itself as it is surprisingly heavy and tight to get in and out, Rick

 

[clivvy]

does not have a gasket as such, it is assembled with plastic gasket/silicon and once the bolts are nipped up that is it, tightening more will only strip/break them, are you sure the leak is not above the sump joint, if it is the sump then cure is to remove it, clean it up and apply new silicone and refit, but you do have to remove the front diff to do this, a fair job in itself as it is surprisingly heavy and tight to get in and out, Rick

im not sure how tight the bolts should be, but it was quite easy to turn them. I will check again, but I was fairly sure the oil seemed to be coming from the join, rather than from above the sump. I need to run the engine/drive it to get everything hot, but I haven't sorted my insurance yet so couldn't do it today - will be sorted next week though.:thumbs

 

[Sweety]

One way of pin pointing a leak is to cover the area you think it's comming from with talc but with these engines removing the fan blade is wise as it can blow the talc every where as I found out:doh

 

[solarman216]

im not sure how tight the bolts should be, but it was quite easy to turn them.

if they were loose then the bond between the sump and block may have been broken, in which case the sump will need to come off, when you remove a sump on these all bolts removed a fair amount of force is needed to separate the two, you could probably remove all the bolts and run for weeks before the sump started to part from the block, that is how well the mastic sticks, as for tightness, using a quarter drive socket with a 6 inch tee bar, then only as tight as a twist of your hand, as said once the sump meets the block that is as far as you can go, it is not like a head gasket, Rick

 

[clivvy]

Thanks rick, I'll see how it goes once I'm driving. If I find it leaking gain I'll have to get it booked in at the garage.:thumbs