Engine Leaks

The good news is that the new timing sprocket and seal have stopped the small oil leak into the timing case – no new oil is eminating form the drain. The downside of the job is that I now need to reset the fuel pump timing, which is not easy given the flywheel timing apperture’s proximity to the chassis’ crossmember. This job will be done when the gear box is removed, as the abscence of the gear box will allow the engine to be tipped enough to fit the timing tool above the cross member.

A bigger problem has turned up, though. I have a big oil leak at the back of the engine, with the back end of the fladder frame, the flywheel housing and the entire transmission covered in oil. I had noticed that the gearbox was dripping more than usual, and I had believed this to be from the transfer box output seals, but it’s now obvious that either the flywheel housing to block gasket or the ladder frame sealant has failed. The leak rate is increasing exponentially, and I am now loosing nearly a litre per 100 miles. My suspicion is that it’s the ladder frame sealant – I used silicone sealant between the ladder frame and the sump, as is supposed to be, but also between the ladder frame and block. The upper joint is supposed to use a very expensive sealant called Hylomar 2000, which costs about £50 for a tube. Apparently, silicone sealant doesn’t tolerate the higher temperatures of this joint very well, and with no gasket to grip, can be forced out of the joint. I have just bough a new flywheel housing gasket and some sealant from Turner Engineering to ensure both these joints are oil-tight. At least it’s not a great deal more work than originally planned for the gearbox rectification – perhaps one extra day’s labour.