Engine Oil Leak

Ever since fitting the rebuilt Tdi, I have had a very slight oil weep from the timing case. Not a good place to have an oil leak, but I left it for a while to see if the new seal just needed to bed in or if the thin running in oil was a factor.

Unfortunately, things did not improve with running in, and I lost about a pint of oil over the two-hundred miles involved in the 60th Anniversary run and Gaydon event. There was significantly more oil emanating from the timing case drain hole, and there was a light film all over the sump as a result. There was even a slight but recognisable drip pattern from the sump on the parking stand at Gaydon.

As a result, I have sripped the timing case to investigate and replace leaking parts. The cam shaft and crank shaft seals were the prime candidates. Inspection shows that the timing case gaskets are fine and the cam shaft is not leaking at all. The back of the crank shaft sprocket, though was wet with oil and there was a fine deposit of oil throughout the case. This has all been cleaned up. The crank seal has been replaced with a later Gen Parts type.

There was some slight damage to the previous seal, and inspection of the timing sprocket has revealed significant damage to the seal land. The big gouge was not the problem, as the seal runs further aft of that, but just to the right of the gouge, right along the polished seal land area, you will see a line of small pits. These, and a small nick on the other side, cause the oil loss. I am now waiting for a new sprocket to be delivered tomorrow to allow me to complete rebuilding the timing case and curing the small leak.