OIL LEAK ON ZX TD

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andyg
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OIL LEAK ON ZX TD

Post by andyg »

I have an oil leak on my ZX TD Volcane but i am having difficulty in tracing it without stripping it down. it appears to be coming from behind the fuel pump viewed from the front but could be coming from the camshaft oil seal?, i am losing about 1 litre every 2 weeks and the offside of my car will now never need wax-oiling as it has coated the entire underneath on the offside. ANY IDEA'S.
Jon

Post by Jon »

The best plan would be to pressure wash the engine to remove all the oil that has already leaked everywhere.
Then run the clean engine and check for leaks.
Likely candidates are the camseal, rocker cover, and regretably the head gasket. On my ZX TD, it was, for want of a better phrase, pissing out oil, and unfortunately it was leaking out of the head gasket at the back of the block, and oil was making its way everywhere.
Jon Wood
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spanners
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Post by spanners »

THE HEAD GASKET IS COMMAN TO BREAK AT THIS AREA, IT MIGHT ALSO BE CAMSEAL IF THIS HAS BEEN REPLACED DONT RULE OUT ACTUAL WEAR OF THE CAMSHAFT. THERE IS ALSO ON SOME HEADS (DEPENDING ON PO NO) A DRILLING IN THE SIDE OF HEAD THAT IS BLANKED OFF WIYH AN ALLEN KEY OR SOMETIMES A BALL BEARING CAN BE SEEN.
vanny
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Post by vanny »

How does i 'pressure wash the engine'? Is it safe to use your average Karcher pressure washer?
What sort of PSI?
Obviously without battery connected, any other precautions?
Vanny
Merseyside, UK
Citroenbx19rd@hotmail.com
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alan s
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Post by alan s »

Vanny,
Tread real careful with this; it can create bigger problems than those you're trying to solve if you go mad headed at it.
My Karcher is 1750 psi so anything I point it at is going to want to be well sealed.
Basically the rule of thumb is:
Don't point at any electrical connections or sensors.
Don't " " " breathers or open vents.
Don't " " " any paint that may be a bit 'loose'
Don't " " " other person or get your hands in the flow
If used with discretion they can make life a lot easier but are best used just on the dirty part of the engine only and kept as far away as practical from anything that can suffer if water contaminated. I normally wrap as much sensitive stuff as possible in plastic bags but - hit a bag with a Karcher & the bag will disintigrate.
Alan S
Dave1
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Post by Dave1 »

If one is going down this track to locate the leak, would it be fair to say a steam cleaner may be better. It may remove the oil and dirt better and not soak everything so much at the same time. You could approach a valet service for this although they tend to be quite liberal where they spray if you are not carful. It is worth trying to avoid any waxed areas etc. should they exist around arches and wings.
Just a thought
Dave.
Dave Burns
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Post by Dave Burns »

Get a paint brush and some Jizer, rub it in and just rinse off with a hose pipe.
Dave
vanny
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Post by vanny »

I can have it steamed for 12quid locally (semi reliable mechanic as well), but i was looking to do it while it is still on stands in the garage (im trying to get all the jobs out of the way by tuesday). Pressure washing in the garage isnt a problem (first thing i do after working on the car is wash the floor!).
The washer we have isnt that powerfull (bar one head) i will quite happily put my hand in it (the 'special' head has a tendancy for ripping up tarmac, and stripping paint!)
As for 'Jizzer' i assume if i go to my generic auto spares shop and ask for something to clean the outside of the engine they should have something? Dont fancy walking in and asking the shop assistant for 'Jizzer'
Vanny
Merseyside, UK
Citroenbx19rd@hotmail.com
http://www.bxproject.co.uk
Dave Burns
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Post by Dave Burns »

Whats up Vanny, never heard of Jizer, only one of the most famous brands going, hehe you've not done much ponsing about under the bonet<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

I remember one cold winter in my garage, freezing me tits off, had just given a Simca engine a liberal scrubbing down with some jizer, chucked a load of water at it and the bloody stuff froze on it, that drove home what my folks had been saying about it being to cold to mess about in the garage at that time, so I swat the towel in on that car and scrapped it and bought another, winters were colder and lasted for ages then.
http://www.deb.co.uk/Degreasing.html
Dave
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Post by Dave1 »

Going in asking for "jizzer" is not much worse than aksing for "Gunk"!
vanny
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Post by vanny »

Now this is where im on the up, the garage is split in two, in the back is the workshop which houses a wood burning stove. Give it about half an hour and you have to open the double garage door to let the heat out! thinking about it we will have to use that for melting the snow on the drive [:d]
Vanny
Merseyside, UK
Citroenbx19rd@hotmail.com
http://www.bxproject.co.uk
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