Oily bits

[Keith C]

Went to look at a car on Saturday, and I noticed that it had oil that looked like it had escaped from where hoses connected to metal on the pressure side of the intake.

Now, I'm a bit concerned as I figure that oil on the pressure side could only come from the turbos, and I've not seen this on any other car.  The BOV was pretty dirty, plus a couple of points on the cam cover where hoses went from the inlet to the head.

Is this something to be concerned about, or is it just normal stuff I've just never noticed?

Cheers

Keith

[Martin F]

Keith you are just so descriptive!!!!!!!!

Did it smoke when started or driven at all ??

What i think you are describing is oil in the intake piping, which is not unusual. But if it was bad enough to be leaking out into other area's of the engine then that could be a problem.

But (another one) it could just be a failed PCV which is often overlooked and not that hard to replace.

Need to look for that smoke when driven, also after a run look to see if there is any fresh oil under the bonnet anywhere.

[Paul Booth]

Could be what I had with mine. For reasons only to known to the gods, my cam cover had become loose enough to vent when everything got hot.
Not enough to leak profusely but enough to produce oil fumes from under the bonnet after a good run.
It's always worth checking the nuts and bolts in times like those, 'just to be sure'.

[Keith_C]

Martin - I didn't see any smoke, but I didn't try revving it hard in neutral to see if it produced any - I just forgot!

Anyway - what's a PCV?

[Martin F]

PCV - Positive Crankcase Ventilation

If the oil pressure gets too high, then the engine can blow it into the intake where it can be burn't as part of the combustion process.

If this is happening too often it can be because of worn piston rings, but if the PCV valve is blocked any pressure won't be able to blow through and into the intake, so can end up leaking from other areas.

It's really hard to diagnose these types of faults with out looking at the car closely and spending a lot of time going over it. As Paul says it could just be a cam cover or similar.

Always look for any smoke on startup or when revving car. Can be the signs of worn valve stem seals, piston rings, turbo oil seals or one of a few other problems.

[Phil Wall]

Some of the rubber  hoses are prone to hardening and cracking, especially  the crancase connector hoses. Thes  often fail when plugs are changed.

As  Paul says check your cam covers, then give it a good clean and check each hose connection as you do so. Then see if you can spot fresh oil afer a run and pin point the problem.

[Ash]

The cam-cover gaskets are prone to hardening and cracking. The PCV breather hoses are prone to the same. Each cam-cover bolt has a rubber washer that (inevitably) hardens over time. Once it does the cam-casing can leak like a guy with some testicular problem.

Yours,
J