OIL LEAK

The message from "Melanie McDonald" contains these words:

Is that as you look from the front, or the car's left?

Beware of asking MOT stations to do anything - they'll use it as an excuse to find lots of other things to do at the same time while MOTing it.

It's as you look from the front. It's actually my local garage we're taking it to and not an MOT station so I'm pretty confident that they'd be honest and not find things wrong for the sake of it. We've had work done in the past and they've always been fair. Could be wrong though. Perhaps I should do the MOT then take it in for that after?

"Melanie McDonald" wrote in message news:ZvLSd.152395$ snipped-for-privacy@fe3.news.blueyonder.co.uk...

Hopefully it's only the rocker/cam cover gasket.

Graham

It could be the rocker cover that's leaking - take a look at the top of the engine cover on the left side - you want the housing that has Rover machined onto the metal and has the oil filler cap in it. See if it's leaking there.

If not it's either leaking from a camshaft seal which is bad as that'll contaminate the cambelt or the crankshaft seal down the bottom which sadly is expensive. Get the MOT done first then ask him if he can have a quick look at the oil leak.....

Engine or the sump? If it' on the front then it won't be the crank seal luckily as that would get blown further back. Can you post a photo on a website?

The message from "Melanie McDonald" contains these words:

You ain't got a digital camera, have you?

I have got a digital camera but batteries are flat and I'm at work all day tomorrow so wont get time to take a pic, then it's booked into the garage on friday so might as well wait till it gets there for diagnosis now. Thanks for your help though :o) Will let you know what it is on friday....hopefully not too expensive!

(1999) has

I know that those cars had some problems with cylinder head gaskets. It's hard to tell from your description, but it's possible that this is the problem. We had a Rover 200 in the family, 1.4 I think, and the gasket went.

Which then piddles the oil into the coolant and coolant into the sump. They don't usually dump it over the ground.

gaskets.

I don't know how the Rover ones usually go, but the head gasket can go without the oil mixing with the coolant. Usually the oil and coolant do mix, but I'm pretty sure that it isn't always the case, it depends which part of the gasket has gone.

Having stripped three K-series heads for failure I know where they like going - it's always between the water jacket and one of the oilways. You first get a little mayo floating on the coolant service and then suddenly you get sky high engine temperaures and some very funny looking oil as it dumps pressurised coolant into the sump. It's also rare for a head to pee oil outside as well - much more likley for one to puther water everywhere.

Thanks for all your help. It was the rocker cover in the end and cost me £30. Much better than I was imagining. Failed it'sMOT on a leak in the power steering but it was only small and they did that for nothing...or so they say, prolly added it onto the other repair but I'm not complaining. Mel.

Sell it pronto............ Dave

Why's that?