To the OP.
Slow oil leak does not sound too much like a HG issue.
To be on the safe side get a compressino test done, you could buy a compression tester yourself from halfords or somthing prob £20…
Indeed. I am almost certain that my head gasket is weeping oil in the same manner. I have no compression or coolant loss issues. Unless your car is a squeaky clean concourse show entrant I wouldn’t worry about it too much. For me, the oil dropping out of the weep hole on the bell housing on my car is a bigger worry.
Appreciate what you are saying, but it is just annoying s it should not leak. The car is certainly not a show car as it is my daily drive but I do try to keep it up together. I will just keep monitoring it and wipe it with degreaser as required. On yours I guess it is rear main oil (crank) seal that is leaking which as you no doubt know will be a gearbox out job. Though if you have no great engine oil loss it could be the gearbox input shaft seal, so might be worth checking the oil level. As long as it does not get so bad that it contaminates the clutch it should be ok for a while. Oil leaks, dont we just love them.
Engine oil loss/consumption is minimal, but could be commensurate with the slow weep from the bellhousing (assuming I’m not burning a great deal at 77,000 miles). Some of the oil that dripped onto the garage floor last week seemed a bit thick for 0W-40 engine oil so I suspect it may be the gearbox front seal that is past its best. I think I’ll soldier on until the clutch needs replacing/upgrading.
Part and parcel of owning an 18 year old car I guess? Could be worse, as evidenced by the state of the drip trays under some of the 1980’s BL/ARG cars in the BMH museum at Gaydon.
phil, your leak sounds the same as mine. i can’t pinpoint it for love nor money and ive had a couple of different opinions from different mechanics. It’s nothing to worry about so i’m told, but as you said earlier, i do like to keep it up together if i can!
Yes it would just be nice to know where it is coming from, so annoying I dont like not being able to fix or at least dignose stuff.
Rear main seal by the sound of it.
As long as it remains a small leak no need to panic it will just run down behind the flywheel but make sure your engine breathers are clear and crankcase pressure is kept to a minimum.
Oil leak from the exhaust side of the of the back corner of the engine on 1600’s is quite possibly the head gasket. I’ll get a couple of photos up of the cause when I can. Ones from the bell housing that are engine oil rather than gearbox oil are more likely to be from the sump gasket than the rear main.
Cheers Robbie, always appreciate your expert input and information. I will keep checking it and if I feel it gets too bad and am 100% sure where it is coming from then I may have to get it done. But it is going to be a pricey job to fix an oil leak if it is the head gasket. I did mention it to our local dealer but they dont seem to think it will be the head gasket but I just cannot see where else it can leak from having done the CAS and Cam Cover.
This image shows the head gasket, you can see the orange oil drain seals at the top corners just outside the holes for the cylinder head bolts.
Close up of the seal. They can perish with age and cause an oil leak.
Thanks Robbie, if they are at the rear of the head/block then it could explain it. Also if they are only a non pressure drain back to the sump then it should not cause any great problems and I will be able to keep wiping it clean until such time that it has to be done. I am rather loath to have it pulled apart when it is actually running fine (touch wood).