Oil leaking?

[RIC172]

I've noticed the occasional drip underneath my 172 lately and although the oil level is fine, I'd like to get to the bottom of it.

I just had a look around the engine bay (not underneath yet), and saw that oil was pooling underneath the inlet manifold. I couldn't see any signs elsewhere of oil leaking.

Any ideas why oil could be pooling here? I might take the inlet manifold off at the weekend and have a closer look.

Thanks

 

[RIC172]

 

[DaveDreads]

It's probably one of the rocker cover bolts weeping I had it with one of mine, I put some gasket sealant under the head of the bolt and tightened it back up and the leak never came back, also be aware it could be more than one bolt that's leaking too.

If you do this don't over tighten the bolts, just nip them up.

 

[RIC172]

It's probably one of the rocker cover bolts weeping I had it with one of mine, I put some gasket sealant under the head of the bolt and tightened it back up and the leak never came back, also be aware it could be more than one bolt that's leaking too.

If you do this don't over tighten the bolts, just nip them up.

Cheers for the info mate. If it is that, is it best to buy new rocket cover bolts or just use gasket sealant?

 

[DaveDreads]

Just a bit of sealant under the head of the leaking bolt will do the trick, they're known to weep from time to time, it's not a symptom of something more serious or anything, just one of the Clio's many quirks.

 

[RIC172]

Just a bit of sealant under the head of the leaking bolt will do the trick, they're known to weep from time to time, it's not a symptom of something more serious or anything, just one of the Clio's many quirks.

hehe they do certainly have their 'quirks' don't they. Fortunately, this could be an easy fix. I'll investigate soon cheers for your help mate!

 

[Amos91]

Cheers for the info mate. If it is that, is it best to buy new rocket cover bolts or just use gasket sealant?

A couple of things in case you're not too familiar (always worth checking...)

Only remove the cover bolts one at a time as it holds the cams in place. They also often leak from the seal around the cam cover and drip down onto the intake like yours. It's a belt off/change to get that resealed.

Bolt torque is 12Nm

 

[DaveDreads]

Yes one bolt at a time is quite important, the engine can handle one bolt being removed then put back, but not a few at a time.

Also if it's not instantly apparent which bolt is leaking (if any), then it's best to clean all the oil off the rocker cover as best you can, put the inlet manifold back on and run the car for a day or two (maybe a week if needed), then you'll have a better idea of where it's leaking from, use a cloth to soak up any oil then use WD40 to clean any dried on oil off the rocker cover, don't for the love of god use anything water based as this will end up down the plug channels and on the spark plugs, meaning you car will cough, splutter and die.

 

[Mr R.]

It will probably be the vvt valve seal.

 

[JamesBryan]

Brake cleaner is best to clean it up.

 

[leeds2592]

Have you/someone missed the hole when refilling the oil? Sometimes that can happen if it's recent.

 

[RIC172]

Cheers for all the tips. I will clean up the area and try and identify where it is coming from exactly. Tbh, I think I will also change the dephaser solenoid seal as well after sealing the rocker cover bolts.

 

[RIC172]

Have you/someone missed the hole when refilling the oil? Sometimes that can happen if it's recent.

I can't rule this out either as I did miss the hole recently when filling up. But it did need filling up sooner that it should've done anyway so potentially all 3 (or more) of these things might have happened. At least I now know where to look and what might fix it

 

[leeds2592]

I can't rule this out either as I did miss the hole recently when filling up. But it did need filling up sooner that it should've done anyway so potentially all 3 (or more) of these things might have happened. At least I now know where to look and what might fix it :smile:

I'd personally take the inlet off, clean up the oil as much as possible and keep your eye on it. If it returns then you'll obviously know the problem is something else, possibly the issues that have been mentioned above.