The above car which is a 1998 40K has an oil weep seemingly from the sump gasket at the rear near to the bellhousing. An alloy sump is fitted. My query is that on aprevious 405 I had the same problem in exactly the same area. It had a steel sump but despite changing the gasket twice and using high temp silicon sealant the second time it still weeped. The sump was refitted correctly and new seals and sealant applied to the rear big end cap. The rear crankshaft oil seal was replaced and not leaking. Am I missing something blindingly obvious or is this just a common fault I'll have to live with?
A previous thread discussed the difficulties of acess to fit cam belts. What about a simple cluch cable? Air con. pipes right across the bulkhead access point. The French do have a sense of humour don't they? I lost mine fitting the cable!!
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In my experience with this engine, a minor oil leak from this area is the norm. You will not suffer any significant oil loss from this niggling problem. If drips of oil started appearing on your drive/garage floor then I would start to look into it.
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Make sure that this leak really is from the bottom of the engine. A common occurence with the XUD diesel is for it to leak via the cam cover gasket and this can dribble down the back of the engine onto the sump pan.
Ian
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Uh oh, because the other source of oil leaks on XUDs and XUPs is the camshaft end seal. It is recommended to replace this at every timing belt replacement, ie every 40,000 miles. If you don't, the oil will contaminate the timing belt and the thing will eventually fly off.
HJ
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Camshaft endseals have been a major source of problems on both the Peugeot 106's and Citroen Saxo's my wife and I have run as Driving School cars. A seal which costs pennies runs up a small fortune in repair bills, as the dealers for both marques advise us to have the belt changed if it has become contaminated with oil. This is said to soften the belt, leading to premature failure.
Why, oh why can't manufacturers use a timing chain instead? I would willingly put up with a little extra noise, and a few quid more on the purchase price to greatly reduce the risk of a potentially disasterous failure.
While I'm on the subject, if they must use a rubber belt, can they at least fit a transparent cover, so at least you get some warning of an imminent break.
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Thanks for the replys so far. Engine above sump dry as a bone all round. Its just at the back of the engine at the bellhousing end and its the second car I've had this problem on. Due to the tilt of the engine the gasket at the back will. probably be under oil all the time
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Are you using synthetic oil ,if so go back to mineral oil .synthetic oil tends to seep past the gasgets on these engines and find all the weakest points(early models)
regards Andy Bairsto
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In my early days of motoring, ALL engines leaked oil but, a great help was to check and clean the crankcase breather. Are these modern engines fitted with a breather to reduce crankcase pressure ?
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