i think there is a leak of oil/lubricant of some kind coming from under my car. im assuming my car anywho.

the car has been parked up all day while i washed it, and i noticed a shiney brown patch under neath the engine. about half way down the engine slightly to the right (passenger side)

tried to look above it from the engine bay, but couldnt see any wet patches, or anything soaked in oil. or even a drip for that matter.

ive taken piccies, but photobucket site is down for the time being. can try upload them tomorrow.

has anyone suggestions, as too what the leak could be? my99 uk classic with little modifications, and has very recently been serviced (as in the last month)

ive decided to let the engine cool down for a couple hours before i go to work later. before i go, il take a couple more pics, and check the oil and water coolant level for piece of mind.

suggestions welsome, as im hoping its a false alarm, or next doors car.

andy

 

Not the rocker cover gasket leaking?

 

just had a quick look again as its been parked up an hour or so since picking up the mrs, and nothing. bone dry underneath.

will try running it a couple mins before i set off to work after checking the levels. see if it drips or anything.

all i could think of otherwise is if its another car leaking near me thats been parked in my spot. but in this weather any oil/water would surely dry more quickly, unless my hose wet the patches earlier?

could be a few things, so im trying to keep an open mind thus far.

 

after observing for a couple of days, i dont think theyres a leak. possibly a neighbours jeep that was parked up the other day.

anyways, the thing that worries me is a strange noise coming from the engine bay. now the noise isnt very loud, and is like a continuation of the exhaust note. but its at a higher pitch, almost like a turkey clucking, and comes through at low revs in 2nd and 3rd gear.

i originally thought it was when turning corners, but having listened it tends to do it all the time. i wonder as it does it when the engine seems under most pressure, as said above low revs in 2nd/3rd.

seems to be coming more from the passenger side of the engine than my side. ive rung jase @ scoobybits, and i may try to go see him friday or something.

has anyone any ideas what it could be. car is nearly hitting 130k miles, but the engine is 60k old. recently serviced, and new suspension too. trying to rule out as much as possible.

id appreciate the help of the tech heads on this one.

andy

 

bump for the afternooners???

jase cannot fit me in until next friday as hes uber busy, so im gonna have to live with it until then. can anyone suggest anything i can do to test and see where the noise is coming from.

i dont have the best ever feeling about this.

 

Worth having a look at the cambelt and other belts perhaps.

 

possibly. cambelt was changed as soon as i had the car serviced when buying in jan i think this year. what other belt would make funny noises under pressure. the annoying thing is its in 2dn 3rd gear....

i could handle it if my gearbox may be calling it a day. il save up and have it sorted, but i aint prepared to shell out 3k for an engine rebuild, when ive prized myself on this car, and always run her correctly. plus as above this engine is only 60k old and a uk classic.

 

bit useless i know, but ive had the idle control valve off and cleaned out, and while letting the engine run, i tried to record a sound clip of it. you can hear a little noise above the normal engine note. seems to be coming from behind the air con belt around the manifold.

this has me worried. how do i upload sound files?

 

Try taking your aircon belt off. My car was had a strange rattle when deccelerating. Took the belt off, noise gone, turned out to be the belt tensioner, now aircon gone completely.

 

a possibility, but i never have the aircon on anyways, so could it still be a tensioner even though the belts never moving? under the engine bay isnt my speciality you see

 

The belt is always moving.
When you turn on the aircon it then actuates the drive on the compressor. If you dont use the aircon, its worth a try, I only sorted the noise on my car by chance, I had no idea what it was.

 

safe to say i think theres something wrong with the engine deep inside. the noise is getting worse and louder, especially when warm, and seems to be coming from the passenger side of the manifold. you can here the general tick over of the engine, then this noise over the top, even on idle. just had a listen now, and im seriously thinking it may be time to strip the car down for everything and give up with subarus altogether.

 

have just uploaded a video to youtube, and im waiting for it to be processed. just recorded it now as the engine was on idle. can hear the noise quite clearly, and will upload asap.


YouTube - engine noise

its the higher pitch noise. almost sounds like a car alarm or a diesel. make your own minds up, but im rather concerned

 

I must agree it doesn't sound good. I would take it to a mechanic right away.
Who do you use locally? I always use CLASP on Moorwell Rd, I've known him years and do's all my servicing. If you go there ask for Steve and tell him Chris sent you I'm sure he'll find out what it is.

 

cant say i know of them fella. ive always used scoobybits in rotherham. dont mind the commute and jason has always been good with me. repaired my car recently too when involved in an accident which wasnt my fault.

 

on suggestion from a mate, ive had the car jacked up just now, and recorded the noise from underneath the car and also the engine bay. i was hoping that maybe the noise was the headers blowing, or a shunned gasket somewhere, but this video is inconclusive.

video... clicky

also taken some piccies...


looking in from near the passenger side wing mirror


looking in from the passenger wing


looking in from passenger headlight


underneath looking in from passenger front wheel at the pipework/headers


close up of the header gasket. cant see any leaks


general pic of the header ares on passenger side.



can anyone see anything unusual here. really looking for advice on this, as i cant get the car looked at until next friday, and im picky where the car goes.

andy

 

cant see anything wrong in the pics, but what a strange noise

do you have a oil pressure gauge

 

nope, that was hopefully the next mod, 3 gauges. oil temp, oil pressure and boost pressure. its weird as i dunno if its the early stages of piston slap, or air in the oil or what.

car drives fine, but il mention the lambda sensor needs replacing i think. hope the engine hasnt been running lean/rich, but wouldnt that cause knocking

 

if it was running rich you could get bore wash, it may well be piston slap

 

does that mean rebuild time? or selling very cheap time?

havent noticed any difference in fuel consumption though. still around 230-240 to £52ish of v-power.

 

dont get me wrong Andy it may be nothing, would be best to try and do a oil change first see if its any better

 

car was only serviced about a month ago at scoobybits. new oil and filter. i trust kris who did it too, hes a good mechanic.

could something be wrong with the oil?

 

have you tried the removing the air con belt temporarily. It could be the bearing in the air con compressor or something similar. I'm just trying to think of best case scenarios.

 

not sure how to do that mate to be honest...

noise seems to be coming from just underneath the passenger side of the manifold. near the block. thats what worries me. unless the noise is being vibrated through there.

 

air con belt,easy to remove, its one of the ones you see at the front of the engine where th epower steering etc is,just undo the bolt and slacken it off

 

any piccies or a quick tutorial on "how to". may give it a go. assuming as some cars come with and some without aircon, the pulley can stay there, but the belt can come off while driving?

educate me on this, and il give it a go.....

 

where is it "rig"

 

Basically,thats the bit you adjust.

as you see, the long bolt does the adjusting, undo this to slacken,do it up to tighten,you see the pulley the belt lies on, that comes loose and belt comes off

cheers

 

good luck,it really is simple job, you might want to emove the metal plate over the belts for better access/visual etc

cheers

 

no problem, do the pulleys stay on there or come off too?

andy

p.s. so i pop the belt off, and run the engine. see what happens. oh, and DO NOT press the aircon button lol