Hi all,

my younger brother just bought a 2001 wrx uk spec last night, its a bug eye shape, he clearly didnt check it out properly and basically it has a major oil leak.

its leaking from the timing belt/cam belt cover on the right hand side of the engine, i took the cover off and it seems like its had a new timing belt, could it be leaking from the cams? im no expert on engines, but do the cams have seals?

its a really bad oil leak, when started the oil is just dripping out like a tap thats not been closed properly... any tech guru's on here that could give me any info or help on this pleaseeeeeeee...!!

Thanks alot guys.!

 

Yes the camshafts have oil seals at the front so could be coming from one of those - although there are other possibilities. Can you actually see oil dripping off the bottom of one of the cam pulleys after switching off the engine? Did you take all three of the belt covers off or just the right-hand one?

If it is the cam front seal these can be changed relatively simply, but the knock-on effect is that as part of the job, everything in the area should be removed and thoroughly cleaned - and a new timing belt fitted if there is any oil contamination, so this will add to the cost.

May be worth thinking about rights to reject too.

 

If it's as bad as you say and the seller didn't mention it, take it back and get a refund. I'm sure there are rights to protect consumers even on private sales. There must be some evidence of an oil leak at the sellers address?

Anders

 

yea i'll get a new belt fitted, but its more than likely the cam seals then..??

 

Anders_WR1 thats what i said to my brother, but apprently they met up on a gravel road and did the deal there, ive been trying to call the guy back, suprise suprise no answer or reply to my texts!

 

But the vehicle reg docs should have previous owners address listed?

Anders

 

yea i know, but hes from cardiff, im up in west yorkshire, end of the day, my bro should have checked it out properly before paying, he can just say anything could have happend between when we bought it and now. its bit of a shame really as its a stunning car, just hope it is the cam seals! fingers crossed!!

 

Just so's we know, are you talking about the right hand as you look from the driver's seat (i.e. cylinder 1/3 bank), or as you look from the front of the engine bay (i.e. cyl 2/4)?

We can't tell you that. It might be, but until you know what it is, you can't assume anything. It might be the crank seal, or one of the drilled-through oil pump bolts missing, or the PRV cap loose, or even something as off the wall as a loose gudgeon pin plug. The centre belt cover has a rubber seal along the bottom so you'd normally find oil coming from the central area of the engine escaping through one of the side covers.

We have no way to tell you what's wrong via the internet, we can only suggest things. It's up to you to look as you're the only ones with access to the car.

I'm getting a bad feeling about this simply due to the quantity of oil you imply is leaking. Shaft seals tend not to go from fine to totally f**ked in a second, they start to leak very, very slowly, and then get worse, so under normal circumstances they get spotted and replaced long before getting to the state you're suggesting here.

It sounds like there's sufficient loss to point to a seal being completely missing - or, as mentioned just now, oil is coming from somewhere else altogether. If the car has been sold in that state, then the caution light is on. And that's before thinking about your comment re. the seller now being unavailable. The 200-odd mile journey the car will have made complicates the issue further.

 

Incidentally, while it's probably a total coincidence, does the information given by the seller sound at all like the car in this thread?

Was your brother told of an oil leak of any sort prior to purchase?

 

Yes, plenty - see prior post. Front crank oil seal is the obvious, although there are other potential culprits.

That doesn't add up. You don't need to remove or replace any oil seals just to change the timing belt so the leak wouldn't have been caused by a belt change.

The belt may be new, or it may not be, they "look new" for a good old while. As you say, need to strip it and identify the source of the leak.

 

Yea your right, its going to garage 2mrw, so see what they say, thanks for the input guys! great help!! i'll keep you guys posted with how i got on.!