big oil leak while engaging reverse gear

[dahicori]

this leak in not that big but still a problem to be solved for sure!!

I'll try to take a clean picture tomorrow or the day after ( I have a foot strain)

He definitly mentionned the front cover gasket. He told me the easiest way to dot it would be to take out the block from the car, but he added that by doing so, I will simply destroy the wiring harness as all the plastics and wires are rotten (car parked in a garage, but still didnt run for 10 years)

I will try to reach mickaelovitch, I know he lives kind of far from my place (France cannot stands comparison with US when it comes to dimensions, but still we can have long trips inside our borders )

[v8volvo]

Originally Posted by dahicori

this leak in not that big but still a problem to be solved for sure!!

I'll try to take a clean picture tomorrow or the day after ( I have a foot strain)

He definitly mentionned the front cover gasket. He told me the easiest way to dot it would be to take out the block from the car, but he added that by doing so, I will simply destroy the wiring harness as all the plastics and wires are rotten (car parked in a garage, but still didnt run for 10 years)

I will try to reach mickaelovitch, I know he lives kind of far from my place (France cannot stands comparison with US when it comes to dimensions, but still we can have long trips inside our borders )

I think you will want to check carefully to confirm that is where the leak is. He is right that it is a pretty serious job to repair it, and in some ways, removing the engine might be the easiest way. He is also right that that might do some damage to a fragile old engine wiring harness -- although on these old diesels the wiring is so simple that repairing harness problems is not that big of a deal, especially on a 240 with a non-turbo engine. There are only about 6 wires total in that harness anyway so you could even build a whole new harness from scratch in just a few minutes if you had to.

However, is this a small, slow leak or is it a very large leak where oil is flowing rapidly out when the engine is running? The front cover holds *pressurized* oil inside the engine, not just low-pressure oil, since what we are referring to as the "front cover" is actually the oil pump housing. The only times I have ever seen that oil pump gasket leak, it has been in a way where pressure is escaping and this results in a very fast leak. That was the case, for example, for the one that ngoma and I replaced years ago with the engine still in the car. It had a crack in the gasket on the pressure side, and the leak was so bad that the engine could only be run for a few seconds at a time, or else it would have pumped all the oil out onto the ground!

If what you have is a slow leak, where it's just a little wet, then I still think you might be dealing with a different source that is running down to it. Like the valve cover gasket.

[dahicori]

thank you for the reassuring analysis! I can confirm that it is a small leak : the level has barely dropped and I drove 150km bw the oil add and the check. But still, it is real dirty and on a big drip, i will for sure notice that this problem is to be taken seriously.

Also one "good news" : power steering became very very hard two days ego. oil level was OK when I bought the car. The reservoir was totally empty, the white ATF oil must has been mixed with some dirt or engine oil and maybe it was responsible for the little oil pond I discovered weeks ago. Do you know what is generally responsible for that can of leak? I hope that my steering rack is okay. I heard it s a pain in this ass to change it!

[ngoma]

Originally Posted by dahicori

power steering became very very hard two days ego. oil level was OK when I bought the car. The reservoir was totally empty, the white ATF oil must has been mixed with some dirt or engine oil and maybe it was responsible for the little oil pond I discovered weeks ago. Do you know what is generally responsible for that can of leak? I hope that my steering rack is okay. I heard it s a pain in this ass to change it!

Sorry have to keep repeating: To find any leak source (unless it is totally obvious) you must CLEAN WELL THE AREA. Clean until it is DRY. NO traces of oil, grease, dirt, or other fluids. THEN you can observe where the leak comes from.

FOR YOUR CURRENT SITUATION with a PS system leak that means clean the PS pump, the hoses, and the rack. Then you can describe to us what you see. We cannot tell you what is leaking otherwise. Thank You!

[RedArrow]

It`s been six weeks

I agree that he should get the engine cleaned, completely. Wash it until nothing is left on it, no dirt, no oil, nothing; get the entire engine compartment fully cleaned up.
It is very very very cheap and easy to do that and in comparison to newer cars it is also much safer with less complications. And plenty of space.

And posting good quality pictures would be tons of help, too; or uploading a youtube video (or more) for the forumers to see.

[dahicori]

you're so right. Jumping out of the basics is the story of my life. So I will do that at first as soon as I can. I was trying to identify if my rack is a ZF or a cam gear, but I should start with the cleaning.

[dahicori]

Hello! Some news of my everlasting leaks

I didnt have to look too far to understand my PS leak. I remove the left boot and it was full of fresh oil. Some gasket in the inside must be damaged. A few months ago, I hit a roudabout, the rack did not appreciate the encounter with this piece of concrete, for sure. Plus, the ball joints are dead, so is the axial joint...a second hand rack in good condition worth 70€ so I bought it from the junkyard.


The replacement looks like a straightforward job, but if you have any tip, would be glad to hear

Ps : maybe I should write a new post about that, as it differs from the initial subject?

Have a good day.