Having just posted this in my dodgy old build thread (see signature link) it may be worth putting a copy here... Seriously interested in your opinions...


Here we are --- Story so far -

Had an oil leak that left a puddle wherever I stopped. Front of engine was covered in very old oil build up and was dribbling everywhere.

Cleaned it with a degreaser after replacing the rocker cover and seals (that were leaking originally...)

Decided that my educated guess (some would suggest uneducated) of the problem stemming from the front crank seal area was spot on.
Thanks to everyone who has been suggesting the fixes for this leak. I checked all of your suggestions multiple times and spent many hours scratching my head before deciding the only place it could be was the crank seal.

Spent all morning removing the harmonic balancer and couldn't see a single drop of oil anywhere on the drive shaft seal that would indicate any form of leak from that area. Started pulling off the tensioner assembly just out of curiosity.


Now, bugger me... !



What the hell?!!!

WTF how did that happen do ya know?

nice fix,oils not under pressure,goooooooooooood for the concrete and saves gallons of oil and the ++++ its fixed.

I'd be removing the timing cover.

My guess would be the rounded head allen key bolt has come loose on the aux shaft, fallen, and wedged in between the cog and cover - bang.

If this is the case, you might get a fright when the chain comes through next.

what ever it was it came from the inside -out,by the tears on the cover edges.

HOLY f**k!!

No wonder it was leaking oil...

Thanks for all the prompt and relevant replies... I am going to start with this...

Quite right Pimped sire, quite right.


Yeah, guess you could be right on coming from the inside. Although I'd love to think it was something external left on the engine that wedged between the belt and the cover...... Gawd damn it. Still, the missus is beginning to like Fords... If the Subaru had a hole in it that big it would have stopped 20,000km ago - but the Ford still does 0-100 in under 8 seconds!


Yeah - I cringe thinking about it...!


I like this one the best superdude. Only thing, it kind of ignores the possibilty that the cam chain is now loose and therefore timing at high revs is so far off I am amazed the motor doesn't run backwards...! Seriously though - having a loose cam chain could mean a real lumpy idle??




Well, saved this reply for last.

I ain't no mechanic - as some are aware, I didn't even change a brake pad on a car until I got the white Fairmont EF wagon in early 07. I agree completely with everything you say, and am definately going down that route sometime soon...

When pulling the rocker cover off the other stationwagon, the cam chain was new and tight over the top sprocket up there. When replacing that cover onto this motor I found the chain to be unacceptably loose, but it still works and I don't know enough about it to work on it myself.

I am learning tho and am now considering pulling the front off the Fairmont sedan I bought for parts. At least that will teach myself how to remove the area and show me what it should have looked like before this missile launched through the damn thing.



The motor is still overheating slightly too, maybe I'll have a go at water pump as have done new radiator, lines, taps and hoses and even put new fans in the front... They all seem to work well, but still overheating when hitting traffic after a nice 100km/h run down the motorway...

I would say that you have dropped the ball out of the PCV at some stage. Mine did and all was fine for 15,000k until bang and two nice holes. One in the exact same position/size as yours, plus another down low.

The ball drops and finds a nice spot where it can spin as the chain brushes over it. Eventually you get a bur and the ball refuses to spin and becomes a rocket.

You will need a new cover and guides. Chain is probably ok.....But while your there you might as well.

cheers
Scott

See, THIS IS WHY I REMAIN A MEMBER OF FORDMODS.

Only when the going gets tough do the tough pick up a fence wire, a little kangaroo dung, three centipeedes and a rusty nail to fix a hole the size of a golfball in a magnesium cover.

Ahah - car has done more than 20,000 since owning it (six months) and promise you that this has not happened whilst I have been behind the wheel. At least, would like to believe I would have noticed - and it has always seemed to leak oil - the fact that there was a centimeter deep build of of gunge around the right hand front of engine should confirm this to some extent.

As old mate Krytox (of soldering iron hands fame) wrote above, taking that whole cover off is now a distinct possibility. Happen to have two other EF Fairmonts to pick parts from so will most likely borrow the harmonic balancer puller again and attack the front of the sedan model with gusto, enthusiasm, and some imitation of knowledge / skill. This should show me (in theory) what an original one looks like and how it works.

The PCV ball bearing thing -- Is that the valve that sits at the very top of the rocker cover on front passenger side (right side of motor if looking directly at it)???? That valve was making a lot of bouncing sounds when you turn off the motor, so it's either been replaced or still has a bearing in it. Cannot remember if I swapped it with another one when getting the rocker cover sandblasted, but either way I like the suggestion a whole heap more than finding the cam tensioners missing / mutilated!!!

The fact you've had a hole in the same place is reassuring.

You're still on FORDMODS and helping out, so there's hope for the old EF yet.

Although, one day I will have to look at a lower K's replacement engine. You can get Tickford ones over here for between $700-$1000 and standard EF $400-600. Which works out cheaper than replacing the big end bearings and oil pump and getting some AU bolts put through the head!

Still, learning about the cars workings is bloody interesting.

I was laughing hard for the whole first half of the Warriors VS Melbourne rugby league game yesterday as I kept looking at the photos of the hole and thinking about all the oil patches it has left in every town around the North Island of New Zealand. Bloody amazing things, motors.

Am now of to lookup what a PCV is to make sure I understand you right.


Cheers all...


The mystery of the inch squared hole in magnesium cover appears to have three suspects, none of which were Large Spanner, Rock or UFO.

Just hope it is the PCV thing and not something more vital / damage causing. If it was that vital, I guess motor would've stopped running long ago and the MacGuvered Kangaroo droppings would've been applied already.

http://www.fordmods.com/forums/viewtopi ... %20bearing ???

Unbelievable, What a hole!!!, Its huge, those plastic damn PCV Valves should be outlawed!!

not helpful, but i love the way you display your pics! bloody awesome

all i can say is W.T.F nice repair job tho !!!

in relation to your hole,you should have just stuck some hair around it,somebody would have plugged it!!!

I'd put money on it being from the outside. I had the same hole caused by my belt tensioner exploding and smashing the arm type looking thing which normally hangs out where the hole is.
"arm type looking thing" is the technical term for the thing that sticks out on most timing covers for lining up top dead center.

You're just to damn hot for your own good...


Thanks, and WTF was all I could think of when first seeing it too...


Yeahp. Although... I do remember car doing a god almighty backfire once for no particular reason, so could have happened to previous owner too...



Now, here's an interesting thought. If the belt runs near that position (which it does) and something was sitting on it (like a large spanner, rock or dislodged UFO landed gear) then chances are it would take off that incredibly weak looking attachment that sticks out the front.

On first viewing it did look like something had flown in and hit it... The marks that others have suggested mean it's come from the inside may have been amplified by the start of the cleanup and porting tool use...


Hmmmppphh.... Don't know what to do right now - but long term will definately pull the whole timing lot off and get it replaced.

By the time I get that far I may have learnt enough to do it myself. Only Ford phreaks I know are on this site, and you guys are just too damn far away to rescue me if I stuff it!