Franko500 said:

You need to find out where the oil is coming out of before you can do anything else. Just rev it up to approx 3000rpm and hold it there and you should start seeing it.

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OK, I have a bit of a theory!

I cleaned as much oil off the engine as possible, turned it over, let it warm, revved it as you suggested and watched.

The GOOD news is that, as far as I can tell, no new oil was appearing from anywhere. BUT, as soon as it got properly hot it started billowing smoke again. The smoke was pouring from the heat resisted material that MBG wrapped around the exhaust.

So, here's my theory!

I overfilled the sump and, on the first test drive, oil has basically blown out of the cap (most likely) and saturated the engine. I managed to wipe most of that off, refilled it properly and on the second test drive the smokey bay was as a result of this heat resistant material wrapped around the exhaust burning off a huge amount of oil.

Key question. The bay looked oily again, but could that be oil smoke/mist condensing?

Hold that thought.

I took it for a test drive again tonight and there's still a lot of smoke, but it's all coming from that material wrapped around the exhaust. I'm 90% sure that there's no leak, and I just need to be patient and wait for the excess oil to burn out of that material (or remove that material and clean it).

Here's an image:

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GrandeGuy said:

If it's the inner arch would small wheel spacers not solve it?

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No sure, here's an image so you can take a look. Thoughts?

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Pete145 said:

No sure, here's an image so you can take a look. Thoughts?

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That looks very bad
Spacers won't help, I had a polo with 17" alloys on that did the same, the only tire I could use so it didn't rub were Falkens, reason being the edges are really really sloped, almost like a VW tire stretch, these cured the problem, and way cheaper than body work done.

It seems like a reasonable assumption Pete. The oil has probably end up all over the block underneath the thermostat housing and all over the exhaust. The only bit you can't see beneath the housing is the push rod tube seals which are a weak point and as has been suggested before it could be coming from there.

From the picture is it fitted with a sports exhaust, as it looks different, It looks like MBG have fitted that because both down tubes appear to enter the exhaust box in the centre just below the distributor, so they have fitted it in attempt to keep all the wires from burning and the distributor from getting fried? I wouldn't attempt to clean it as it would mean some sort of spirit based cleaner to remove the oil and it could be dangerous refitting it to the exhaust.

When the oil first escaped from the block was it concentrated in one place i.e down the right side or left? If it had come out of the oil filler cap I would expect it to be all over the place. I suspect it is more likely to have come out of the dipstick hole if it was mostly over the right hand side. Did it continue to run ok when the oil first escaped or did the engine Konk out?

Tony

Or maybe reduce the profile, take it from a 70 to a 60/50?
That will also stop it catching.

GrandeGuy said:

That looks very bad
Spacers won't help, I had a polo with 17" alloys on that did the same, the only tire I could use so it didn't rub were Falkens, reason being the edges are really really sloped, almost like a VW tire stretch, these cured the problem, and way cheaper than body work done.

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Thanks for the advice, that's a good tip. Once I'm confident that my engine is OK (key priority at the moment) I'll take a closer look at this and perhaps look at the tyre option as a first port of call.

Pete145 said:

Hi Hugh, yes, the tyres on mine are 145x12. Slight rub on the arch.

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Hi Pete

Many thanks, I'm heading for 135x12 as a max dimension. Very helpful and it sounds like your getting there with the oil question?

Cheers
Hugh Jarce

Pete, that sounds like good news.
As Tony said dont try cleaning that covering, the heat from the exhaust will eventually burn it off.
It makes sense that it just came out of the dipstick hole as it shouldnt come out of the top unless the gasket or cap is faulty.

As for the rest of the engine bay, you could wipe it with a cloth damped with White spirit to remove the oil. But just make sure it is all dry before running the engine again.

sound like a lucky escape!

Vitesse said:

It seems like a reasonable assumption Pete. The oil has probably end up all over the block underneath the thermostat housing and all over the exhaust. The only bit you can't see beneath the housing is the push rod tube seals which are a weak point and as has been suggested before it could be coming from there.

From the picture is it fitted with a sports exhaust, as it looks different, It looks like MBG have fitted that because both down tubes appear to enter the exhaust box in the centre just below the distributor, so they have fitted it in attempt to keep all the wires from burning and the distributor from getting fried? I wouldn't attempt to clean it as it would mean some sort of spirit based cleaner to remove the oil and it could be dangerous refitting it to the exhaust.

When the oil first escaped from the block was it concentrated in one place i.e down the right side or left? If it had come out of the oil filler cap I would expect it to be all over the place. I suspect it is more likely to have come out of the dipstick hole if it was mostly over the right hand side. Did it continue to run ok when the oil first escaped or did the engine Konk out?

Tony

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Thanks Tony,

Yes, the guys from Channel 5 fitted a (very loud) sports exhaust which was (ironically) sourced from MBG. Ch.5 didn't fit the heat protective material to the exhaust, but MBG did so when they got their hands on it to fix the initial engine problems. And yes, their logic was to protect the wires and distributor from the extra heat.

I was going to remove it and wash it with good old fashioned soapy water, but if it will burn off anyway I might just leave it and live with it until it does.

The engine was pretty much covered in oil from the top of the rocker cover down, but the highest concentration was certainly to the right of the engine and directly onto the exhaust (and the shelf to the right of it). Hence why the exhaust covering got a proper soaking. The dipstick theory is a good one, as the dipstick had definitely dislodged.

It did continue to run well, both during the initial test drive (with too much oil) and the second test drive (once I'd drained it and got the level right). No loss of power or performance, just a huge amount of smoke! So, this would again support the theory that the dipstick has blown out during the first drive, oil has gone everywhere, but no seals or gaskets blew. The second test drive was probably mechanically fine, but the oil burning off looked very dramatic and probably covered the engine bay in oil again.

I'm away over the weekend, so won't get a chance to drive it for a few days, but I'll take it for a few longer (and probably very smokey) drives early next week and get the oil burnt off the exhaust covering.

Fingers crossed that I've dodged a bullet on this one and it seemed a lot more serious at the time than it actually was! I'll keep everyone posted.

Fingers crossed Pete that it's a simple case of over filling. Out of interest was that picture taken when the engine was hot? As it looks like the thermostat flap is open?

Pete145 said:

Hi Hugh, yes, the tyres on mine are 145x12. Slight rub on the arch.

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Hi Pete

Sorry to be a pain, but do you have the profile of the tyres? 145 / ?? x12. I am thinking that with a reduced profile, as suggested by Grandeguy, I might get away with the overall dimension of the rim and tyre by dropping from say 145/80 x R12 to 145/70xR12. That 10m/m should be enough to maintain some clearance on the turns? :idea:

Cheers
Hugh Jarce

How about using something like 'Gunk' Engine Cleaner on a cold exhaust to clean off the oil soaked into the heat insulation material on the exhaust and rinse it off with plenty of water?

Al.

Hugh Jarce said:

Hi Pete

Sorry to be a pain, but do you have the profile of the tyres? 145 / ?? x12. I am thinking that with a reduced profile, as suggested by Grandeguy, I might get away with the overall dimension of the rim and tyre by dropping from say 145/80 x R12 to 145/70xR12. That 10m/m should be enough to maintain some clearance on the turns? :idea:

Cheers
Hugh Jarce

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FWIW the 70 and 80 figures above are aspect ratios i.e percentages, so a 145/80 tyre has a height (from rim to tread) of 80% of 145mm = 116mm
and a 145/70 has a height of 70% of 145mm = 101.5mm so the difference is 14.5mm even better then you thought!!

Another member on here I think it was 'fingers99' recently had a wheel arch roller available for hire economically, might give you some needed extra clearance?

I mentioned in a recent reply to the OP's thread on 'Steering Wheel Adjustment' that it was a good idea to first check that the track rods have been adjusted equally on both sides, otherwise you can end up with too much steering lock on one side, you mentioned your wheel rubs when turned to one side but not the other.

Also suggest you check for a weakened front spring etc, causing the car to sit too low at the front.

Al.

Morning gentlemen;
A very useful site if you want to know how the profile of 1 tyre compares with another is:- 'Kouki-Tech--visual tyre size calculator'---on this site you can put in the size of 2 tyres and it will give you (1) the rolling distance, (2) the tyre profile measurement and, (3) the overall diameter of the tyre and compare 1 to the other. It also wise to check with your local tyre dealer as to what is commercially available, as not all desired sizes are! As somebody mentioned, some tyres are not as 'square' as others in profile--something to also take into account

the hobbler said:

Morning gentlemen;
A very useful site if you want to know how the profile of 1 tyre compares with another is:- 'Kouki-Tech--visual tyre size calculator'---on this site you can put in the size of 2 tyres and it will give you (1) the rolling distance, (2) the tyre profile measurement and, (3) the overall diameter of the tyre and compare 1 to the other. It also wise to check with your local tyre dealer as to what is commercially available, as not all desired sizes are! As somebody mentioned, some tyres are not as 'square' as others in profile--something to also take into account

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Hi Hobbler, great site Kouki Tech very informative. I know what I'm going to buy now.

Cheers
Hugh Jarce

F123C said:

FWIW the 70 and 80 figures above are aspect ratios i.e percentages, so a 145/80 tyre has a height (from rim to tread) of 80% of 145mm = 116mm
and a 145/70 has a height of 70% of 145mm = 101.5mm so the difference is 14.5mm even better then you thought!!

Al.

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Many thanks, as you say, better than I thought. All the suspension is new on the car and it's commented she rides high at the front. I think there should be no issues now, especially with the detailed info I'm getting here so thank you again.

Cheers
Hugh Jarce

Are all the parts under the oil filter cap there? You need a drop in cylindrical filler thing.

ecdy said:

Are all the parts under the oil filter cap there? You need a drop in cylindrical filler thing.

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?....as in stainless steel mesh basket type thing?

Yes, it's a mesh drop-in cup. Also check the blow-by return from the carb to the air filter; it should have a steel wool type flame trap. Also check the integrity of the gasket under the valve cover.

ecdy said:

Are all the parts under the oil filter cap there? You need a drop in cylindrical filler thing.

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Yep, the Stainless Steel mesh cup is there.