Major Oil Leak, Headgasket????

12th August 2005, 23:24

Hi, had my car worked on by pugpreformance today, had tappit reset and a few other minor bits as well as look for the oil leak i knew i had. They told me it is the headgasket that is leaking oil. I immediately questioned this because i thought when headgaskets go, water leaks through and it overheats, which mine is not doing. Apparently tho, the headgasket does seal oil as well as water, which i never knew but even still if oil can leak through, surely water would as well?

Anyway, got down the road after picking it up only to find that blue smoke was pouring out the back so i rang them and they said it was oil hitting the exhaust where it had leaked onto it. Now, this blue smoke has not come out before and i have had the oil leak for a while now.

Got home to find that oil has been splatted all over the underside of the bonnet and the engine. Checked the oil level and it is dot on the full mark. This left me thinking that they may have accidently overfilled it and i have been burning off the oil as well as it spitting out the breather on the rocker cover (which is not connected to anything cos i have a BMC filter on there)

I am not questioning the work Pugperformance have done, just looking for some sort of feedback to see if i can try to find the bottom of the problem. Surely if the oil is leaking out the headgasket (at the back of the engine, near the bulkhead) there wouldnt be a thick layer of oil dripping off the underside of the bonnet right about the rocker cover?

By the way, its a 1999 VTR

12th August 2005, 23:35

headgasket would cause overheating, and because of oil mixing with the coolant you'd get a sludge under the oil filler cap. you'd also get white smoke due to burning water. if oil was hitting the exhaust it would come out from under the bonnet as well, not just at the back. if oil is coming out the back and hasnt before, it sounds like they've just over-filled it tbh.

12th August 2005, 23:44

no it comes out the engine bay when stood still. Apparently when a headgasket goes it doesnt always make the oil go white and it doesnt always leak water.

12th August 2005, 23:48

i'd take it to another garage and get a second opinion, then take it from there.

12th August 2005, 23:49

yeah think i will tomorrow, citreon wont wanna know tho will they, cos its modified, lol

13th August 2005, 00:41

take back everything i just said, i know exactly where its coming from now, it gushes out when u redline it, must be a crack in the headgasket or something!?

13th August 2005, 06:10

i am slightly annoyed to say the least. I knew it had an oil leak and i told them to investigate it and fix it if it is something small and cheap like a seal or something. It did smoke a tiny tiny bit before they had it but now it is smoking like mad, oil up the back of my car, smoke trails all the way down the road etc etc!!! I can see it literally gushing out but it only happens on full throttle at high revs. It is definately the headgasket cos i can see where it is coming out. As the engine builds up revs the oil pressure increases and therefore blows through the gasket. I cant see how pugperformance could of made things worse tho. Only thing i can think of is that it is different oil and looks alot thinner than the oil i had in it before.

18th August 2005, 04:59

the thing that had gone on urs id called a rocker cover sealit sits between the rockercover and the head gasket it cost 9 quid from citreon like a rectangle rubber seal i went to my garage they charge me about 20 quid to fit it

18th August 2005, 21:22

its definately the headgasket mate. I am getting the parts for £80 which consist of cambelt, head bolts and head kit. My mate who works in a peugeot dealer garage is doing it for me at his work for £30

I did think it was the rocker cover gasket to start with but i know it is definately the head gasket now.

18th August 2005, 23:59

well i know what to look out for now if mine goes

19th August 2005, 21:22