Oil on engine Zetec Climate 1.6

[iJonMc89]

Hello, I've recently bought a car off someone, turned on the demister and had the smell of oil coming through the vents to the point where it was burning my eyes. To cut a long story short I popped the hood and took the cover off to find oil all over the engine and what I believe is the injectors... I'm a recently new driver and not clued up on cars so was wondering if anyone has any idea where this is coming from? 

[isetta]

You really need to clean it all off and see where it starts reappearing from. But also check the bolts are done up on the rocker cover. Years ago I had a fiesta which started leaking oil from the sump when one year old. One sump bolt was loose.  I did it up and it was fine after that.  But as the oil hadn’t spread far I could see where it was from.  Yours won’t be the sump of course. 

[iJonMc89]

55 minutes ago, isetta said:

You really need to clean it all off and see where it starts reappearing from. But also check the bolts are done up on the rocker cover. Years ago I had a fiesta which started leaking oil from the sump when one year old. One sump bolt was loose.  I did it up and it was fine after that.  But as the oil hadn’t spread far I could see where it was from.  Yours won’t be the sump of course. 

Ok thanks. Would that be ok to power wash as there's quite a bit?

[TomsFocus]

19 minutes ago, iJonMc89 said:

Ok thanks. Would that be ok to power wash as there's quite a bit?

You can pressure wash engines as long as you're careful around seals, electrical plugs, and don't get any water in the air intake.  Steam cleaning is a better option, but not one most people have access to.  For the most effective result, get some degreaser (either engine cleaner or even kitchen/oven cleaner should do the job) and a brush and agitate as much of the oil and much as you can reach before washing off.

If you can post a picture, we may be able suggest where the oil is coming from based on past experience.

[iJonMc89]

13 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

You can pressure wash engines as long as you're careful around seals, electrical plugs, and don't get any water in the air intake.  Steam cleaning is a better option, but not one most people have access to.  For the most effective result, get some degreaser (either engine cleaner or even kitchen/oven cleaner should do the job) and a brush and agitate as much of the oil and much as you can reach before washing off.

If you can post a picture, we may be able suggest where the oil is coming from based on past experience

I tried adding a photo to begin with but the file size was too big. I've now managed to compress the photo. I will give the cleaner a bash and see how I get on. Thanks for the reply!

[TomsFocus]

9 hours ago, iJonMc89 said:

I tried adding a photo to begin with but the file size was too big. I've now managed to compress the photo. I will give the cleaner a bash and see how I get on. Thanks for the reply!

Wow, have to feel sorry for that poor injector!!  

Looks like 3 possible issues there. 

1 - The clip under the 90 degree pipe on the right hand side may have broken and no longer be sealing oil vapour from the cam cover.

2 - The cam cover itself may no longer be sealing

3 - The injector seal may have failed and be blowing up from underneath

[TomsFocus]

If it is just the cam cover leaking, it's a cheap & easy fix with an aftermarket part such as this - For Peugeot 206 207 308 307 407 Cylinder Head Engine PCV Valve Cover Repair Kit | eBay

[iJonMc89]

Yeah, it's not a pretty sight is it 😅. 

Let's hope it is just the cam cover then but in all honestly do you reckon it's likely that the cam seal failing could cause such a mess or would you be more inclined to suggest it's one of the other 2? 

Regardless, I appreciate the help as I don't have a clue about cars 😂 about time I learned a bit I think! 

[TomsFocus]

5 minutes ago, iJonMc89 said:

Yeah, it's not a pretty sight is it 😅. 

Let's hope it is just the cam cover then but in all honestly do you reckon it's likely that the cam seal failing could cause such a mess or would you be more inclined to suggest it's one of the other 2? 

Regardless, I appreciate the help as I don't have a clue about cars 😂 about time I learned a bit I think! 

Yeah, I reckon it's just the cam cover leaking, about 90% sure looking at the pic again.

You're also missing the turbo heatshield btw...  Will make the engine bay hotter, but the major risk there is accidentally touching the hotside of the turbo after it's been driven.  Would easily burn yourself doing that.  

 

[RMurphy195]

Check the dipstick - is it loose, and are you sure you pushed it fully home last time youe checked the oil? Reason for this question - it was quite common on one Ford engine in the past (think it was the 1.6 petrol in the days of the escort/orion) for the seal on the dipstick to wear, so the dipstick popped up under  pressure, sparing oil out of the dipstick hole over the engine ... new disptcik invariably cured this one! Though on your engine it looks to be in the wrong place, but you never know ...

[isetta]

Dipstick is at other end of the engine on these diesels. I think I would know if that mess was engine oil or diesel fuel from the smell.  But I appreciate if you know nothing about cars you might not.  When the engine is hot, if that is diesel it will stink a lot compared to engine oil.  If it is diesel and coming from seal at base of injector I would normally expect to hear a chuffing noise when engine is running as piston compression is pushed past the leaking seal.