Oil leak from air intake flange.

[matt786]

Hi people. My car is a Ford Fiesta 1.6 TDCI MK6.5 2007. 67K. Its leaking oil from the flange on the air pipe just left of the engine oil dipstick and dripping onto the alternator and belt. I noticed this a few days after buying the car last year in July. Had to replace the alternator a few months later aswell. Im always cleaning the oil off and shredding my hands and wrists as its quite tight down there.  As far as i know,there should only be air in that pipe leading up to the flange and after it. I dont think the oil should be there so i clean it off. I have taken off the hose before the flange and found and some oil in it. It wasn't sludge nor an oil mist. Just black oil. By the way i use Mobil Super 3000 x1 fe. 5w 30 fully synthetic oil and gen Ford filter. I know i should find the cause of the leak and not simply wish it away by wiping it off. The car pulls good and no smoke. Just a slight misfire in idle on cold start for about 5 minutes then ok once driving and warmed up. After worrying if its anything to do with the turbo and reading horror stories about this,i showed it to a mechanic. He pulled off the air hose from the turbocharger to the inter-cooler just opposite the engine oil filler cap end and it had oil in it and said i have to replace the turbocharger. My car drives fine and there's no black smoke so i took the car to another mechanic. This guy pulled the breather hose from the rocker cover and the hose to the turbo and both had copious amounts of oil in them but air filter and box were clean as a whistle. He also looked into the turbo itself and found some oil in the housing too but he said the turbo blades seem fine and there is no play. He reckons its the breather valve or pcv valve or something but as it dont come seperate,i have to replace the whole rocker cover and a genuine Ford one at that too. This mechanic said because the breather valve is not working properly,oil is getting sucked into the turbo aswell as the air,and then getting sucked into the intercooler,which is probably getting full of oil now and then up the other side into the air intake throttle. I have also noticed more oil dripping on the alternator after a motorway run. In addition he said the flange is weak point as it incorporates a seal of some sort and it starts to leak at that point or there could be a purpose built weep hole in the flange itself as a safeguard to this issue. Hence the reason for oil leak at the flange. So after hearing this i was relieved it might not be the turbo afterall and got myself a new Ford rocker cover from e-bay. Iv not had it fitted yet. Its just aswell because iv just read somewhere that even after replacing with a new rocker cover,someone still had the same problem of oil seeping through. Back to square one again and confused. I just dont want any oil in the air pipes on my car. It doesnt make sense for it to be there. It cant be good for the car and im worried about the intercooler thingy being full of oil too. So this is where i need you peoples help. Can anyone shed some light on this for a fix. I have put some pictures of my engine so you can visualise my problem to some extent. Thank you.

[frund]

I have one of these Motors and the only oil I have in this area is from the turbo getting quietly worn out. Not bad enough to need replacing yet but on the cards. What a great engine for raw power. I fitted a egr blanking plate on mine years ago to stop it recycling dirty sump fumes made a difference. I use fully synthetic also around 9k.

[matt786]

Thanks for your advise Frund. This my first Ford so have to learn about this engine as i go along. Great power to weight ratio on this Fiesta. But because of this oil leak i have been driving slowly just in case and i miss the buzz. Iv been doing some research and im finding people just replace the turbo core or cartridge after taking the turbo off the car before it completely gets shot. Do you think this option will cure the oil leak. Iv got a new rocker cover aswell as my mechanic said the breather valve has gone and that's by-passing oil too. I only wanted to do one or the other to save expense because iv spent a load of money on it already. Hence the eagerness to pinpoint the fault. It looks like at this stage il have to do both and then clean the oil from the intercooler and pipes aswell. I dont know if the egr is blanked on my car but i read,as the egr is electronically controlled unlike the the 1.4 tdci and it will put a fault light on the dash so iv been putting it off unless someone assures me otherwise. All these niggles and expenses are putting me off the car. Great concept but too many faults and expensive ones too even after using good oil. I think il change the rocker cover first as its easier and keep checking for oil leaks. If theres still more oil in the pipes after changing the rocker cover and cleaning the pipes then i guess il have to change the turbo too. Car drives fine at the moment though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[frund]

Old turbos do leak a little oil so not a real problem. The core can be bought and replaced quite easily. These engines are very good but need regular oil changes. Your oil leak should be fairly easy to sort although I do not know a lot about the breather side of the engine. I have blocked one escape route on my engine by fitting EGR plate but still fine and runs better as only clean air going into turbo. Does the engine smoke at all as this could indicate a problem.

[matt786]

I always try and watch for smoke from the tailpipe at any chance i get and only minute amounts are ever seen if at all. I saw some more than usual amount a few days ago. This was on start up. I always warm up the engine before driving from cold and take a look around the back. The smoke was blue/white but not excessive. After about five minutes in idle,the smoke dissapeared and car had a smooth idle. I think it was because i had to take the car on the m60 after about a month of local driving for about half an hour the night before. So im putting this down to oil being burned as it has an obvious leak which is more apparent after a motorway run. I don,t mind paying for regular oil and filter changes. It can only be good for the engine and i do it myself. Im nearly on my third oil change since July last year. For the breather side i can only start by replacing the rocker cover which has the in-built breather valve,so im told. It may stop some oil loss but il be surprised if it totally stops. Hesitatingly im currently trying to source a turbo core also and have been told to stay away from a Chinese make. Can anyone think of a good pre-balanced make. Im thinking of doing it myself but dread taking the whole turbo off as the bolts may have gone. After this,replacing the core seems pretty straight forward. Im getting more confident around the car as i look more into it. I will save on labour if i can do it myself and iv just bought a Haynes today. Going to look at some you tube videos too. If i can pull this off then im going to keep the car but i reckon power steering is going to go next. I have noticed the ps fluid is on minimum as is in my daughters Fiesta with same engine but steering seems ok at the mo. Could be this is on the cards too. While writing this a friend has just texed me to think about putting an oil catch can in for the breather side and turbo side.  Its going to be tight though looking at this engine.

[ff2007]

Hey Matt, did you change the rocker cover? What was the result? Is the breather valve build into that?

TY!

[matt786]

Yea I changed the rocker but made no difference. I decided to take the area of the leak apart and found a pinched rubber seal. I went to the plumbers merchant and got a replacement like for like visually. It was just a sink waste trap seal. Refitted and not even a smear of oil now. 

[Micro]

1 hour ago, matt786 said:

Yea I changed the rocker but made no difference. I decided to take the area of the leak apart and found a pinched rubber seal. I went to the plumbers merchant and got a replacement like for like visually. It was just a sink waste trap seal. Refitted and not even a smear of oil now. 

I'd keep an eye on it just incase the O-ring deteriorates with the oil and heat, but otherwise a nice easy fix!

[matt786]

Nearly been a year. So far so good. If it goes, il simply get another. At 0.50p an o ring,I'm not fussed even if I have to replace twice a year as I open that area anyway to clear out gunk from entry to manifold.