MX-5 OC Forum

i have a fairly slow oil leak on my 1992 1.6 car, and have been informed by a couple of people that it's probably the head gasket that needs changing.  How tricky is it to do this at home?  I have limited knowledge of car mechanics, but also a limited wallet so don't fancy forking out for the prices i've been quoted!

any help is much appreciated!

 Before spending big money, give the engine a good clean and wash using some GUNK. You brush it among-st all the dirt and oil then rinse it off with warm water, but don't forget to wrap up any electrics with polythene bags etc. When it is clean keep a close eye on it to try and diagnose where it is leaking, it could be something as simple as the cam cover seal needing to replaced.  

If we new where you lived you may get an offer from someone near to you to come and help you out.

 I have had similar issues recently and thought I had a head gasket leak. I knew rhe CAS was leaking so changed the "O" ring on that and have also changed the cam cover gasket. By doing those two has made the engine virtually oil tight. I do have a very small leak that I still have to find but it is very minimal and causes no real problem.

i would echo the above comment...cam cover gasket far more common problem in a 5 than headgasket failure...and much easier  / cheaper to fix :)

To answer your question about changing the gasket yourself, really depends on how limited your mechanical knowledge is and more so what tools and equipment you have access to. I'd advise you go and by a Veloce workshop manual and read through the procedure yourself then decide if it's a job you want to tackle. Allow yourself plemty of time to do it, better to spend 2 weekends doing it once than 2 weekends doing it twice.

Thanks for your help guys. I live in Gosport hampshire if anyone is local!  The leak appears to be coming from behind the exhaust heat shield, but ive not yet had that off to have a proper nosey.  thankyou all for your help!

Living where you do, I would pop over and see Andrew at Autolink for an opinion. He is a very reputable guy and a first class MK5 tech.

 mmmm if its an oil leak i think its your rocker cover gasket.

 I replied previously to this post regarding a similar issue on my car which I thought I had fixed. However looking round yesterday while i am confident that the CAS is no longer leaking and i heve fitted a new cam cover gasket I do still have a leak from I think the right rear corner area. It is nit huge but after a few weeks it will start to run down the engine ang bell housing in that area. It causes no running issues and is simply wiped away with some degreaser but it is a bit annoying. I can only think that there is a small weep from the head gasket but i cannot pinpoint it even searching with a torch an small extendable mirror. Very frustrating.

The head gasket has viton oil seals around a couple of the oil gallery holes near the back of the head. These seals can perish and start to weep.

A quick note if you do decide that you need to go the head gasket route.  Someone's already mentioned making sure that you have all the available tools, and to take your time.  This really is very important - getting to the head gasket is fiddly, but generally as long as you're methodical and sensible and have a good guide to work from, it's perfectly manageable.

There are a couple of things that you really do need to have / have access to though - firstly and most importantly, a torque wrench.  The head bolts have specific torque settings, and it is CRUCIAL that these are done correctly.  Too tight and you'll risk warping / cracking the head, and too loose and all manner of poo can come your way in the guise of nasty engine problems (we had this on the other half's Capri - had to redo the head gaskets and found the head bolts were literally finger tight.  We think that was probably the root cause of the car needing a lot of TLC...).

The other is getting your hands on some feeler gauges (much cheaper than a torque wrench!) as you'll need these for valve clearances.

Best of luck finding the problem.

Amy.

Amy:

The other is getting your hands on some feeler gauges (much cheaper than a torque wrench!) as you'll need these for valve clearances.

Not required on this engine as it has hydraulic lash adjusters.

niggle:

Amy:

The other is getting your hands on some feeler gauges (much cheaper than a torque wrench!) as you'll need these for valve clearances.

Not required on this engine as it has hydraulic lash adjusters.

 

Coo, very fancy...

(I'm used to working on rather older engines, my bad, apologies)

No apology necessary.

Depends on what you mean by "older". The first engine that I came across with hydraulic tappets was the GM Family II OHC engine introduced in Vauxhall/Opel FWD models in the late 70's. I suspect that hydraulic tappets had appeared elsewhere before then.

niggle:

Depends on what you mean by "older".

I'm most used to working on Mini engines (proper ones, not these modern things) which hadn't much changed since the original 60s design and 1950s engines as well (see my sig) and definitely need feeler gauges for both :)  I'm hoping not to have to find out what I need to do to my 5 in order to get at the head gasket (at least, not for quite a few miles!)