Follow up - I previously posted that I had a major oil leak in my 6g74 TW magna wagon.

http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=104976

Again a big thank you to those who replied so quickly.

I purchased a pair of ramps and degreased everywhere underneath the vehicle and washed it clean an hour or so later. Then slide under the vehicle and had a little look around and then saw an absolute delight - a small chip out of the transfer case where the gasket meets the engine.

Does Anyone have ideas as to how much this will cost to repair/replace?

Transfer case? Is yours an AWD?

Do you mean near the sandwich plate?

Pics.

You are correct Neo, sandwich plate. I wish I had the AWD!

I'll take a pic shortly.

a small chip out of the transfer case

Yes, but is that where the oil is leaking from?
Engine side of the sandwich plate, or gearbox side?
Is there a crack starting at the chip?

Anxiously awaiting photo . . . . lol

This will be impossible to diagnose from a photo or even get an idea of price to be honest.

COULD be the rear main seal, could be many other things, the bell housing will trap engine oil leaking and then as it slowly drops down will look like the rear main seal which 9 times out of 10 it is not.

You really need to get this car up on a hoist to have a good look around, the money you spent on the ramps alone would have paid for an inspection.

If the engine is cleaned and then driven until it starts to leak then you will see where it is coming from, someone experienced in these cars may also be able to remove a few bits in the usual suspect places to get an idea of issues, i for 1 would have a series of checks I would do to try and narrow down the issue.

Given the amount of oil you claim to have lost in the first thread, there should be much more than a drip

This will be impossible to diagnose from a photo or even get an idea of price to be honest.

COULD be the rear main seal, could be many other things, the bell housing will trap engine oil leaking and then as it slowly drops down will look like the rear main seal which 9 times out of 10 it is not.

This is what I was thinking of straight away.

There's no way it could be actually coming from that area, but might be a main seal then leaking down to an existing crack in the trans case.

Either way, this is not going to end well if not diagnosed soon because of the severity in how much oil is coming out now.

Rule No. 1 of oil leaks:

"The leak is never at the point that the oil is dripping from."

I do not have permissions to upload an image - any ideas of how I can get this changed?

Use photo bucket

Thanks GQshorty.

Now the photo links - http://s1122.photobucket.com/user/Milsome/media/DSC_0216_zps27d1090d.jpg.html , http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l538/Milsome/DSC_0216_zps27d1090d.jpg

The hole is around 6mm in diameter and I couldn't see or feel any crack - yet.

-"a small chip out of the transfer case where the gasket meets the engine".

That small chip you refer to looks like it was put there as part of the gearbox manufacturing process ie: drain hole at the lowest part of the housing so as to let oil/water out.

Cheers

If you don't know your way around the Magna underbody, ie can't tell what things are and which holes are part of the manufacturing process and which are accident/rock damage, go back to square one - degrease, underneath, back, front, sides, then run engine once dry. Then look for oil streams, the actual leak will be above where the oil is dripping from.

If you keep the car stationary there will be less chance of the oil being redirected by airflow.

I suppose you have double checked obvious things like oil cap on tight, rocker covers not leaking?

Just a hint for Photobucket if you copy the IMG link to the side of your photo and paste it in this is how it will appear .......

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l538/Milsome/DSC_0216_zps27d1090d.jpg (http://s1122.photobucket.com/user/Milsome/media/DSC_0216_zps27d1090d.jpg.html)

Further update - I degreased the entire underbelly of the car and the leak is definitely coming from the the area I mentioned. In fact, if I block the hole the oil comes out near the bolts. The oil leaks when it heats up not under pressure as previously thought. I then noticed moisture (no doubt oil) bubbling out of the exhaust manifold! I obviously have a blockage. What the?

Further update - I degreased the entire underbelly of the car and the leak is definitely coming from the the area I mentioned. In fact, if I block the hole the oil comes out near the bolts. The oil leaks when it heats up not under pressure as previously thought. I then noticed moisture (no doubt oil) bubbling out of the exhaust manifold! I obviously have a blockage. What the?

Sounds like you've done a seal of some sorts. I might be able to take a pic of one of my spare motors to show you.

Either way it will probably need to come out, or at least come apart (trans & engine) to inspect and fix.

Possibly the rear main oil seal however you would also want to work out why this happened as the rear main oil seals generally dont just fail.

Either way is a trans out job to fix.

Now you are sure it is engine oil and not trans fluid as well, is the oil level still dropping

I can also hear a tapping sound now - not extremely loud but it does appear to be coming from the same area as a leak ( I'm going deaf so it may be from somewhere else).

This is going to be an expensive fix no doubt. I just read the Haynes manual on an engine overhaul - beyond my skill level for sure.

Madmagna - any 380 engines about for transplant with the 5 speed?

Madmagna - any 380 engines about for transplant with the 5 speed?

Ok now I'm jealous..

Madmagna - any 380 engines about for transplant with the 5 speed?

Now that's the best thing I've read on here for a while.