Hi all,

Just a thing thats starting to **** me now... Its the oil leaks im getting.... Ive had the camshaft oil seals done three times, also something collapsed at the bottom of the sump i forgot the name i think its the camshaft belt, and now it appears to be leaking around the seals of the sump... I noticed a funny burning smell recently... All within 2 1/2 years is this normal!?

dude, no oil leaks are normal.. there is obviously a fault! cam seals replaced 3 times?? i think it's time u found a better mechanic, or not go to a workshop where they also sell sides of beef and sausages ( i.e a butcher ).. for the cam seals to be leaking constantly can be a number of things
- seals not fitted properly
- poor quality or incorrect seals ( 3 times? highly unlikely )
- there is a deep groove in the cam shaft from where the seal lip has been wearing on
- there is a groove on the cam shaft where the mechanic has used a screwdriver or so to remove the old one

if in fact the cam is scored or grooved, u can buy "speedy sleeves" to go over the affected area to make it all smooth again, to stop oil passing through!
the sumps can leak, not uncommon for both the metal and alloy sections to leak past the sealer.. just a case of ripping them off, and re-sealing.
the "funny" burning smell is more than likely oil dripping onto the engine pipe, and burning off as the motor heats up!

good luck mate

ps: if the cam belt had actually dropped, the engine wouldnt run.. so dont know what u mean by that!

pss: also, are u 100% sure it actually is engine oil thats leakings.. and not the power steering pump, as thats positioned close to the cam covers??

psss: sh!t, does it ever end.. make sure the rocker covers arent causing the leak as well!

My tj sport has 95,000km up. Just noticed that oil is leaking slowly out of the front left camshaft seal also. As I said, only a very minor leak, not enough to show as a loss on the dipstick in between oil changes. Off topic, Im very impressed with my magnas engine. Does not use any, I mean any engine oil in between oil changes (10,000km intervals, always using castrol magnatec). The engine is very quiet, none of the dreaded tappet noises that some people are getting. I remember that when I first got the magna at 10,000km, I tried mobil 1 oil. ****, the motor sounded tappety as hell, I couldn't dump it out of the sump quick enough. Time and distance has proven the worth of castrol magnatec though.

My tj sport has 95,000km up. Just noticed that oil is leaking slowly out of the front left camshaft seal also. As I said, only a very minor leak, not enough to show as a loss on the dipstick in between oil changes. Off topic, Im very impressed with my magnas engine. Does not use any, I mean any engine oil in between oil changes (10,000km intervals, always using castrol magnatec). The engine is very quiet, none of the dreaded tappet noises that some people are getting. I remember that when I first got the magna at 10,000km, I tried mobil 1 oil. ****, the motor sounded tappety as hell, I couldn't dump it out of the sump quick enough. Time and distance has proven the worth of castrol magnatec though.

Castrol Magatec, a blend of mineral and ester base stocks. How much are you guys paying over there? Is it the 10w40 wt you are using?

my cam seals got done around 5-6 months ago, and now my gf says where i park my car at her house, theres an oil patch (im the only one that parks there)

and the mechanic i went to, looked as if he was actualy a decent guy... and it did stop leaking for a while......

blah i dunno... sell the magna sell the magna says the evil devil....

its also common for magnas to leak from the engine sump gasket