:cry:

Last weekend my front rocker cover was blowing a fair amount of oil. I took it off and replaced with a brand new rubber gasket. Last night when driving, start getting this strong smell of burning oil. Checked drive this morning and there is a massive puddle. Its dripping off the driver side chassis leg. There are also puddles of oil all over the engine bay. On top of the gearbox, between the inlet and the front head etc etc. I topped it up with oil yesterday night, and by this morning it had drained about a litre :rant:

Opinions? surely that much oil cant be seeping from the rocker cover? Where else could it be blowing from?

yes it can!

yes it can!


wow, that helps him out! hope your problem is fixed cybermonkey! LMFAO @andrewd


Hmmm....think TuffTR might be able to help you out with this one.....

when you say chassis leg...do u mean engine mount or something?

i think the rear engine mount sits on the right chassis leg. buy yeah its dripping badly from that region. I wonder if maybe the rear rocker cover is blowing now. Im not having much luck with it at the moment!

what did u re-seal the gasket with? as in what goo?

Opinions? surely that much oil cant be seeping from the rocker cover? Where else could it be blowing from?

i answered the above question... inside the rocker cover oil splashes all over the place and if you over tightened it or the rocker is slightly bent etc... oil will spew all over the place...

clean it up and try again

i answered the above question... inside the rocker cover oil splashes all over the place and if you over tightened it or the rocker is slightly bent etc... oil will spew all over the place...

clean it up and try again

can it drip a litre though? i mean a litre is a lot of oil to come out of a rocket box.....it would nearly have to be not bolted down at all and still on the garage floor for that muchoil to be coming out?

a couple of pics would help

what did u re-seal the gasket with? as in what goo?

i didnt use any. Instructions on the gasket packaging said to not use ANY bonding with the gasket

The best way to find the leak is to degrease the snot outta the engine bay, top up the oil, get a good torch and with the engine running look for fresh oil leaks.

The rocker cover should not leak a litre of oil, however, the oil can be pumped out while the engine is running and then run down off everything while the car is standing. Mmkay :)

The rocker cover should not leak a litre of oil, however, the oil can be pumped out while the engine is running and then run down off everything while the car is standing. Mmkay :)


mmmkay thats what i thought.

i used loctite stuff on mine i think. didnt seem to leak.

mmmkay thats what i thought.

i used loctite stuff on mine i think. didnt seem to leak.

If the cover is warped ya hafta use a sealer to get a seal.

Dont use silastic, it goes to a sorta gel and gets into the oil galleries and blocks em.:doh:

I use Aviation form a gasket or the like. You can get it at most auto shops. :D

This is weird, after reading this I went and checked my oil, when I left to go on hollidays I had full oil, 2266.5KM's later I have just above empty!

No major oil leaks I can see! there is a drip from the oil filter but thats it!

It doesn't seem to be burning oil at all, no mis-coloured smoke...

DOHC time I think....

:cry:
Where else could it be blowing from?

Its a Magna, so pretty much anywhere where 2 bits of engine are joined...

Its a Magna, so pretty much anywhere where 2 bits of engine are joined...

:bowrofl:

Its a Magna, so pretty much anywhere where 2 bits of engine are joined...

hahahahaha so true!! LOL

Seriously though, don't be surprised by the amount of oil that can leak from the rocker covers... I lost nearly the entire sump of oil out the front of the rocker cover on mine! I fixed it with a heap of Permatex Ultra Black, and the cover hasn't leaked the slightest bit since... although now it's developed a leak at the oil pressure switch which leaks everywhere :rant:

I'd follow the advice and give the engine a good clean, then run the car at idle for a bit and look for any new leaks. Hopefully it is just a leak out the rocker covers and not anything more serious...

im pretty sure it must be something minor because she is running like an absolute dream. It has sooo much pull, i rarely have to go over 3 grand to get a move on. Im working like a bastard all week now so im going to have to top it up every morning till next weekend lol

once again google it!!!!!! the oil is prob not leaking out its getting pushed out. Try checking all ya breathers they are most likely blocked which is presurerissing out inside of your engine and pushing all the slipery juice out. by all means use as much sticky pasty stuff on your rocker gaskits but you will cause more of a problem than u started with. rubber gaskits are put on dry with the exeption of o-rings. try looking a bit deeper into things insted of patching things up, there is usulay a reason thing go broke fix the source. there is a few prob's in there because it is not posible to fix a problem using a keybourd(dont argue this point wit me only in the future u will be able to get ya car serviced by holden by plugging it into your computer :badpc: :nuts: )

there is nothing wrong with my breather hoses and connecting parts, they are all spotlessly clean. Im going to get a mechanic to check it over properly in a few weeks. In the meantime, i will have to keep topping her up with oil and just drive it real carefully

Dave, if you're going to be spending more than $700-$800 on your SOHC engine, I think it's time for a DOHC conversion. Just leave the engine as it is and start looking around for quad cam engines from GTO front cuts. Find a nicely priced front cut then start saving as much as you can so you can get that new engine in.

Didn't you just get your SOHC overhauled and fixed up at the Granville workshop around 4 months ago?

yeah i did. I reckon the rocker covers might be warped. Cant really tell where the oil is dripping from now. But its started dripping onto the exhaust and you can imagine what that is like!!! the guy in Granville has retired :cry:

yeah i did. I reckon the rocker covers might be warped. Cant really tell where the oil is dripping from now. But its started dripping onto the exhaust and you can imagine what that is like!!! the guy in Granville has retired :cry:
yeah i know all about it...
is it the front rocker or rear??
if its the front, its dead easy man, undo bolts, clean up surface, new gasket (maybe get a 2nd hand rocker cover from wreckers, paint it or something) goo it up, leave dry for 20ish minutes and then goo it on.

even if its the rear rocker cover which i did today, should only take 20 minutes, its pretty easy man

Have to agree with Cocopopz. Check your PCV valve. I started blowing oil all over the engine bay and it was the PCV. The oil was being blown past the rocker gaskets.

And by the way, all my hoses and connecting bits looked spotlessly clean as well so before you shoot someone down make sure you're not shooting yourself in the foot.

im not shooting anyone down, im saying i meticulously cleaned out the breather chamber in the front rocker cover, and replaced all breather hoses with brand new items. PCV valve was spotlessly clean as well.

The pressure building in the engine is that tremendous that oil is being forced from the sump gasket :shock: Mechanic said it will need a rebuild from the bottom up, with the parts acid dipped to remove the gunk. Engine has been poorly serviced and most oil ways are blocked solid. Time to say goodbye im afraid. It will cost in the region of $3000 to keep on the road, and thats too much money to spend on a ****bucket that might break down again in 6 months.

']yeah i know all about it...
is it the front rocker or rear??
if its the front, its dead easy man, undo bolts, clean up surface, new gasket (maybe get a 2nd hand rocker cover from wreckers, paint it or something) goo it up, leave dry for 20ish minutes and then goo it on.

even if its the rear rocker cover which i did today, should only take 20 minutes, its pretty easy man

Yeah me and my dad replaced both front and rear gaskets this weekend. Made no difference, within half an hour of engine running, oil was blasting out of the sump. It will keep finding new ways to leak until the pressure issue is fixed. its ****ed.

Yeah me and my dad replaced both front and rear gaskets this weekend. Made no difference, within half an hour of engine running, oil was blasting out of the sump. It will keep finding new ways to leak until the pressure issue is fixed. its ****ed.

You know what i would do in that situation.
Take it to a mechanic, Say its leaking oil. Fix it.
And let them f*** around with it

Coming out of the sump you say?

yeah, where the sump joins the bottom end, its pissing out under pressure. Mechanic spent an hour looking at it. Diagnosis: oil ways most definately blocked to buggery

yeah, where the sump joins the bottom end, its pissing out under pressure. Mechanic spent an hour looking at it. Diagnosis: oil ways most definately blocked to buggery
Jesus...
Mine was never THAT bad (bad but not pissing out of everywhere...)
Maybe its something on the oil pump, Ive been told theres a pressure valve or something that may get blocked up?

Might be worthwhile getting it stripped down and getting it replaced

not stripping it down, getting rid 100%. Needs new shocks, they are bottoming out ALL the time. Brakes are starting to play up as well.

It lost about 3 litres of oil for a 15km journey to the garage. It was absolutely pumping out.

not stripping it down, getting rid 100%. Needs new shocks, they are bottoming out ALL the time. Brakes are starting to play up as well.

It lost about 3 litres of oil for a 15km journey to the garage. It was absolutely pumping out.

me you and slyts6 can all start our leaky 2nd gen club :bowrofl:
If your keen on having a look yourself you can brakes and suspension yourself...if thats all is wrong with it....
i got 4 machined discs's sitting here you can have for $100 (tons of meat on em) + $80 on some pads and i reckon get the suspension parts from a wrecker if you found some alright ones...

cause its a nice car it'd be a shame to see it go

Oh dave looks like your second gen has reached it's expiry date. Well the engine that is.
Sad news on such a promising project :cry:

Unless you consider a quad cam swap? Which is what paula and I are in process of doing. Paula got a quote of $2500 installed including engine. So might be something to consider there dave? And I can help point you in the right direction of obtaining a nice quadie.

Saw my engine today. Engine flushed, brand new rocker cover, timing belt was changed as well.
Have a think about it before jumping into buying a new car.

Its a great car, very well made and its in such good condition. Seen a few deep blue Verada Xi's going for stupid money, 2001 models with full options and 80,000k's for 8grand. full history too.

Its a great car, very well made and its in such good condition. Seen a few deep blue Verada Xi's going for stupid money, 2001 models with full options and 80,000k's for 8grand. full history too.

Yeah i know what you mean.... Its almost hard not to say no for that price..