Felicia 1.6 mpi new owner.

[Fio]

Hi I'm new to the forum, and have found it very useful so far, thanks!

I've owned my 1.6mpi Felicia for about three months now, and it hasn't been without fault, but at the same time has been a really nice car. Its been serviced well so the faults I hope are minor. One was the temp gauge not working, would not move when driving. I tried a new temp sensor and that sorted it.

I then went for a full service, replacing all fluids and filters etc, at the same time I had the garage replace the rocker cover gasket because it was weeping at both corners at the front of the engine. Problem is that it still weeps slightly at the front corner next to the distributor. Was wondering if anyone else has this issue and if you just live with it. Its such a tiny leak that doesn't seem to be affecting the oil level drastically.

Thanks in advance.

[RicardoM]

Welcome, Fio!

In comparison to the quantity of engine oil that the lazy 1.6 engine 'eats' by default (thank you, VW), the leak you are talking about is nothing. Judging by the size of the photo of your car, I can fully understand that you are in a prolonged honeymoon with your car and that you polish it daily outside, inside and in the engine bay, but you should concentrate on major things. A third party rocker cover gasket could be leaky by default or the torque you applied was not by the book. Check the flatness of both mating surfaces too.

[Fio]

Thanks Ricardo,

Yes I didn't think it was anything drastic, the leak is probably less than the amount of checking the dipstick and wiping it off, every 50 miles or so. Its been 450 miles since oil change and the level hasn't changed, bizzare!

I havnt checked the torque of the rocker bolts but Haynes quotes 10nm. I'm presuming the garage did this but ill borrow a torque wrench from work and check it, but I'm not too worried about it.

is it that obvious that I'm still honeymooning haha :).

if any more problems arise this will be my first port of call, thanks again!

[RicardoM]

8 hours ago, Fio said:

is it that obvious that I'm still honeymooning haha :).

Let me see... ummm... YEAH!

Washed car (wheels too!), shiny paint, car perfectly parked, good sun, good background aso. This means LOVE. Not to mention the pretext with that drop of leaking oil, in fact just for showing us your car  I know that kind of urge.

[Fio]

When you put it like that it does seem fairly obvious haha

[Yoss]

Hi Fio, car looks good. Great colour. The 1.6 is prone to leaking from there. I replaced the gasket on mine and it still leaks, though to a lesser extent. Just have to wipe it off occasionally but it is a tiny amount, not enough to show on the dipstick. 

 

Although as Riccardo says the 1.6 is a bit of an oil burner. Mine has done since we've had it but it hasn't got worse in 40k miles. My old 1.3 by contrast never used a drop between oil changes even when it was up to 140k! Just keep an eye on the oil level especially after a long run.

[Fio]

Thanks Yoss, that's really helpful. Sounds similar to mine, its not affected the oil level. I'll keep an eye on it.

I've only put about 800 miles on it so far, in which time my previous 1.4 polo would have used litres of oil

[RicardoM]

2 hours ago, Fio said:

in which time my previous 1.4 polo would have used litres of oil

There is a rumour that older VW's need engine oil at the pump and once every 5,000 miles 5 litres of petrol 

[Fio]

unfortunately I think the rumour is true

[Fio]

Hi all, bit of an update and questions. I've been keeping a close eye on the external oil leaks on the felly. the rocker cover leak seems unchanged, however I've noticed what looks like another leak from a different area of the engine which has very gradually built up after cleaning it a few months back. Just above where the alternator bolts to the block there is a collection of oil around the head gasket area, front left corner when looking at engine from the front of car, and also a bit collecting on the cambelt cover just to the left of that corner. No loss of coolant, no mayo on dipstick, and oil level hasn't dropped :S also car runs very sweetly. I've seen on another thread that there is an oil gallery internally on that corner of the head gasket which could leak outwards?

Has anyone else had this issue, and have you fixed it? As I said everything is running well, no mixtures of coolant/oil etc, but is it just something to keep an eye on, or more urgent? Thanks in advance.

[RicardoM]

First advice: photos are better than 1,000 words. Try it.

Second advice: a failed head gasket can leak oil outside indeed. It is not that often than let's say leaking coolant into combustion chamber but it happens. So keep an eye on it.

[Fio]

Thanks, here's a pic of the offending area, weirdly now I've taken the photo, it looks like the oil is trailing from above the head and collecting there which was difficult to see with just a torch.. Maybe the cam seal at the top, or just the same rocker leak from before :s.

Its quite a rainy day and when I unclipped the bonnet I noticed the foamy sponge to the left and above the bonnet lever is saturated in water, right next to the fuse box I cant see any visible corrosion on the windscreen seal, is this a common area for water to collect?

thanks again for the comments.

[RicardoM]

1 hour ago, Fio said:

when I unclipped the bonnet I noticed the foamy sponge to the left and above the bonnet lever is saturated in water, right next to the fuse box I cant see any visible corrosion on the windscreen seal, is this a common area for water to collect?

Photo.

[Fio]

Ok! Here is a photo of the bonnet lever, and also inside the removed glove box compartment. No water in glove box area/wires, only just below to the left, which is where the bonnet lever is. All around the bonnet lever is sopping, I've squeezed most of the water out but there are multiple wires etc in that area.. Had a look in engine bay directly opposite this area but its dry on that side but I may be missing something. Also its ****ing down so I'm soaked too

looked in wheel arch and no sign of holes, no water directly behind windscreen either, which is what some other threads suggest. A bit stumped. I'll keep looking though, I'm hoping its something obvious. Only noticed it today but I'm guessing the spongey material has been soaking it up for some time because the weather is generally wet!

[Fio]

Just found this topic by Yoss, and this is probably going to be the culprit! There isn't any water collecting in the footwell so I may have caught this early! Thanks Yoss, ill try this once the weather has cleared up and take some photos, for now there is a plastic bag covering the fuse box

 

Edited 16 May, 2017 by Fio

[RicardoM]

2 hours ago, Fio said:

There isn't any water collecting in the footwell so I may have caught this early!

Umm... I'd say there wasn't a big enough, long enough rain. Anyway it's the windscreen seal and corrosion indeed. It is common to cars with not resin bonded windows.

PS

Your Nokia Lumia 640 LTE does good photos.

Edited 16 May, 2017 by RicardoM

[Fio]

1 hour ago, RicardoM said:

Umm... I'd say there wasn't a big enough, long enough rain

Had better sort this before winter then.. Its tipping it down at the moment though, and looks like it will be for a few days

But from looking through the forum it looks like a nice bit of diy that many have had to do

[RicardoM]

8 hours ago, Fio said:

Had better sort this before winter then..

Better before autumn.

8 hours ago, Fio said:

But from looking through the forum it looks like a nice bit of diy that many have had to do

One thing is certain, the leak will get bigger if neglected.

[Fio]

Here is a photo of the condition underneath the scuttle panel. I did this a few weeks ago to try and find the windscreen leak. The weatherproof tape was all dried out and useless looking, and also there was loads if dry crispy old sealant under the rubber seal. Also a rust bubble in one area which I have yet to scrape off and treat.. I filled the bottom corners and lower edge with silicone sealant, but only used a tube, not a sealant gun. This meant that when applying the sealant my thumb broke the tube and it became very difficult to get a good flow of sealant from the tube so avoid that! I've since bought a sealant gun and will try and make a better job of it when I get the time. Thanks again.