Bongo sicker after service. Oil leaks...

[walty666]

Hi,

I put Freda in for an MOT/service a couple of weeks back. It's always had a slight oil leak from the rocker cover gasket but not so much that it ever reaches the ground - always had a nice clean driveway.

Anyway, noticed some fresh 'oil' on the driveway so mentioned it when it went in. Turns out (according to the garage) it was actually a fuel pump leak which failed the MOT (is the fuel pump on the passenger side?). I sent them the factsheet off the members area and they changed the seals, and it sailed through the rest of the MOT. What I thought was fresh oil was alledgely fuel swilling the gunk of the engine.

Next time I take it out, I notice a nice fresh long line of 'oil' off the driveway, and out on to the road, so I drop it back off at the garage and ask them to take a look.
This time it turns out (according to the garage) that the oil filter they fitted during the service has split and emptied onto the plastic sump guard before emptying onto my drive. I'm a little dubious about this as there seems to be fresh oil dripping from the lower edges off the intake manifold (near the front and back studs) which is on the opposite side of the engine from the oil filter. Anyway, they change the filter FOC and let me have the van back. That night I park it on a steep hill to try and get all the leaked oil off the plastic tray. There's a bit of a pool the next morning but nothing serious. Apparently, they cleaned off what they could with water at the garage.

Anywho, I take it for a run to get it warm, park it up on the flat and check the oil - EMPTY!?
Back to the garage, 'Oh, maybe we topped it back up before fitting the new filter and the volume to fill the filter has caused the level drop'. Seems a bit dumb to me but give them the benefit of the doubt and let them top it up again.

Haven't run it much since (35 miles) but the stuff coming out of the rocker cover seems a lot 'fresher/cleaner' than before. I queried this with the garage and they said they'd tried to pinch the studs up a bit during the service. I also since noted that they've filled it with 6.5 litres or 5W/30, when it had 10W/40 in before. Could the thinner oil be the problem (i.e. getting out of gaps that it couldn't before)? I'll be keeping a close eye on the dipstick for a while...

I've also struggled to start it a couple of times since, turning over fine but not firing (so not battery), then when it does, sounds like it's missing/running on three pots only. Otherwise it seems to be running fine and the oil drips appear to have slowed, although I'm still getting the odd drip here and there.

Not best pleased with the situation as have lost all confidence in the vehicle now. Seems it's all gone downhill since the service. The oil coming from the intake manifold, the intermittent reluctance to fire-up and the rough engine note, and the seemingely worse rocker cover leak. Any clues? Would an overfill or change in oil viscosity cause this?

Any comments most welcome. Might run it down to ADS or Bell Hill for a proper Bongo-specialist check-up...

[francophile1947]

No idea about the leaks, but 5W/30 is the correct grade of oil.
Poor starting sounds like a duff glow plug.

[walty666]

Just spoken to Adam at ADS in Bristol and he reckons 5W/30 is too thin, especially for summer months. Should be lookign at 10W/40 or 15W/40.

[francophile1947]

I always used 10W/40, because that's what most garages use as standard. However 5W/30 is what Mazda recommend.
Changing viscosities for the time of year, went out with the ark and dates back to before multigrade oils came into general use. You used a thinner oil in winter (usually SAE20) to circulate faster and aid starting, changing to SAE 40 or SAE50 in the summer.

[haydn callow]

Check out the oil filter is the correct one correctly fitted..
There was a bad batch of filters and they either caused massive leaks or massive oil pressure forcing oil out of the engine.....using the slightly incorrect grade would not cause your problems.....check the filter for starters.....I would fit another anyway and see what happens

[the laird]

Make sure that the old oil filter rubber ring isn't still on the block ,this could cause the leak,just a thought

[Northern Bongolow]

the rocker cover gasket is slightly different to the usual, the bolts that hold it to the head have thin tubes around them,these pass through the gasket and touch the head, these must be tightened to the correct torque setting. if the gasket is old/hard then tightening the bolts simply damages these thin tubes, it swells them,and usually makes them leak worse, the cure is to replace the gasket, with the gasket you get new tubes. or at the first sign of leaking remove it and grind 1mm off the tubes then refit.

[mikexgough]

Just spoken to Adam at ADS in Bristol and he reckons 5W/30 is too thin, especially for summer months. Should be lookign at 10W/40 or 15W/40.

Yup.... top advise.... most Jap owners go 10w/40...

[walty666]

Thanks all. A veritable treasure trove of useful info as always...

[mikeonb4c]

Just spoken to Adam at ADS in Bristol and he reckons 5W/30 is too thin, especially for summer months. Should be lookign at 10W/40 or 15W/40.

Yup.... top advise.... most Jap owners go 10w/40...

...but they are in a hot climate and stuck in traffic jams no doubt. I've run happily on 5/30 for 6 years in freezing Britain

[mikexgough]

Just spoken to Adam at ADS in Bristol and he reckons 5W/30 is too thin, especially for summer months. Should be lookign at 10W/40 or 15W/40.

Yup.... top advise.... most Jap owners go 10w/40...

...but they are in a hot climate and stuck in traffic jams no doubt. I've run happily on 5/30 for 6 years in freezing Britain

In most towns and cities we are stuck in Traffic Jams these days.....

[mikeonb4c]

Ah yes, I'd forgotten the great conurbations of the lincolnshire fens, where Bongo mpg drops to single figures