Car spewing oil front offside.

Drove to get my usual chinese tonight.
Parked the car reversing into a space.

Got out an saw a trail which followed my course.

Looked like oil..engine not cooking.

Drove back and saw a trace at the house.

Got a torch and checked dipstick...Not on stick at all.

Looks like its from pipes leading to a cooler but difficult to see tonight.

Will check in the morning.

Was I lucky or what...No oil pressure light(so must have still had pressure)...When no oil on dipstick..did a warning light check and no low oil level warning.

Does anyone know if the low oil level indicator actually works?

Tried checking it while changing oil.Even with no oil it didn't show as such.

Anyone had similar experience? before I check eper to see whats what.

Pomeo

Originally Posted by Pomeo

Anyone had similar experience? before I check eper to see whats what.

Pomeo

Searched under cooler and found davidjbells post in MOT Blues by HowardA


" Count yourself lucky - my MOT blues are going to be about £1300 !! I'm not sure how much of the original car is now left ..

Oil cooler leak - replace both rusted pipes and count about 3.5 hours to do it.
Replace both rear wishbones
Both front coil springs snapped ... this one sounds strange.
Hand brake cables have been playing up - so rear disks have worn quicker - new pads and discs ..."


Oh dear 3.5 hours and they know what there doing

Busy day ahead if rain lets up.

Must be up there with radiators n timing belts.
Pomeo

Ouch! That's nasty

On the springs, I've spoken to one mechanic who says they snap all the time and another who says that they hardly ever do.......
So I'm not sure what the cause would be.

Front springs can snap due to poor manufacturing processes.........sounds familiar eh? Alfa suspension being what it is.

A combination of factors can lead to water ingress between the metal spring and its plastic coating,with obvious consequences over time.

..Citroen have a similar problem and have issued recalls on several models,they don't replace the springs though......instead fitting a cast iron cup below the spring to stop tyre penetration in the event of spring failure

i think rover did a similar thing to the 75....crazy

Springs was an aside to the major problem which was I struck oil.

Looks as if pipes are really rusty.

Cannot as yet establish the exact source of the leak but I'm certain it is the pipes.

I would suggest 166 owners have a quick look at these pipes as it appears to be a problem.

A look just now could save you losing oil all over the place. (REALLY MESSY)

Pomeo

Ive not even looked at the springs yet.

1 problem at a time.

I was heading to Newcastle tomorrow for a brown ale and couldn't decide which one to take (3.0 with new maf or 2.5 with the 3's old sensor) .

The Gods (Who certainly work in mysterious ways) have made the decision for me...No oil No good No go.

Pomeo.

hehe - the advantages of having two 166's

Originally Posted by niallmoran

hehe - the advantages of having two 166's

That's true Niall ,Had a look at the 1999 2.5s oil pipes to see the situation...Much less rust than on the 2001 sportronic.(Built 2000) but extra 15k on the clock.

strange that....was it from a drier part of the uk? Or a non coastal area?

Originally Posted by niallmoran

strange that....was it from a drier part of the uk? Or a non coastal area?

The 2.5 has 5 previous keepers the last 2 liverpool area.the other 3 No idea.

The 3.0 has 2 previous keepers....(Pre regd...no miles and 1 Real keeper from new in the edinburgh area.)

How true about coastal.Years ago my late father bought a retired ministers car from Saltcoats.An Austin Cambridge....Chassis riddled with rust and car started crabbing....So coastal does have an effect


Pomeo

Mine's leaking a bit there too, I've been ignoring it, I'll have another look tomorrow! Thanks for the warning.
Mike

Mine were leaking and the garage refused to let me take it back home - they were afraid that the pipes could rupture at any time and the car catch fire.

Checking the oil levels I didn't see anything untoward either, and didn't see any tell-tale patches either.

Originally Posted by davidjbell

Mine were leaking and the garage refused to let me take it back home - they were afraid that the pipes could rupture at any time and the car catch fire.

or didn't want you deciding to do the work yourself/ somewhere else


When I changed the PAS cooling/return pipe on my 164, it wasn't actually holed anywhere, but had become sufficiently porous that it leaked significantly under pressure - possibly a similar situation here?

It would mean that most of the leakage is whilst the car's moving, but as soon as the engine stops (& cools esp.) the leakage is minimal.

On examination yesterday it is definately the oil cooler pipes.A quote was £90 for the 2 pipes which is what the car is worth to trade in.(No chance)

I was considering cutting out the bad metal and replacing the section with a hydraulic hose.(if it is cheaper than the £90.)

Has anyone done a job like this?

Is the oil under pressure to and from the oil cooler?

How high is the temperature in the hoses?

Any advice appreciated.

Pomeo.

£90 sounds Ok - I had to replace the pipes on my 164 24v years back - They are high quality braided items with solid crimped pressure fittings.

I would not scrimp on it - You will regret it!

Originally Posted by Pomeo

£90 for the 2 pipes which is what the car is worth to trade in.(No chance)

What really? I haven't looked it up but was this a joke?

Originally Posted by Pomeo

I was considering cutting out the bad metal and replacing the section with a hydraulic hose.

I'd judge no unless you can put a swaged ridge around the pipe end (like a metal coolant pipe) to stop the hose slipping off. Have I explained this properly?

Originally Posted by Pomeo

Has anyone done a job like this?

Not exactly the same but near enough to have been warned by somebody else about the point above and sound advice IMO.

Originally Posted by Pomeo

Is the oil under pressure to and from the oil cooler?

Yes - operating at around pump pressure.

Originally Posted by Pomeo

How high is the temperature in the hoses?

At the same sort temperature as the sump oil - could be up to around 100 Celsius although usual advice is to keep it below 90 IIRC.

HTH

Originally Posted by mudhut

What really? I haven't looked it up but was this a joke?

OK - you actually had me going on this

Originally Posted by mudhut

OK - you actually had me going on this

Sorry Mudhut ,Yes I was joking BUT I went to trade in the Y reg sportronic V a New Vectra a couple of months ago and was offered less than £1k.Told him where to go.

Just my estimate with the depreciation and the above offer.

Dougie ...I dont think the 166 has the braided pipes.I saw on ebay the pipes for a 147 and it had the braided pipes hence the idea like the joiner/bug eradicator in Aracnaphobia...."Out with BAD WOOD in with GOOD WOOD" I think its that film.

I used this method in my old 827 on the rear brake pipes.It only required the last 9 inches of pipe on each side at the caliper.So why give yourself a lot of work replacing the whole length from front to rear for a small section at the end.

Pomeo

Originally Posted by Pomeo

I was considering cutting out the bad metal and replacing the section with a hydraulic hose.(if it is cheaper than the £90.)

Has anyone done a job like this?

Is the oil under pressure to and from the oil cooler?

I did this o my 155 V6, similar set up with cooler in the front offside area.

My advise is don't!

I did a great job, bought proper elbows and pipe, stuck it all on and went for a test drive....after about a mile the hose popped off and I dumped the contents of the sump all over the road and my car, in seconds!

So, tried again, tightened everything up and went for another run with fresh oil....after about two miles the other hose popped off and I dumped the contents of the sump all over the road and my car, in seconds!

Back to the drawing board, cut a recess into the pipe to clamp the hose more effectively, this worked well but I never managed to get a good seal where it joined the old piping and it dripped a fair bit.

I probably spent about half the price on parts and treble the hassle....but the choice is yours

One serious alternative would be to approach a local hydraulic place price up them making proper pipes with correct unions...not bodges like mine

I eventually bought a new and a good 2nd hand pipe to replace mine and it's been fine since!

wrinx