Engine oil leak in my XUV500 from rear cam cover, and DIY repair
For the last few years I had been noticing engine oil leakage near the
head gasket area in my XUV. I discovered it myself during routine inspection of engine bay area. I pointed it out to the SA in ASS during next routine service. They just tightened the (already correctly tightened) bolt holding the cover in place. That did not stop the oil leak at all. Despite of repeated reminders in subsequent services ASS staff shrugged off the problem as minor, and tried to scare me by saying that "lots of parts will have to be removed to access the head gasket where the leak is present". I believed them as I had very little knowledge at that time, and it appeared that the head gasket is leaking and since the leak was minor, I did not pursue it further fearing that dismantling so many engine parts( including intercooler and its attachments) might create new niggles and rattles etc.
But this oil leak remained in my mind always, and I tried to find the solution myself. During research and analysis I realised the leak is
NOT from the head gasket but from rear cam plug/cover, and
no large scale dismantling of engine parts is required .In fact that cover is fully removable and its designed that way only as an inspection window !
I suspected that the O-ring inside the cam cover is defective causing the oil leak. Since this reduced a lot of burden on my mind ,I went about changing it myself at home as a DIY project. But I was not sure of the results. This 2021 Diwali I had a window of 6 hours to complete my DIY.
Pictures of DIY
engine cover removed
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oil leaks from this cam cover
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intercooler intake
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removing the defective cam cover. This was very difficult as it was badly stuck to the engine
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Camcover removed. Lots of dirt and debris around
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Old and new camcover
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Damaged and leaking O-ring
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New camcover plug with O-Ring
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After thorough cleaning
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New plug/cover installed
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Dirt that was wiped out on my old t shirt
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New cover has different markings than OEM
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Old part stored just in case...It had no visible imperfections.
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Old and new plug comparison. I only suspect the O-ring, otherwise both parts are identical
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Some more zoom-in pictures of old and new parts:
This is new
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This is old.
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Old cam plug being pulled out
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Thank you for patiently going through my DIY and pictures. Hope It will be of help to some XUV500 owner, member or not .