UK Ford Engine oil leaks?

Question

I own a 1999 Ford Focus 1.8 (petrol) which has the Zetec E type engine.

How do Ford engines compare with those of other manufacturers in terms of the likelyhood of engine oil leaks and whereabouts do the oil leaks originate on zetec engines ?

Answer 1

first place to look is valve cover next woul dbe look under the car for wet spots could be easy to find and fix not so hard to have it put on a lift and check it out takes like five minutes to look

Answer 2

Need to Locate the leak with a leak detector, added to the oil, Can be bought at a parts house. Clean the area first and drive for about 50 miles and use the directions to loacte the oil leak.

Answer 3

No engine should leak oil!  Any leak is likely to be a gasket failure, (sump gasket, oil-pump gasket) or due to pressure in the sump from excessive blow-by wehn the piston to bore clearance is too high, after a lot of high-mileage wear.  Either way, have it fixed soon.  

    Zetec engines have stood up to motorsport use, so they can't be especially prone to leaks.

Answer 4

You've got yourself a fine engine, Zetec's have been the engines in most Fords for a very long time now which is why they are so reliable. Engines are usually reliable as long as they aren't tacky j*p / Chinese / Korean imports like Honda, Toyota etc as they are made with plastic by 12 year old korean kids in sweatshops. Fords are also very easy to service and will keep running as long as long as you service them when need be.

Answer 5

Fords are usually quite reliable to be honest.

The areas where the oil tends to come from can be anywhere, aswell.

If you whack the front the day before, thats where you'd expect the oil to be, if a mechanic has just change the oil, maybe the day before, then i'd suspect the oil release valve, or the filter housing/ fixtures.

Ford usually are pretty good on this one mind!

Answer 6

Dont know about the zetec engine but i used to have a Ford Orion which oozed oil out. It wasnt a gasket as you might imagine but it was the actual sump itself which had turned pourous!

Apparently this was a common occurence with Ford engines in the 1980s.

I've never had a Ford since those days because they all rust so badly...... surprising really when you consider they p!ss out so much oil!