Oil leak from power steering pump bracket au3

[oldie]

Hi all, can anyone help with this problem please. I have an AU3 6 cylinder (335k kms) and it has developed a seriously annoying oil leak from the bottom bolt (1 of 3) that screws the power steering pump mounting bracket onto the front of the engine. Two of the bolts ( the top two) are 13mm and screw into blind threads. The bottom bolt is 10mm (in a 13mm bracket hole!!!! Brilliant engineering design Mr Ford..!!��) and goes through the inside of the timing chain cover, which means that the bolt is surrounded by the oil being circulated around inside the timing chain cover. Guess what? Over time the sealant that I assume Ford used from new on this bolt fails, and the oil from inside the timing chain cover seeps along the 10mm bolt and out onto the serpentine belt, alternator, idler tensioner etc, which throws oil all over the front of the engine and destroys the serpentine belt. My mechanic has tried twice to fix this with various sealants (RTV silicone etc) and nothing has lasted more than a few weeks, sometimes just days. He doesn’t want to even see it any more. I’ve spent hours on trying to fix it myself, putting gasket paper and sealant either side of the pump mounting bracket, fibre washers, thread sealant - nothing lasts. Today I went to the auto wreckers to see if the bottom bracket screw really was supposed to be a 10mm bolt in a 13 mm hole ( could Ford really be that dumb?!) and yep, apparently they could. I noticed two things at the wreckers: 1. That the BA Barra engine steering pump bracket has changed, and 2. On the 10 mm bolt I pulled out of a couple of AUs to check if I was missing something, I saw the residue of a blue sealant left next to the bolt head. Could this be a special Ford sealant of some type that sort of works, or was it an aftermarket sealant someone else had used? I don’t know. Anyone else with an AU had this problem and managed to fix it for more than a few weeks? If so, what did you use? Hope to hear of some brilliant solution soon! Many thanks in advance. ��

[oldie]

Hopefully this photo works to show the relevant part of the racket and the 10 mm leaky bolt in the 13 mm hole..

[aussiblue]

See https://fordforums.com.au/wsmpub/augx/Part%203-4.html Figure 19 for correct sizes and torque specs. Do you have a 92mm Long M8 bolt? Is the adjacent support bracket installed correctly? Try some Loctite 1158514 Head Bolt and Water Jacket Sealant or even some Loctite 545 Hydraulic/Pneumatic Thread Sealant on the bolt. It definitely needs an oil and heat resistant thread sealant of some type.

[aussiblue]

Also note that per step 5 in Directions for Use on page 2 of of https://www.emisupply.com/media/docu...ackseal-en.pdf etc in addition to putting sealant on the bolt thread, several drops should be applied under the bolt head.

[AMB]

Originally Posted by oldie

.........Anyone else with an AU had this problem and managed to fix it for more than a few weeks? If so, what did you use? Hope to hear of some brilliant solution soon! Many thanks in advance. ��

The blue stuff was most likely permatex blue silicone. Permatex black/ultra black, is much more oil resistant.
There is no point putting sealant on the thread of the bolt, nor on the head of the bolt and on the outside of the bracket. You have to seal the shank of the bolt where it is protruding through the timing cover. The 10 mm bolt in the 13mm bracket hole means you can coat the shank of the bolt and put it through the bracket without scraping off the silicone.
The shank of the bolt and the timing cover hole needs to be thoroughly cleaned, otherwise the silicone wont stick. Do a final clean with methylated spirits so there is absolutely no oil residue left. Measure how deep it is to the timing cover hole, give the shank of the bolt a good dose of silicone at the right depth, so that it gets to the timing cover, but not so deep that you push a heap of silicone into the inside of the timing cover and it drips off. Let the silicone dry properly before starting, at least overnight, 24 hours to be sure.

[aussiblue]

There is no point putting sealant on the thread of the bolt, nor on the head of the bolt and on the outside of the bracket.

It's what Loctite Henkel recommend on through bolts that go into water jackets or oil compartments in severe service conditions to help stop the fluids eventually wicking out from the threads in service where the movement of the fastener in use whether from engine vibration or repeated heating and cooling of the bolt and the cover materials it is threaded into may eventually compromise some of the the sealant on threads. Noting the two different materials (bolt and timing cover) will likely have differing thermal expansion and contraction rates. Given the bolt head is likely subject to the same vibrations and heating and cooling perhaps t may not always stop it but it won;t hurt either.

[aussiblue]

ou have to seal the shank of the bolt where it is protruding through the timing cover. The 10 mm bolt in the 13mm bracket hole means you can coat the shank of the bolt and put it through the bracket without scraping off the silicone.
The shank of the bolt and the timing cover hole needs to be thoroughly cleaned, otherwise the silicone wont stick. Do a final clean with methylated spirits so there is absolutely no oil residue left. Measure how deep it is to the timing cover hole, give the shank of the bolt a good dose of silicone at the right depth, so that it gets to the timing cover, but not so deep that you push a heap of silicone into the inside of the timing cover and it drips off. Let the silicone dry properly before starting, at least overnight, 24 hours to be sure.

Noting that it not really practical in most case to remove the timing cover for this job and therefore there will always be oil dripping around the inside of the cover making it near impossible to have totally clean dry threads in the cover, the three drops of sealant under the bolt head makes sense too.

[oldie]

Thank you very much for your prompt replies, diagrams, torque settings and suggestions AussieBlue and AMB. Yes I definitely have the 92mm M8 bolt. Interesting to read the differences in your suggestions. Both of them seem to have merit. I would obviously prefer not to have to remove the timing chain cover if I can avoid it, but I can see that Ford would probably have applied a sealant in the initial engine assembly process when everything is clean and oil-free for best results.. I will contact another Ford specialist wrecker today that I was told knows everything about Fords and see what they suggest, and then try to decide.. I suspect I will probably try the Permatex Black retro seal approach first and see how that goes, and if that fails then maybe I do have to take the timing cover off … Euurgh..

[oldie]

More thoughts I’ve had after reading your replies. You may have noticed that the bushes Ford have inserted into the steering pump bracket to make a 13mm bolt hole are ‘C’ bushes rather than ‘O’ bushes, which means the gap in the C bush makes a perfect channel for the oil to flow out of from the timing cover past the shank and head of the 10mm bolt…. So I’m wondering whether I need to block the gap in the bottom C bush with some cold metal paste or something similar, because I assume that a sealant in that gap might compress a little under crankcase pressure and still allow oil to seep through.. Alternatively I was thinking of trying to get a metal bush to fit over the shank of the 10mm (M8) bolt that would take up some of the gap and use permatex black around it as well where it passes through the timing cover and under the bolt head. But why did they use a 10mm bolt here anyway? Is it because a 13mm bolt would foul the timing chain - and therefore my idea of a 13mm bush over the bolt wouldn’t work? Speaking of timing chains, I should say that my mechanic replaced the O-ring on the timing chain tensioner when we took the bracket off the first time, and there is no sign of any oil leaks from that area so I’m pretty sure that all the oil leak problem is coming from the 10mm bolt on the bottom of the front of the pump bracket…

[AMB]

Originally Posted by oldie

...which means the gap in the C bush makes a perfect channel for the oil to flow out of from the timing cover past the shank and head of the 10mm bolt…. So I’m wondering whether I need to block the gap in the bottom C bush..

I thought I explained it pretty well above, I'll try again.
Once the oil has come out of the bolt hole in the timing cover, its leaking, trying to seal the steering pump bracket on the outside of the timing cover is pointless. You need to seal the shank of the bolt where it passes through the timing cover.
The way I described it earlier, is all about trying not to push excess silicone into the inside of timing cover when you insert the bolt. But you must put a good amount of silicone on, because when you do the bolt up, the silicone will go round and round and may not form a good seal if there is not enough siicone. Before you put the bracket on and insert the bolt, its a good idea to rub a thin layer of silicone on the timing cover around the hole, in other words, make sure the hole is properly wetted and sticky with silicone.

A similar way to do it, if you are not confident with the above, is to have the bracket off the car and apply the silicone to the bolt shank. That way you can make sure there is a good amount of silicone around the shank of the bolt where it will meet the timing cover.

[oldie]

Yes, AMB, I understand what you mean. I was just trying to think of a more permanent way of reducing the gap between the 10 mil bolt and the 13 mil hole by way of a bush possibly, in addition to the silicon on the bolt shank. I have to take the bracket off completely again to remove the gasket paper et cetera that I had put in front and behind it, so I will get some of the permatex ultra black sealant and try what you have suggested. Thanks for your detailed suggestion. 😁

[AMB]

Originally Posted by oldie

....I was just trying to think of a more permanent way of reducing the gap between the 10 mil bolt and the 13 mil hole by way of a bush possibly.... 😁

What 13mm hole? Are you still talking about the bolt hole in the bracket?? Maybe I'm going silly and not remembering correctly. Its been a few years since I've worked on the intech engine.
The bolt hole in the timing cover is the correct diameter hole for an M8 bolt, its the same diameter as all the other bolt holes in the timing cover. The large diameter hole in the bracket has got nothing to do with it. There's also a similar hole in the timing cover for the M8 bolt that holds the tensioner pulley on, it also leaks and needs to be sealed (it has an o-ring that doesn't seal well).

[oldie]

Yes, sorry it’s not a 13mm hole in the timing cover, but it’s definitely bigger than 8mm. Maybe it’s 10 mm diameter? Whatever size it is, there’s a fair bit of gap around the M8 bolt as it goes into the timing cover, so either way I’ve put permatex ultra black sealant all around the shank of the bolt and on the inside of the hole in the timing cover as best I could– although I don’t know whether I’ve achieved an unbroken seal all around the bolt as it’s just about impossible to tell. But I’ll find out tomorrow when I drive it in the afternoon after I’ve let it sit for about 18 hours or so.

[oldie]

Well, I’ve driven the car yesterday after putting the sealant into the timing cover hole and around the shank of the M8 bolt, and it still leaks. Not as bad as before, but certainly not 100% sealed. So I’m now going to try getting some oil resistant o-rings And/or a metal or oil and heat-resistant bush (Teflon perhaps?) to fit over the M8 bolt shank and inside the timing cover hole, plus sealant. But I’m going away for a while interstate and will have to do that when I get back. In the meantime, does anybody know the diameter of the hole in the timing chain cover where the M8 bolt goes through the bottom front of the power steering bracket so that I can get the required outside diameter of the bush or the O-rings without having to take everything apart again before I drive across town to the o-rings supplier? If not, I’ll have to take it all apart again a couple more times yet. I’m getting quite good at it now…!! 😕

[AMB]

That's not right, shouldn't be that difficult. Even if you didn't seal it perfectly, should be just a tiny dribble which takes a while to become noticeable. If you are noticing it straight away after just one drive it must be a significant leak. I wonder if there is a crack or something. I assume your are positive its coming out of that bolt hole and not somewhere near that location. Have a really close look next time you have the bracket off.
An o-ring might help retain the silicone in the right spot. just be careful you don't push it or the silicone inside the timing cover. The clearance around the M8 bolt probably roughly 1mm, so diameter of the bolt hole would be about 10-11 mm.

[oldie]

Yes, took a drive into town and back today which is about 50 K‘s and the oil leak was much worse again, almost back to the original level. Oil flung over the front of the rocker cover underneath the power steering bracket and onto the fan shroud. No sign of any leak underneath where the timing chain tensioner goes in or anything around under the idler pulley tensioner. All the oil seems to be coming directly from under that M8 bolt in the power steering bracket and every time I put my finger under there it comes away wet with oil. I need an exact measurement of the diameter of the hole in the timing chain cover for that bolt please if anybody has a timing cover lying around or can access that hole easily for an Intech 4 L straight six engine. I know the whole will be around 10 or 11 mils, but I need an exact measurement if I’m going to be getting a bush or even an o-ring. I’m not going to be putting any more sealant in that hole without a bush or an O-ring because it’s impossible to know whether you’re pushing any sealant into the timing chain space or not or whether you’ve made a perfect seal or not. Even a pinhole in the sealant around the bolt is presumably enough to let the oil out. Anyway, no rush now, I’ll be getting back onto the problem in a few weeks.Cheers.