vinkodex.
Known fault

Oil filter housing gasket: oil leak onto the belt and the alternator

Typically between 64,000 and 246,000 km. It does not show up on every car.

expensive

severity

between 64,000 and 246,000 km

mileage

1

sources

1 source. A forum, a video or a complaint.

The fault

How you spot it

A rubber gasket seals the oil filter housing to the block. The gasket hardens over the years, and oil leaks from under the housing. The oil drips onto the drive belt and the alternator.

Three things can happen. The oil stretches the belt and it can jump off (on a single belt engine that means an instant loss of the water pump and the alternator); oil getting into the alternator destroys the windings; and oil reaching the hot exhaust smokes and gives a burnt smell, and the official complaints do include burning smells and smoke.

The leak is visible: five minutes on a lift settles it. The gasket itself is a cheap part; the labour, the ruined belt and the alternator take the money.

Which model

Who it affects

The card opens the generation, the engine or the transmission.

Engines and transmissions

Checklist

Oil filter housing gasket: oil leak onto the belt and the alternator

What you would check for this fault. Take it to the car.

Before you buy

Checklist

What you tick stays on this device only.

vinkodex.com · Before you buy it, see what can go wrong.

Sources

How we know

reported complaints only. That does not prove the car you are looking at has it.

Information, not an expert opinion

We write the descriptions, and we put the source next to them. A person reviews them before they go out. They are still information, not a technical expert opinion.

  • A fault on the list does not mean the car you are looking at has it.
  • A fault missing from the list does not mean the model is fault-free. Write-ups are made model by model. Not all of them are done.
  • You decide whether to buy. This is no substitute for an inspection. That needs a workshop and a history check.
Details in the terms