I got my newest to me 2015 xf with 67k miles on it and noticed I had the heater manifold or rear crossover pipe leak. Thanks for the good information on here, I elected to just replace it for now since it could be done without removing supercharger. I plan and expect to do the rest of them at some point.

However, what seems worse is an oil leak on passenger side that is leaking all over the alternator/generator and even the starter. I can't tell exactly where it is coming from but I believe the Carfax showed where the valve cover gasket was replaced and the alternator prob bc of a previous oil leak at about 35k miles. Do these pics indicate the same issue? Could it be the timing cover? I took these prior to cleaning as best as I could without disassembly of stuff on the front of the engine hoping to better see where it might be coming from after I drive it tomorrow and also any suggestions on what it might be or how to pinpoint or diagnose.

 

I think your right. It's been leaking for quite a while and I would clean as much oil and dirt off as I could and then monitor what comes back. It's all over everything right now so hard to tell.
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Looks like I missed a little from today's pics so I cleaned after taking them and will drive again tomorrow and then look again. I need one of those inspection cams or a smaller head. Is tight in there and even try to look thru headlight gaps. I know a sealant is used to seal that cover but will turning those screws just a little possibly help seal it? Does the valve cover have to come off to reseal it? If so that means supercharger removal I assume. The 13 I had with 120k didn't seem to have this leak and I've seen a post that seemed to indicate these don't leak oil often and I assume why I don't see much on here about it.

Seems to pool up on pulley bracket. I don't see anything coming from valve cover.

Wish I had cleaned this better yesterday.

After today's cleaning.

 

Yes you could at least check that the bolts are tight. Now they have a very low torque value so a small snug is all I would give them.
But yes the covers need to come off so you can clean the old sealer off and apply new.
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Thank you for responding. I paid someone several yrs ago what looks like a crawl of the Topix site to basically give me a service manual. The timing cover says to refer to the valve cover section but doesn't really seem to indicate it needs removed. Maybe my ignorance in reading topix. In contrast, the valve cover actually says to remove supercharger. It also looks like the sealant isn't applied to whole cover but just bottom half. If you can't tell, I'm trying to avoid supercharger removal and really extensive work if possible and the oil leak can be eliminated. Topix shows 12 nm for torque so not much. I'm not sure of design of that cover but is it possible to remove the timing cover without removing anything else? I saw topix shows scraping with a plastic scraper the mating surfaces. Then the loctite rtv and 7 min limit for sealing.

Fyi, some of the oil that seemed to have created the mess was from the oil filter cover seal. I changed it as soon as I got the car and is no longer leaking there.

 

Here are the pics from today. It seems like it is coming from the lower timing cover screw. I couldn't see oil really with phone camera and an inspection camera but when I put my finger there oil is present below that screw. I set a clicker torque wrench to 100 in lbs which is just under 12 nm and tightened some more but not til it clicked because I'm too afraid to tighten too much and make it leak more or damage damage something.

Is there any chance to just remove timing cover and clean surfaces, apply sealant, then put it back and the valve cover gasket seal to the timing cover again?


When I put my finger under that screw it has oil on it.








This is where Topix shows to apply rtv. Seems like one leaking should have rtv around the screw.
I just looked at the section for timing chain tensioner and it doesn't refer or say to remove supercharger or valve cover. It shows the timing cover being pried off at the aluminum lug.

Shows to pry cover off.

Scrape off sealant.

Apply new sealant and tighten in proper sequence within 7 minutes.

Seems like as long as care is taken against valve cover seal, you just slide it back into place and tighten bolts.

 

I would think without removing the SC and cam covers there is a good possibility of having an oil leak between the cam cover and the timing cover where they meet? Does the cam cover also get RTV where it meets the timing cover?

I have a 2010 XFR shop manual but it's over 60MB in size. Do you think you have enough info from the Topix stuff you have?
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I think it is the full thing from Topix. Guy had trouble getting it right and duplicated pages but seems like everything is there. I see some sealant at the top of those cam covers sticking out but in the tensioner section I posted pics it doesn't show anything about sealant. I might put some where it seems to exist on the timing cover and hope for the best. Looking today it seems like just the 1 screw is leaking where sealant should surround it. Not going to tighten it any more and take a chance removing and sealing it. If you look at the v between the belts is the culprit screw. Zoom in and you can see it is wet and a drop toward the back.

Zoom in to see the leak. I have my inspection mirror there to see better.

If it is really that screw, how likely would it be to remove that one and put rtv in the hole and possibly stop the leak?

 

It is finally off. Now to figure out how to clean off old rtv so I can clean and then install. I had hoped most of it would have been on the cover instead of the engine side. Any suggestions? I've Googled but seems like gas works best. Hate to get any of that in there and blend with the oil.

 

Looks like a gasket of some sort on the top between the two covers? I never found anything that removes RTV. It's just plain old scraping and pulling. Maybe use scotch brite after all the scraping is done? Heck if you pull just right you might get the entire chunk off at once if the RTV stays together.
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I have plastic razor blade scrapers and were pretty good at scraping it right off. Looking at other side, it seems like it is leaking too so since I lost some coolant already and stuff is off, going to do other side as well.

Right side cover.

 

I finally got left side done. Since I had a lot already off and some coolant drained, I looked at right side and saw oil there too so did it as well. Got everything put back on and added coolant and bled it and driving it today. Time will tell if I got it sealed good or not. It is a bit tricky to get the covers off and then to put them back on with sealant applied without hitting something and you have to pay attention to the gasket from the cover above and not pinch or roll it.

 

Thanks for posting this. I sent you a private message regarding this project!

 

I appreciate you posting this as well, as there doesnt seem to be much out there. Please let us know if this sealed the leak!

 

Mine is still sealed and no leaks.

 

Yes, thank you for posting this. As the other user said, there's not much info out there, and knowing someone can do it in their garage is worth a lot!

 

Yes, thank you for posting this. As the other user said, there's not much info out there, and knowing someone can do it in their garage is worth a lot!

 

A question about this procedure: I have the same problem but on the passenger side (right side). I've removed all the screws and components on the cam cover, except for one screw/stud holding the fuel lines (yellow arrow). Those fuel lines are amazingly stiff and I won't be able to remove that screw/stud without breaking something - probably down wind of it where I can't reach.

Is there a how-to on removing the fuse box (blue circle) for access? It seems to be riveted to the shock tower. I thought this might have been a hack from a previous repair, but I've seen other photos with the same silver rivets. Removing it would probably be helpful in finding an effect at which to pry at the cam cover. Please advise.

Lastly, about that prying off the cam cover part. Is there a practical point or nub to which I can get it started? There's a square nub near the oil filter, just out of view. I used a flat screw driver between that and the filter mount, but narry a budge. Maybe use a razor to get it started?

 

Edit: Removing it would probably be helpful in find an effective point at which to pry at the cam cover...

 

If I remember correctly I think I just lifted the fuel line out of the way enough to get the stud out to be able to remove the cover. There are pry points on each cover and there should be a small square spot but don't remember where it is. Seems like it is down low somewhere. Maybe under that belt.