I have had fume smells for a while and just realised that when the garage replaced Cyril's plugs & leads they didn't use the rubber lead to tinware sealers. Will this be a probable cause of the wiff !
no...not really.....if the van isn't used regularly, or if the pushrod seals are weeping, oil drips onto the heat exchangers and finds its way into the casing....when this heats up, the oil starts to burn and gets blown up through the heater ducts. the plug lead seals are there to retain cooling air around the cylinders/heads,,,surprising how well they work
Poop, how long does it take to get H.E's off to check them out? At Techenders and want to do basic service and timing, is checking out the H.E's as well doable?
Look from the side and underneath - are the heat exchangers wet on the outside? Are there oil drips hanging on the cylinder heads rocker covers?
piece of cake....twenty minutes at most....worth thinking about the pushrod seals while you're at it....refit with new gaskets though
different issue....if the exhaust tubes inside are perforated, you'd be falling asleep after twenty minutes drive....
Thanks @vanorack and @zed Looking at the list of points picked up by my trusty local Bay rebuilder recently he mentions oil near the rocker Cover / push rod tubes. So given that I am a total novice the question is: How big a job is this! I am going to Techenders so is it practical to do a normal engine service & replace the rocker cover gaskets (there are 2 aren't there, and don't they need replacing when you reset the Tappets anyway?) at this event? I realise I would have to do the manual work with help (apparently also abuse) from others, but is this a realistic day or so's job? Or should I just ask on their page...
Changing rocker gaskets will take you less than 10 minutes. You'll do it as part of the service anyway. (For the record we usually help a bit before the abuse starts)