Leaking Sending Unit/Gasket

[Banar]

Just as the season begins and I have to ship out, my T bird spoke up with an engine light and a leaking sending unit on the passengers side valve cover. It is not nice to see, but it is losing oil and the local Ford guys can not tell what this is from. Neither can they they say how simple, nor difficult either. Is this just the gasket around the unit or is it part of the valve cover?- nothing in their books seems to give a clear answer. So off to talk with you guys and see if yours have done the same wonderful little trick. They are not even sure if it is covered by an extended warranty. I will welcome all to chime in, especially if a proper name and part number etc. can be uncovered. I hope to learn more and have this to be set up to get a remedy timed for my next leave in a few weeks.

[00mustng]

Re: Leaking Sending Unit/Gasket

....is there a local Ford/ Lincoln dealership?....they should be more familiar with the AJ30/35 engine....

[Banar]

Re: Leaking Sending Unit/Gasket

I do have a Linc/Merc Dealer another few odd miles from the Ford characters. Should not both dealers have pretty much the same knowledge at their disposal?

[00mustng]

Re: Leaking Sending Unit/Gasket

.....the Lincoln dealer should have, by all accounts, more experience by virtue of the fact that the Lincoln LS is the same platform as the T-Bird.....My Ford dealer who is not a Lincoln dealer just doesn't care....They don't even know how much oil to put in the crank case...as I found out after they overfilled it.....

[Lonestar]

Re: Leaking Sending Unit/Gasket

Are you sure we are talking about a sending unit on the passenger side valve cover or the cam positioning sensor on the timing chain cover? IE, is the leak coming from the sensor at the front /top of the valve cover (actually cam sprocket chain cover) or from a sending unit that I can not find on my passenger side valve cover?

[DavidA]

Re: Leaking Sending Unit/Gasket

TAKE THE CAR TO A LINCOLN DEALER EVERY TIME!!!

I say this over and over ... it is more Lincoln than Ford. ALL the running gear is Lincoln LS and has nothing in common with any Ford.

[Banar]

Re: Leaking Sending Unit/Gasket

Okay, now that some time has passed and the irritation of the Ford Dealer crew is gone- Lonestar is right. It seems to be coming from the Cam Position Sensor Gasket area. This is an easy fix? Y/N on warranty work? and has anybody experienced this before? The Yellow engine light still puzzles me, it must have failed and trips the light or there is another problem looming from this leak.?. Other than the trail of oil coming from the area, the car is driving fine. I will try to talk today with the Linc/Merc guys if they can fit me in. Any results that I find out will be shared. It is no fun getting ready to leave for a month or so, on Saturday, and getting a problem like this. Truth be told, I guess that there is never honestly a good time for any repair. Thanks and I will type again when new info is found. Banar

[Lonestar]

Re: Leaking Sending Unit/Gasket

I have never heard on this forum anyone having a cam positioning sensor going bad or leaking. Without the code and someone telling us what it is there is no way to know what the ECM detected. From looking at it the Sensor does not look hard to replace but from a dealership the part will probably be costly.

The sensor itself should be covered by warranty / extended warranty & if that is indeed the case, the labor to change will be covered less deductable.

[BIRD 42]

Re: Leaking Sending Unit/Gasket

I talked to a guy at the local "cars and coffee" and he mentioned he had a leak on this sensor, it is the one to the front of the engine on the passenger side right? He said it just pulled up and the seal is a seperate part and was available from Ford for a couple of dollars. He originally thought it was part of the sensor. I have not tried this as mine is not leaking but he said he pulled the old sensor, replaced the rubber O ring type seal and snapped the sensor back in place.

[Banar]

Re: Leaking Sending Unit/Gasket

The start of answers. 0900 Thursday morning the verdict will be in. The verdict will come from a L/M Dealer. They can not promise anything over the phone until they see the vehicle. Parts department said the actual cam sensor is $118 and change with a one day ship from Tenn. I only have the base care coverage so it could get to be done on my own dime this time. I will at the least have the answers to my leak and light by 1000 tomorrow. This makes leaving a little bit better, knowing what is going to be done-set up- or taken care of. The joys of racking up 97,000 miles does tend to take a small toll on silly parts. I still love my car and every single mile driven!

[MATBird]

Re: Leaking Sending Unit/Gasket

Bird 42: Can you get any pictures of that from under the hood?

[BIRD 42]

Re: Leaking Sending Unit/Gasket

P3180030.jpg

The person I talked to has a 2004 and his was leaking and he said it was a seperate rubber gasket, not attached to the sensor. I don't know for sure as I have not tried removing mine but he stated it was an inexpensive gasket and that the sensor just pushed into the engine.

[Banar]

Re: Leaking Sending Unit/Gasket

After a long afternoon doing errands and the such- the answers---I have both Cam sensors L weaping and R leaking. The engine light is a dying O2 sensor (only 1 of 4 ) and found the left front bottom strut bushing failing and the R front tire is going to get replaced from dry rotting spots on the inner tire wall ( This I have never seen but will replace it with a matching Goodyear to keep the set of 4 thing going- plus it is a tire dealer problem for that anyway ) Now the interesting points begin, I have a base care plan. This covers the strut, valve cover gasket kit but not the O2 sensor. Nor does it cover the Cam sensors but- the Dealership seems to think that the valve cover gasket kit comes with new cam sensor gaskets. True? I do not know they did not have it in stock to check. I got everything now in place to get fixed when my next leave comes about. The rumor mill has it the cam gaskets may be seperate, it is your guess as good as mine. Seperate works fine if they need not replace a working part only for a bad gasket. Any body got any thoughts as to the answers given for the cam gaskets? The car other than these issues got raving revues from the Dealership and the service guys, for the mileage and cleanliness in/outside. The guys even complimented on the nice performance chip upgrade, said it passed all calibration tests with some of the highest marks they have ever had. How much smoozing that was is probably pretty high but they are cool in my eyes- all of today's diagnostics were free..only because it was a T Bird., I think?

[JAB02LHS]

Re: Leaking Sending Unit/Gasket

Tom what dealer are you using?
Went to John Lance once and will never go back,
talk about getting attitude!

I usually just take it to Yorktown Automotive in Parma Hgts since I have no warranty.

[Banar]

Re: Leaking Sending Unit/Gasket

I have had some work done at John Lance- E code on Tranny. J L could not figure out what this round of problems were so.... I called Nick Meyer L/M all they wanted to hear was my wallet opening and then asked what type of expensive problem I had. Then Ganley L/M in Middleburg came into play, they treated my problem with honest answers and took the time to show me everything in person- all that was going on with my car. Impressed so far. I got a good feeling so far out of Ganley, even found out that a friend of mine just got hired in at the parts department. I do believe that this might lead to a slight discount on parts now.