[CraigB]

Had me little i30 in for it's 8 year service last week (84,000k's on the clock), when I picked it up the mechanic tells me it's developed a leak from the timing cover that apparently he's seen on at least three other 1.6 petrol engines in the last couple of years and it's a known problem with this engine

I've searched everywhere and can't find any info on this reported problem though the mechanic assures me it is known by Hyundai and that not enough or incorrect sealant was used at the factory, I've spoken with Hyundai service and customer care and neither have heard of this issue either...unfortunately...or I might of had a chance of claiming an out of warranty defect

Anyway, the mechanic said to big a job for him so it's booked into Hyundai to get repaired early next month, new timing cover sealant - new sump gasket - new rocker cover gasket = $200 + 5 hours labour rounds it up to a nice even $1000

[PhireSideZA]

That sounds a bit excessive! I am not familiar with labour rates down there, but since it's only the timing cover, one would think that the labour should be significantly less.

5 hours is what I would expect for a head gasket replacement, maybe.

[CraigB]

That sounds a bit excessive! I am not familiar with labour rates down there, but since it's only the timing cover, one would think that the labour should be significantly less.

5 hours is what I would expect for a head gasket replacement, maybe.

Labor is $160 per hour, I was going to get a good mechanic friend of mine on the other side of the city to do it but his price was the same as Hyundai quoted and they're only 10 minutes from me which is much more convenient.

It's a prick of a job, the rocker cover and sump all need to be removed to get at it and the timing gears/chain and harmonic balancer all need to come of as well.

If it was a conventional engine I'd do it myself in a couple of hours, unfortunately I don't have the equipment necessary or the will to work on major issues with east-west engines

[PhireSideZA]

Labor is $160 per hour, I was going to get a good mechanic friend of mine on the other side of the city to do it but his price was the same as Hyundai quoted and they're only 10 minutes from me which is much more convenient.

It's a prick of a job, the rocker cover and sump all need to be removed to get at it and the timing gears/chain and harmonic balancer all need to come of as well.

If it was a conventional engine I'd do it myself in a couple of hours, unfortunately I don't have the equipment necessary or the will to work on major issues with east-west engines

Wow, that is some crazy money for labour. It's a lot less down here in our side of the world, I think not even Audi charges that much. 'Normal' rates are around $60 - $80 an hour by us.

Do you have the G4FC engine? That sounds like quite a large job. I would have imagined that it's just a case of popping the tappet cover off and replacing the gaskets and buttoning it back up again.

Are you going to have your valve clearances checked while they are in there, or do you think they should still be in good condition?

If it's any consolation, I've had an oil leak from between the gearbox and engine block since around 170'000km, or 100'000km ago. I said I'd fix it when I have the gearbox off for the clutch job, but the clutch still seems strong and six years later, is still holding up. Maybe I'll revisit the issue when I hit 300k

[CraigB]

Do you have the G4FC engine? That sounds like quite a large job. I would have imagined that it's just a case of popping the tappet cover off and replacing the gaskets and buttoning it back up again.

Are you going to have your valve clearances checked while they are in there, or do you think they should still be in good condition?

G4FD engine I think it is, taking off the tappet (rocker) cover wont help a timing cover leak (one is on the top and the other is on the side), rocker cover and sump have to come off for the timing cover to be removed.

Valve clearances should be fine, only done 84,000km's

[PhireSideZA]

Do you have the G4FC engine? That sounds like quite a large job. I would have imagined that it's just a case of popping the tappet cover off and replacing the gaskets and buttoning it back up again.

Are you going to have your valve clearances checked while they are in there, or do you think they should still be in good condition?

G4FD engine I think it is, taking off the tappet (rocker) cover wont help a timing cover leak (one is on the top and the other is on the side), rocker cover and sump have to come off for the timing cover to be removed.

Valve clearances should be fine, only done 84,000km's

Agh! Sorry, I had a bit of a brain fart earlier on. My mind thought tappet cover when you said timing cover, not sure why my mind never made the distinction in my head.

Can I blame it on old age?

It's a shame that these engines don't have the valve lash hydraulically adjusted like many other modern engines. Now one has to mess with feeler gauges and shims and buckets and it's all a very 1980's way about it. That being said, my 1982 XT550 was orders of magnitude easier to adjust than my 2004 KLR650 that I had. Tappets were easy, as all you needed was a 13mm spanner to take off the tappet covers, a feeler gauge and a 10mm spanner to lock it down. The KLR used shims and was a pain to get the valve decompressor lever lined up again.

[CraigB]

Old age at 30

I honestly wouldn't know if mine are hydraulic or manually adjusted, if it was a Holden or Chev engine that's another story

I have manual lash adjustment on my Royal Enfield Interceptor that needs checking once a year, that's dealt with via the dealer for the next few years though

[17clarence]

If it's any consolation, I've had an oil leak from between the gearbox and engine block since around 170'000km, or 100'000km ago.

How does it pass the inspection with an oil leak? Any leak is an instant failure in Switzerland, as most places I believe.

[CraigB]

If it's any consolation, I've had an oil leak from between the gearbox and engine block since around 170'000km, or 100'000km ago.

How does it pass the inspection with an oil leak? Any leak is an instant failure in Switzerland, as most places I believe.

If it's been leaking that long they might not have inspections in South Africa, we don't have them here in Western Australia either

[PhireSideZA]

CraigB is spot on.

Inspections get done when the ownership changes, and even then, the agencies don't really care aside from your wipers, lights and brakes working. So, in my case, it was done when I bought it back in 2014.

It's not a very large leak, as I don't add any oil between services, which I suppose is a blessing in disguise. I'd hate to replace the crank seal only to have to pull the gearbox the month afterwards to replace the clutch, so I am waiting until the clutch finally gives in, then I will tackle everything at once.

[CraigB]

Picked the car up last Friday after the timing cover fix, the service manager called me the day before and mentioned the earlier quoted cost was wrong and new water pump seals were also required and the labour time would be six and a half hours instead of five so that pushed it up to $1330 from the original 1k would have been $1450 but fortunately I still had oil and coolant left over from the service I'd had done a month earlier.

It's all good now and they showed me photos of the two places the leak had developed from and how little sealant had been applied at the factory...pencil line thin somehow Hyundai Australia still gets away with not taking responsibility of a factory fault though

I am glad that Hyundai Rockingham have done a superb job, they must have checked/adjusted everything else while they were in there as the motor seems really tight and slightly quieter, like new

[PhireSideZA]

That's a great result, and seems like you have a solid dealership to boot. I'm sure they would have picked up on any other faults while they were in there, so hopefully the surprises are over for the time being.

Here's to the next 84'000km!