Hello, I searched the forum and saw several threads on this topic with lots of discussions on the issues from the factory, however I did not run across how to tell if this is the actual issue. We have a 2020, early model, non-turbo, CX5. When changing the oil yesterday I noticed some residue on the bottom of the cover, and when I opened it up to take the filter off, I saw more on what I thought may be coming from the oil pan gasket. I looked on up on the engine and did not see any residue coming from above. I also noticed the coolant was at the bottom of the overflow tank, which is a first for this car, have never added coolant and the car has almost 90,000 miles on it. With that, and the oil residue down below, it does concern me I may be dealing with this issue. What do I need to look out for to determine if its indeed the cracked cylinder head issue? Thanks
Cracked Cylinder Head? 2020 CX-5 NA
- Thread starter Heelz23
- Start date
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- 2023 CX5 turbo
sounds like a gasket/sealant issue more than a cracked head. if 90,000 miles and never added coolant I would expect it to be low. these are not closed systems so evaporation does happen over time and at 90,000 would think it would be low. heck my 2023 with 15000 miles is at the low mark from the factory.
First off, most of the cracked head reports from owners have a burning smell and/or smoke coming from the back of the engine bay included in the symptoms. So if there's no smell or smoke, then it's much less likely to be a cracked head. In order to get a visual on the cracked head leak area, you can remove the 5 bolts on the exhaust manifold heat shield at the back of the engine, lift it up, and use a mirror to take a look at the upper back of the head. If present, the leak will be somewhere around the inside 2 cylinders.
If there's no leak from the head, then the other very likely suspect is a leaking (actually weeping) timing cover. This has been reported multiple times here and elsewhere, so that's definitely something for you to check out.
If there's no leak from the head, then the other very likely suspect is a leaking (actually weeping) timing cover. This has been reported multiple times here and elsewhere, so that's definitely something for you to check out.
Thank you all, no oil in coolant that I can see, or at least did not notice yesterday before I saw these threads. Wife drives it mostly but has said nothing about a smell and so far I've seen no smoke so hopefully its not the cracked head. I did see something on the timing cover as well when searching, how do I tell if this is the issue, and if so any idea on the cost of this repair?
A portion of the timing cover can be inspected by eye, but the majority of it is basically inaccessible and would require a decent inspection camera. One good thing is that you can get a very good look at the bottom of the cover, which is where oil from a higher leak point will eventually trickle down to. All you need to do is remove the passenger wheel and the plastic shield on the back of the wheel well. You will then have a very good view of the bottom of the timing cover, and it will be quickly obvious if there's any leakage from the cover, based on the oil pattern.
Repairing the leak at a dealership will almost certainly be an obscene amount of $$$, because there's lots of stuff that has to come off and go back on again to remove and reseal that cover. The quote could easily be around $1K, depending on where you live.
I would try retorquing all of the cover bolts (to 100 Inch-lbs), before even considering that repair. Surprisingly, it is possible to be able to turn a socket on every cover bolt, without removing anything except the wheel and shield. Some of them are blind, but doable nevertheless. And, depending on your DIY knowledge and experience, doing the cover reseal job yourself is certainly a possibility as well.
Trying to determine the source of a leak by where it's showing up on the bottom panel can be misleading, because of drifting. Removing the wheel and wheel well cover as I described above, will give you a look at more than just the bottom of the timing cover, and it might be enough to figure out where the leak is, even if it's not coming from the cover. And removing the exhaust manifold heat shield will also allow you see more of the engine from that side. But if all of that still doesn't help you find the leak, then there's always the option of removing the entire bottom panel, which actually isn't a great deal of work either.
I was able to take a mirror to see the back of the cylinder heads and saw no residue, however I did see this where the manifold attaches to the cylinder, could this be it? Did not have time to take the tire off to check the timing chain leak but looking down in that area I saw nothing as well.
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No, you need to be looking quite a bit lower on the backside of the head. If you look down the backside from there, you'll see the exhaust manifold heat shield which is held down by 5 bolts, and also has the upstream O2 sensor coming through it. That needs to be unbolted and lifted up slightly in order to be able to see the leak area which is located underneath it.
Just getting back to this as our other car, also had an oil leak, which turned out to be the oil cooler and a $700 fix. So we took it to the mtns this past weekend and did smell oil. When we got out of the car, the fans were running blowing air across the engine and the folks with us actually smelled it before I did. So with the heat shield, I dont need to remove the oxygen sensor to see the area of the possible leak?
No need to remove the O2 sensor, just lift the heat shield carefully up into the O2 sensor wiring harness. However, getting that shield up is actually much easier if you first remove the heat shield opposite to it on the firewall, which covers some of the coolant plumbing. Just remove the 4 nuts holding that one in, and it will pull right out. Then the manifold shield is much easier to lift up.
With the engine running, if the head is cracked, the leak should be easy to see, originating somewhere between the inside 2 cylinders, above the exhaust manifold studs.
Okay so nothing behind the heat shield, have not looked behind the fender well, may do that today while changing out the front brakes. With nothing behind the shield, I opened back up the oil filter cover and looked better up in there above it and see no oil residue at all. The only place I see it is near two of the bolts on the oil pan, I tightened them slightly while there. It also looked like some oil reflection off the light between the bolt and pan. See picks below. One is the cover where its been coming out the other two are the two bolts and oil residue by them. Is the oil gasket a fairly common issue with the CX5 as well?
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Assuming you're asking about the oil pan gasket, the answer is no, I've rarely seen reports of that leaking on a newer CX-5. But I'll also quickly add that it's not impossible to be leaking there either, and it certainly could be on your vehicle. The brake job will provide a great opportunity to inspect quite a bit more of the engine. Make sure you support the vehicle with jackstands before going underneath, and don't just rely on the jack. Then you can remove the passenger wheel well shield, and also the full second underbody panel. Both come off quite easily, with not that many bolts holding them on.
If you're still unable to determine exactly where the leak is coming from, even with both of those covers removed, then completely clean off all of the oil residue that you can reach. Then, after buttoning it back up and driving for a few days, inspect again for new oil, removing whatever covers you need for good access. You shouldn't wait very long to do the follow-up inspection because you're trying to find the very first sign of new oil coming from the source of the leak.
One other thing I strongly recommend is to not tighten any bolt if you don't have a torque wrench and the torque spec for that bolt. Some bolts (cover bolts in particular) have VERY low torque installation, and it's all too easy to overtighten and create a brand new and potentially bigger problem than you already have
Well I changed out the front brakes yesterday and pulled back the inner fender well and the timing chain cover is nice and clean so I guess I will just continue to watch the oil pan gasket. I'd much rather deal with that than either the cylinder or timing cover issues. Thanks for your help with this.
