TR6 TR6 Engine leaks, jacking questions

Hi all,

Bought a nice TR6 a couple months ago, and it has engine leaks towards front. I haven't crawled under yet to determine exactly from where, other than not dipstick. I suspect stripped oil pan threads in aluminum piece in front. Was waiting on my Haynes to arrive (backordered) to get jacking advice. Just came, no advice there.

A few questions then.

1. Anything other than the obvious (don't let the car fall on you more than once ) for jack points, etc.?
2. Was looking at the Rhino ramps at Northern Tools. ANyone try those with a TR6? Others? Like them, don't?
3. Was looking at the oil mats at Home Depot. Suggestions on those?
4. Suggestions on finding/fixing leaks? I am guessing I have stripped threads on the front sealing block, but haven't really looked yet due to not jacking up car yet

This is a problem that just about all of us encounter with these cars. The leaking oil pan ("sump") and oil pan bolts, especially. I almost think the cars were built to leak there... (ha, ha)

I am no expert, and there are plenty of them on this BCF, but here are a few observations and suggestions:

1. Use a good quality automobile floor jack (not the scissors type) --- don't spare the expense here -- to raise your car. Once raised, use jack stands. Under no circumstances should you get under the car with just the jack holding up the car. (I even put a couple of lengths of 4x4s under the car as a fail-proof safety measure.

2. Your leaks may be coming from the rim (or lip) of the oil pan itself, in which case you will have to take the pan off, clean it and the engine block thoroughly, apply new gasket maker/sealer (not too much so that it bulges out everywhere), and reposition the pan. In doing this, make sure the lip of the pan is straight and has not been distorted by someone overtightening the bolts/screws. You'll find very good instructions at "Oil Pan Gasket Replacement" by Tony Robinson at https://members.cox.net/60tr3a/OilPan.html

And... don't rule out the possibility that the leak may be coming from higher up on the engine and trickling down to the oil pan.


3. Purchase a new gasket.

4. Purchase new bolts/screws (don't use the old ones) and use them to attach the oil pan. Make sure they are the right sizes and lengths. Many people use lockwashers with the bolts, but I find that regular washers do better at preventing leaks.

5. For the suspicious bolt holes, which you think may have been stripped, use a little oil-resistant teflon tape on the bolts/screws (you can get this in an auto store, don't use ordinary plumbing teflon tape). NOTE: Some may disagree about using teflon tape, so wait and see what others say.

6. Put some gasket sealer on the threads of your bolts before you install them.

7. Tighten your bolts in a criss-cross sequence and make them snug. Wait a little while and then tighten them using the proper torque setting. You don't want to squish the sealant out before it sets up or cures just a little bit.

This is no guarantee that all the leaking will stop, but it gives you a fighting chance. I have been told by those with much more experience than I: "No matter what you do, your pan will leak."

Forget expensive oil mats. Find some sort of a large flat tray-type thing, like the bottom of an old dog cage, and use newspaper.

I have used the ramps, and they are very useful. But I don't drive the car up them. Instead, I jack the car up and position the ramps under the tires. And... be sure to put blocks behind the wheels that are still on the ground, so that the car doesn't roll off the ramps. Even if brake is on, things can happen, so better safe than sorry (i.e. dead).

Others may have different suggestions.

For the record: I have been fighting this for almost three years and finally have got the sump free of any leaks at all. Dry as a bone all around. ... And... yes, there is oil in the sump (ha, ha).

Bruce100 said:

2. Was looking at the Rhino ramps at Northern Tools. ANyone try those with a TR6? Others? Like them, don't?

Click to expand...

I just bought a set to use on my TR8. The problem with my TR8 is that while I have a floor jack, I need to first jack the car up with the factory jack a bit to get enough room for the floor jack. So I can either just use the ramps for some things (like oil change), or use the ramps as the first step.

I also have a 4A, and it looks like they will work fine for that, too. The TR8 has much more limited clearance (front spoiler, front wheels further back) than the 4A (and probably the TR6).

Darrell,

Like you, I found that regular floor jacks don't fit under my TR3. I purchased a low profile racing jack. It fits well and eliminates the need to jack the car in order to jack the car...

LexTR3 said:

Darrell,

Like you, I found that regular floor jacks don't fit under my TR3. I purchased a low profile racing jack. It fits well and eliminates the need to jack the car in order to jack the car...

Click to expand...

Hi Ed,

The jack I have is low enough, the problem is that the K-frame (where you jack on the front) is so far under the car, you can't pump the jack. There are probably longer jacks that would work, but the ramps where a lot cheaper!

-Darrell

Darrell,

Oh... I see. My jack, which is very low, is very long... and it works on the TR3 but I don't know if it would work on the K-frame cars...

There are a few places that the TR6 can leak from... ask me how I know
It is indeed possible the the threads have been stripped from the front aluminum sealing block as it is common for a previous owner (or garage mechanic) to over tighten them. They make steel replacement ones that are better.
If you remove the oil pan, make sure the lip is straight and level all the way around.
Another possible place for a leak is the timing cover oil seal.
I also suggest that you invest in a silicon seal for the valve cover... the cork ones are not as good in my opinion.

most likely its coming from the front area, but you might as well pull the pan off and check it out, but if you do that go ahead and get you the metal replacement sealing block and replace it. Also if you take the pan off you can check the thrust bearing float a lot easier and use a dial gauge with magnetic base. heck you might as well replace the thrust bearings, just get another STD size set, easy to do. replacing the front block and pan gasket would most likely solve most of the oil leaking.

as far as a leak free TR6, I had my engine rebuild last year and it has 0 leaks, and I mean ZERO

Hondo

LexTR3 said:

Darrell,

Oh... I see. My jack, which is very low, is very long... and it works on the TR3 but I don't know if it would work on the K-frame cars...

Click to expand...

If your jack is "full sized", it would probably work with a Wedge. Mine is a compact/portable model, which was fine for my 4A, since it has frame pretty much all the way around that you can use.

It's entirely possible someone overtightened one of the 2 front fasteners and stripped the thread. Ther are 2 more in the rear that thread into the aluminum crankshaft seal housing, but there are about 2 dozen other fasteners holding the sump tight to the block. One loose one causing a leak..I don't know.
Then you have the timing cover andt an oil seal in it around the nose of the crank.

Sorry looks like I just repeated what Elliot already said...Sorry Elliot...


I'm not sure Haynes will identify a specific jacking points but if you look under the car you can put a jack on the bottom of the frame, just about in line with the front of the doors.
Safety says do not rely on the jack once you get the proper height, jackstands.