Oil (or Coolant) Leak

[bigmac3315]

Took the Healey out for a drive and parked it for a few days. Came back to see the pan with this oil in it, roughly under where the firewall is. My question is, do you think this is transmission oil and is this excessive?

This is the second time this much has shown itself over the winter and I’ve never noticed this before, just the typical drops of the darker motor oil.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Looks like it might be coolant (if you use the typical green stuff; Prestone, etc.). Coolant feels slippery and usually smells moldy, oil feels, well, oily. Check your heater hoses near the outlet valve and inlet to the pipe to the water pump. The heater usually leaks on you legs.

 

[bigmac3315]

Looks like it might be coolant (if you use the typical green stuff; Prestone, etc.). Coolant feels slippery and usually smells moldy, oil feels, well, oily. Check your heater hoses near the outlet valve and inlet to the pipe to the water pump. The heater usually leaks on you legs.

I thought it was odorless but the wife disagrees. Definitely does not feel the same as oil though so I'll check out what you're saying. Thanks Bob!

 

[kodpkd]

If it tastes sweet, it's coolant.

 

[WHT]

When tasting coolant, I usually eat thin slices of french bread first to clean my palate.

 

[bigmac3315]

When tasting coolant, I usually eat thin slices of french bread first to clean my palate.

 

[gonzo]

Could it be excess fuel from the manifold piping shunts? This is the typical location for a surplus fuel to drip. Looks it too. Give a sniff...

 

[bigmac3315]

Could it be excess fuel from the manifold piping shunts? This is the typical location for a surplus fuel to drip. Looks it too. Give a sniff...

Definitely not fuel, believe it to be coolant. Just started happening when I started using the heater. Now Im trying to find out whether or not there is a way to determine how much coolant I have in the car right now.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Have a close look at the output valve on the head; they'll crud up after a while and can leak. This happened to my BJ8 a while ago, it leaked so much the engine stalled-out (still haven't figured that one out). They're usually repairable, but you'll have to drain a gallon or so from the radiator.

 

[John Turney]

Have a close look at the output valve on the head; they'll crud up after a while and can leak. This happened to my BJ8 a while ago, it leaked so much the engine stalled-out (still haven't figured that one out). They're usually repairable, but you'll have to drain a gallon or so from the radiator.

Did it get coolant on plug #6?

 

[Bob_Spidell]

It was everywhere on the passenger side of the engine; still don't see how coolant could migrate up the plug boot. In my experience, Big Healeys will still run on 5 or even 4 cylinders; I had to call AAA.