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MGB Found the leak, now what?

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1972TealMGB

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Hello everyone,

I have 1972 MGB that runs great but leaks oil like a waterfall when I turn off the engine. The oil is leaking from the hole directly above the oil pan (see picture). Anybody know what that is? An overflow perhaps, I don’t know.

I noticed when adding oil to the car that if I pour too fast, oil leaks from that same hole. The oil then drips on to the beginning of the exhaust and burns into white smoke.

76519E80-8467-416A-97A6-9908F5CF10D0.jpg

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

thanks for your time
 
Somebody will answer. During a holiday weekend. I would assume that oil pressure switch mounting hole or block plug is missing. Coming from a main oil galley. Bide the time the answer will come.
 
Wrong side for the oil pressure switch....that's the oil pressure release valve location. There should be a cap nut in that hole with a washer underneath Maybe it's just loose?
 
Thanks Joe. I was not familiar, but wanted him to know someone would be around. I was heading to the books to see what was up.
 
Thanks Joe! The hole is wide open and I didn’t feel any threads on the inside but i will definitely look into the pressure release valve.

Thanks!
 
Kind of interesting that it leaks when you turn off the engine, but not while the engine is running. I run an MGA engine, so it is not the same. But my humble guess is that it has to do with the oil pump, maybe an extra bore drilled to feed oil to the drive gears for the distributor and oil pump that run off of the cam shaft above. If that is the case there would be an intersecting bore coming down from those gears. My further guess is that it is simply a bore hole that needs to be plugged, much like an oil galley needs to be plugged. The object being to keep the oil within.
 
I Googled MGB engine left side photo. I did not get any really good shots, but one shot seemed to show a core plug bulge. It looks to be at the same level as the oil gallery. Does it leak while running?Bob
 
Thanks Bob. It seems to drip a little if I take a turn with some speed. I know this because I can see some white smoke from the oil burning off the exhaust.

It would make sense if it had some sort of plug but I can’t find anything online saying there is anything to cover that hole
 
Looking at your pic again, I can see that I was wrong. That's NOT the pressure relief valve. I'm not sure what it is. I've got a spare block I'll look at and see if I can help....
 
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