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I have three oill pans bolts that have leaked oilc

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Rrbbeerrttoo

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My TR4a has three oil pan bolts that continue to leak oil, no matter what I do to prevent the leaks...and they seem to continue leaking while the car is parked for weeks.
I hate hollering HELP for what appears to be such a simple solution...but I need help. I used the Indian Head Gasket Shellac, and for these bolts, the Blue...whatever, etc. ....but, if any of you has a workable solution I will gladly try it. These leaks seem to never stop.
 
Which bolts,isn't the sealing block by any chance is it?
 
If they are not the front bolt which go into the soft Al sealing block, some genus in the past probably tightened the daylights out of them and bent the pan.

If they are in the front, the genus most likely striped out the threads.
 
Rrbbeerrttoo said:
and they seem to continue leaking while the car is parked for weeks.
Click to expand...
Any chance your oil level is too high?

I'd start by removing the troublesome bolts and making sure they are undamaged and the right length. All of the pan bolts in my TR3 were wrong when I got the car, some too short and some too long. Several holes had been damaged (not just the ones into the front block!) from using bolts that were too short, so some DPO had substituted longer bolts that would grab the remaining threads ... and bottom in the hole rather than coming up tight against the pan. Then when reinstalling the bolts, add a little gasket dressing to the threads, near the head.

It's also worth double-checking that the bolts are actually what is leaking. It's quite common for a leak that is higher up to look like it is coming from a pan bolt, because you don't see the film of oil running down the side of the block.
 
Also, check to see if the holes in the pan for the bolts aren't "dimpled" by too much torque when reinstalling. (Randall's post kinda alluded to that.) More common than you might think, and the oil loves to find its way out through them.

Easy fix, if they are: Find a good flat surface to work against, and tap 'em true with a small hammer.
 
Thank you for all the comments. I investigated them all today, and I am beat now, but these are my answers to your inputs:

1. I removed the pan again and found it perfectly flat.
2. Yes, used Indian Head sealant on the gasket, but had put nothing originally under all New bolts.
3. Oil level is ok, 5 quarts
4. One rear bolt seemed to leak; yes, it was not the bolt but the rear seal.
5. The original rear laberinth seal was replaced years ago with the O ring type which never stopped the oil leak either; perhaps the machining was not done to specs. This leak I have not corrected and will address it when I open up the engine some day , if ever again.
6. Had the pan powder coated years ago...and this may have been the problem.
The three leaking bolts no longer had powder coating under the head. So now I added Indian Head sealant, and the leak seems to have stopped, permanently I hope!

I owned this car for 35 years so anything out of spec now should be my fault, but I have tried being faithful, so if any problems exist they were already there when I bought it....not sure!! Thanks for all your ideas. Robert
 
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