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TR2/3/3A Oil Leak Dripping from Front and Rear of Left Side Oil Pan---Only While Running

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Swoz

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I have a significant oil leak at the front and rear of the left side of the engine oil pan while the engine is running only. After carefully investigating this for a number of days on a lift, I can't seem to pinpoint the leak. It appears to be originating above the oil pan and I see it coming from between the front motor plate and the block. Is there an oil gallery plug under that plate that could be leaking? I see the engine has a plug in the front and rear and it looks like exactly where this oil could be originating from. YIKES!!! Is this a known issue with these engines? I would hate to think of what needs to go into solving this leak if its that end gallery plug. Any thoughts would be helpful. Thanks.... Tony
 
Ouch hope it turns out to be a simpler thing. There are threaded aluminum plugs both front and back. If the engine had been caustic cleaned previously you could have a replacement plug in there which might leak. An original, unmolested plug I don't think is a common leak source..
 
Ive never had trouble with those plugs either. The front plate itself has a gasket which is prone to leak, particularly if the plate is not perfectly flat. If you take the timing cover off you might try re-torquing the bolts on the plate. There is also a "sealing block" in front of the main bearing cap which seals the oil pan and that can be troublesome.
It is not going to be an easy fix if it's behind the plate.
Tom
 
If you remove the inspection plate from the transmission you can see if that is what is leaking. You will have to wipe everything down real well and then get a small mirror or piece of mirror and hold it with hemostats or some kind of extension tool and put it up in that area. You will also need a good flashlight to see.

I had the same problem with the car running, about a drop every 10 seconds from that plug after replacing it with the engine rebuild.

You will need to remove the trans to fix the problem.
 
The DPO of my TR4 failed to ensure that the front main bearing cap was flush with the front of the engine block when he reassembled the engine (among other trully amazing Bubba hidden surprises). This caused the front engine plate to bow slightly out causing an oil leak that appeared to come from the engine oil pan joint/gasket.
Took a failed oil pan resealing effort to figure that boneheaded mistake out.:frown-new:
Love DPOs…..:censored:


M.
 
That's about the drip rate. once every 10-15 seconds and it basically leaves a trail where I've been. The engine has been rebuilt and I figure someone may have tampered with that area. Engine run beautiful, but that oil leak is too significant to let go. I'll have to investigate further as you mentioned to see if I can view it with the inspection cover off. Thanks!
 
I thought I was the only one who experienced those things with PO's. The PO did such a great job on many things and spent a lot of money on the car. What a shame that they overlooked simple low cost items that ruin all the great work.
 
I was thinking about that plate gasket and the front sealing block as well Tom. I'll be sure to look at everything before I go removing the transmission, front apron and radiator if it turns out being the plugs on both ends of the block!! :frown-new:
 
Where you able to repair that with just an oil pan removal or did you have to removed the engine front plate to solve the problem with the bowed plate?
 
Swoz,
The repair/adjustment of the front main bearing cap/front engine plate bow was performed with the engine in the car.
Of course that meant dismantling the whole forward part of the engine and radiator removal.
I used an engine braze across the fenders and supported the engine from above since the engine mounts and front plate had to be removed along with the oil pan.
The front bearing cap was loosened, and adjusted back to flush, with the engine block forward surface per the Workshop Manual instructions.
I checked the front plate for straightness and it was straight and true.
All gaskets engine mounts, timing chain, tensioner, etc were replaced “Since I was there").....:very_drunk:
The result was NO MORE OIL LEAKS! (along with correcting some amazing DPO Bubbaisms). :soapbox:


M.
 
Merlin,
LOL.....Thanks for the details. I'm getting the feeling I'll be removing the apron, radiator and going thru all this as well. I'll give it one more good look this weekend, before I start taking the oil pan off and looking inside there first. :very_drunk:
 
DPO's. They should all drive minivans!

To add...the front gallery may leak outward because of the full face gasket up there. The rear gallery would normally leak into the bellhousing and out of the clutch cover area there. So, before pulling the motor and tranny, some other TR common leaks would be the distributor mount and the oil filter mount. Also the cam locating bolts and the side gallery plugs. All of these are prone to leaking if not installed correctly, and they all see oil pump pressure.
 
CJD,
Heck my TR4 was leaking from under the generator mount when I bought it from the DPO!
I love DPOs :censored:, minivans are to good for them! :stupid:

M.
 
John,
Thanks for the great info. Yes, I did remove the side gallery plugs as well and the front one looks like the copper washer isn't so great....so I'm really hoping when I get another look this weekend, I can get lucky!! I have the inspection cover off and it looks like I'm not seeing oil from inside the bell housing, but I will try to put a mirror and flashlight up there to attempt to get some kind of look up there. Maybe a computer aided scope of some sort would work. More to come. Thanks!!!
 
Not seeing your engine, I would guess the front is the aluminum bridge piece were the 2 cork T shaped pieces are. The good news is you can fix that by dropping the pan and replacing them with a better fit. They are on top of the bridge piece and oil will get behind and look like it is coming out of the engine plate plus they difficult to get correct without experience and they come kinda cheese in the gasket kit.

On the distributor side, the leak could easily be the open crank case ventilation or breather pipe which is supposed to leak.
steve
 
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