Oil Leak

[vette]

Hello everyone,
I have a sever oil leak on my Healey 3000. I've been hoping that is was just my engine side covers. But after cleaning the engine down about as good as possible I still can't tell for sure. Here's the scenario, i get a large amount of oil splattered all over the right side inner fender panel and the right side frame rail that is so sever that is runs along the right frame rail almost to the rear of the car. There is no oil on the left side at all. And the oil stain/accumulation starts on the right side panel and frame about even with the front of the block. Because of this I don't believe it is the rear main. Although that has the typical drip. Ive cleaned the block and tightened the sidecover and oil pan bolts and the timing cover bolts but have not been able to identify a pattern of where it is coming from. Ther appears more oil on the frame and fender panel than on the whole right side of the block. Now here is the crutz of my question. I believe I also can rule out the valve cover gasket because there is no oil on the upper edge of the head or around the top area above the spark plugs. But each spark plug recess gets a good amount of accumulation collected in its socket. I am beginning to wonder about the head gasket itself near the front. But I have no knowledge of where the oil passages are to the head and don't know if a leak is feeseable here. I have read about a Cylinder Block Oilway Repair Kit that is intended to repair rusted out oil galleries. But i don't know anything about the location of what oil gallery they are talking about. Yet one sign of this oil gallery rust out is an oil leak into the cooling system and I have no sign of that. Does anyone have any ideas. Maybe it is just the side covers and I'm fretting more than I need to.
Thanks, Dave. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[Keoke]

HI Dave, what is the engine oil pressure when its running: Hot & Cold.???---Keoke

 

[tahoe healey]

Is there any oil in the coolant? You may be blowing the oil via the fan from the front oil seal. Oil seals are an oximoron on Healeys. Someone once suggested using a powder spray such as Desinex (athlets foot spray) on the block to see where the oil was traveling from becouse it can be washed off easily. You will never stop all the leaks. Control is the key word, Hey but if you do, please let us all know how you did it. Some one referred to oil leaks as Healeys marking its territory.

 

[shorn]

Check your oil filter cannister. If it is an original, not a replacement spin on, they sometimes do not seal correctly on the gasket or the wrong gasket was used. Also,because there is such a tight space where you tighten the bolt, it is easy to get the cannister tilted slightly.

 

[Keoke]

Yes Shorn,that is a real possibility and you will not notice an appreciable drop in oil pressure unless it was a total blow out of the rubber seal.That very failure happened to a car on a group trip I was on a few years ago.---Keoke

 

[vette]

Everyone, thanks for the tips. My oil pressure has always been good. It holds about 50psi all the time. One initial start up and cold it is about 60psi. I think the fan is broadcasting the oil all over the place but it is not on the left side so i think the leak is on predominantly on the right side. if it was the crank seal i would think it would show up on both sides. Last summer i converted to a spin on filter. Coninsidentally last summer is when the oil leak really got pronounced. With the original oil filter canister I would take the whole assembly off at the elbow and change and clean the assembly at the work bench. I never had a oil leak there. I was told that some of the spin on filter adapters were prone to leaking. But if it was at the filter location I don't think the oil would have migrated to the front of the engine or the fender panels. But as a precaution this winter I have removed the spin on oil filter adapter and regasketed it with a new gasket and the high strength RTV silicone gasket maker. Previously I had used Permatex with the gasket. I have other work to do on the car before I fire it up again. So hopefully in a few weeks I will run it on Jack stands an see if I find a leak.
Can anyone tell me about the Oilway Repair Kit that I have seen in some of the cataloges. Where is it used?
PS, I have no oil in my cooling system.
Thanks for your help. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif
Dave

 

[gonzo]

Austin Healey Sixes up to some early BJ-7’s have an external oil line feeding into the Distributor/ Tach housing from the block (near the oil filter). A leak anywhere along the line or at the attachment points may be substantial as it would be under pressure when the engine is running. This could account for the quantity of oil leakage described. So you might check this, or the distributor housing-to-engine gasket, as another possibility. GONZO.

 

[vette]

Thanks Gonzo, you know I didn't pay alot of attention to the mating joint between the distributor and the block or the tach drive assembly. The oil line seemed secure as I could get no more turns on the nut heads.
Thanks.

 

[stever]

I am curious as to what caused this leak. What have you discovered vette?

 

[vette]

Stever, I have not yet run the engine since I cleaned it all down and regasketed the side cover gaskets, the valve cover and the spin-on oil filter adapter. I've repaired my emergency brake cable and bracket and now I must do the universal joints. Plus, we just got another 5inches of new snow here in central Pa. so I guess I still have some time. I'll post with my results when I can.
Dave.

 

[stever]

I was just wondering, Vette, 'cause I have had some doozie oil leaks over the years! Both "big deal" ones occurred while being transferred and moving cross country. The first was the flex hose on the rear of the engine/head area slit and the second was when the side plate seal cracked. Believe me, a lot of oil can leak out of the side plate!!!! Good thing I always check the oil when I fill her up! I think my current leak is basically the old main seal seep after shut down. Good luck on the odds and ends you are up to. Also, I have been curious for a long time about your 'handle' Vette. Are you also a Corvette owner? Could be a good story there! Spring is almost here! Actually it is in San Antonio, but.....
Take care, Stever

 

[Michael Oritt]

[ QUOTE ]
Hello everyone,
i get a large amount of oil splattered all over the right side inner fender panel and the right side frame rail that is so sever that is runs along the right frame rail almost to the rear of the car. There is no oil on the left side at all. And the oil stain/accumulation starts on the right side panel and frame about even with the front of the block.

Dave--

Is it possible that the leak is coming out of the front of the engine--perhaps around the timing chain cover--and is being thrown onto the inside of the right fender by the front pulley when the engine is running? If the leak is starting even with the front of the block I would think that rules out anything leaking out of the side which would be pretty easy to see in any case.

 

[bighly]

Oil leak? On a Healey?

 

[vette]

bighly, I can live with a Healey marking it's territory, but mine was trying to claim everyone else's as well. I was starting to carry jugs of windshield washer solevent to pass around to each of my LBC companions who only had the unalterable fortune to travel with me from the rear...until they got wise and put me at the back of the pack. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[vette]

Michael, That is a possibility, But there are two things i did not do about this oil leak yet. One was to drop the oil pan, because I had cleaned it down pretty well last summer and just did not see that is was the problem. The pan edge and visible gasket just didn't seem to get too oily very quickly. the other item was the timing cover crank seal. The back side of the pully was not very oily and the belt never, never has shown any sign of oil on it. It has never splipped either. I am hoping that it is the side covers. The front one did show alot of oil along the top edge. Which would account for the oil accumulation in the spark plug cavities. But it never really showed oil as if it were running down the side of the block from the bottom of the side covers. That is what concerns me. But we'll see soon. Obviously I've had alot of little fixes on this car this year. But it will be on the road for the summer.

 

[vette]

Stever, I'll check the flex hose, maybe it is cracked.
Yeh, I have a vette. I've owned it about 20 years. And 'vette' is the first part of my e-mail address so I just stuck with it for the forum.
A long, long time ago..... as a teen I messed with MGs. Had a '61 MGA. 3 or 4 of us had MGs and we did everything to them and with them. Got stationed in Conneticut and took my 'A' up there with me. A buddy had a midget but he had to sell it when he when active. So we bumbed arould New Enland and Canada together for a summer in my 'A'. Thirty years later we still got together once in a while. I had given up the MGA moved on to a '65 Mustang, then Marriage, house, kids, you know. 10 years of serious responsibiliy was enough. Bought the Vette. 20 yrs later still have it . redid most everything, including fibre glass and paint. 2 yrs ago my 20 year out daughter crunched the front end. Notice age similairity. She won't let me sell it, thinks it's hers, she's probably right. I fixed it and repainted it, there's a story there too, matching 20 year ould paint. Anyway my Navy buddy around '96 now living in Boston decided her wanted another Midgit like he had in college, so he and his son could mess with it together. I found him a '74, 1275 engine job. Only problem was it needed everything. But the price was right. It sat in my garage for about 2months waiting for him to come to get it. Another classic situation, his car in my garage going nowhere in a hurry. I finally called him, he said he still didn't know how he could handle it. i said, "well'p" I'll put it together for you but you have to pay me. that was the deal. 2yrs later I delivered the Midget to Boston, and in the process I had the LBC bug again. It took me 2 years to find my BJ7 Healey. Ya know now that I think of it, way back when I was stationed in Conneticut, I almost traded my MGA for a beautiful Black BJ8 Healey. I gave the dealer $50 to hold the car while I went to see my insurance agent. I was I young junior grade and a high risk. I had already paid him $1200 for the year for my 'A' and he wanted another $500 to cover the Healey. I couldn't swing the deal so I had to go and ask the car salesman to give me my $50 back. Must have been an omen in there somewhere. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/spam.gif