Oil Leaks

[mylesw]

Hello

My BT7 leaks oil like a sieve. I can't take it anywhere without it leaving several large oil spots and other smaller ones even after five minutes. Today I emptied the drip tray I have in the garage from under the car and got almost a quart of oil. It's getting to the stage where I need to do something about it. Can someone who has experienced this let me know what I can do to curtail the leaks? Note that this is my third British car so I am used to the cars leaking some oil... Thanks for your help.

Myles

 

[bob hughes]

Myles
I thought that mine was bad, but 2 pints, how long did that take to aquire?
You have a choice of areas, first I would try and clean the engine down as best as possible so that all areas are relatively clean and oil free, then start her up and run it whilst observing through the bonnet -( hood ) and also look under the car, if you have a lit all well and good but if not you are going to have to jack up the car and get under it. Check the sump and gear box for cracks and damage, also the sump bolts, check the sump gasket, the timing chain gasket and oil seal at the front end of the crank, have a look at the bell housing, there is a drain hole there for oil getting into the housing from either the gear box or back of the crank, and check the back of the gear box - there is a seal there. Check down the right hand side of the engine ( looking forward ) there are 2 tappet access boxes - with cork seals . The back axle may also be a source of leaks, and that will need cleaning off but the oil on it could be spraying back from the engine, you are going to need to drive the car a little to find that.

Best of luck
But remember all Healey leak a little.

Bob

 

[MarkA]

You know ... that after you fix the oil leaks, then you have to contend with rust ! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

 

[MarkA]

I had a very high leakage rate on my BJ8. I leaked much more than I burned. Never wanted to park anywhere that did not catch the oil.

I resealed the transmission, rebuilt the rear end, installed a rear main seal kit, resealed the rear engine plate, sump, front engine plate and timing cover, replaced the head gasket, resealed the tappet covers (all three), and replaced the oil pressure hose. I did also rebuild the head and the rocker shaft. The head was being flooded with oil and my oil pressure was on the low side. I also had a lot of oil burning from the valve guides.

I have gotten the leaking down to a drop or two per day. I can actually make stops in other peoples' driveways and leave without them knowing I have been there! Plus, my oil consumption is almost nil on a 75k mile motor. It was worth the work.

Mark

 

[vette]

Hello Myles, If you were hoping to drive an older British car and not have many oil leaks, picking a Healey is not the best choice. Don't get me wrong, I love my Healey. And yes I have reduced the leaks to almost not noticable. Maybe similar to Marks. Along with all the checks as previously mentioned, Here are two areas that I think are main contributors. (1) The valve cover gasket. If it leaks, it really leaks and it will surprise you how much. Surprising when I have had really bad leaks in the catagory you have mentioned, it has been the valve cover gasket. Nothing pumps out more oil than that area. It will flow out the back edge and the front edge. The sides just contribute. Then the 2nd area is the tappet side covers. They never want to stay sealed. But I have used the original cork gaskets WITH FORM-A-GASKET Silicone and let is set for a day before starting the engine. This works great. But the front cover may want to leak again because it is getting the vibration from the generator. Sometimes checking the bolts on the front cover once or twice a summer will snug it up just alittle.
As stated earlier, a good clean down is necessary. I put the car on GOOD quality jack stands, clean it and then run it. I laid on a creeper with the engine running and watched for where it showed up. When I did the regasketing, it didn't show up anymore. Now the only oil I find on the block is from the front side tappet cover, it is so minor that I just dab it off once in awhile between trips. The other area is the rear crank seal, which of course is an oxymoron, because there is no rear crank seal. I have never separated my engine and trans so I have not had the opportunity to put in one of the new fangeled aftermarket seals. Maybe someday. But surprisingly, I find that this area does not leak that much. anyway, good luck.

 

[tahoe healey]

I had a leak that went away with the rebuild of the rocker. now the only lesk I have is from the seal (or lack there of) on the front end. I'll deal with that when I need to replace the water pump some day. I now get a one inch drop in a day after driving. I found that if I keep the oil level at the full mark, it leaks. I usually run about 1/8 to 1/4 inch below the line and it stays there. If I fill to the top it leaks until it gets to that level.
TH

 

[shorn]

I agree with the above. The big oil leaks come from failed gaskets for the valve cover and the tappet covers. A worn rocker arm floods oil to the top and that makes the valve cover leak that much worse. I would remove the valve cover and check to see if oil is spurting out the rocker arm. If so, Rocker Arm Specialist rebuild them for a very fair price. Then replace the valve cover gasket. I like to seal the gasket to the block with a gasket sealer, but not to the valve cover. That way you are able to reuse the gasket when you remove the cover. Change the tappet cover gaskets too. Improved rubber gaskets are available.

 

[kcbugeye1275]

I've had several lbcs, the latest and the one with the longest tenure is my BE. One of the reasons last yr to do my major winter rebuild with a fresh motor and all was in the hope that the oil leaks would stop or at the very least, slow to almost nothing. I did have the motor built by someone else who is very knowledgeable and I have that rare lbc motor that doesn't leak oil. Now the two issues are the money spent and the potential rust issue behind the motor.

 

[Randy Forbes]

All this talk about leaks prompted me to fix the worst leak on my car today.

The differential pinion seal was totally dried up and, as it turned out, quite brittle too.

Real easy to replace, so now I'm hopeful to only have leaks coming from one end of the car.

Next worst leak to fix is from the steering box. I really dread the prospect of replacing the seal in it, I wish I could do it without removing it from the car...

 

[Dave Russell]

Hi Randy,
On my BN2 I was able to pull & replace the steering arm & seal with the box in place. The puller is a very compact but strong Stahwille #12616.
D

 

[Randy Forbes]

Hi Randy,
On my BN2 I was able to pull & replace the steering arm & seal with the box in place. The puller is a very compact but strong Stahwille #12616.
D

Thanks Dave,

However, I kinda forged ahead blindly...

I didn't have the Stahlwille, but I made do (literally, MADE a do). I still have to get the new seal in place, but then reassembly should be a breeze.

I only stopped midway because since my wife is on crutches, I have to divide my time between the garage and kitchen (if I want us to eat). SO, time out to post pictures, and make/eat a meal /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

 

[tahoe healey]

Randy, I was under the impression the pinion shaft seal was a difficult one to get to and tighten the required amount. Are you talking about the one near the universal/drive shaft?

 

[Randy Forbes]

Randy, I was under the impression the pinion shaft seal was a difficult one to get to and tighten the required amount. Are you talking about the one near the universal/drive shaft?

Yes, did that one yesterday /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

 

[Keoke]

Hey Randy, Hope you haven't put the steering box drop shaft back in yet it would be good to show how the belvel washers are positioned after its cleaned up.---Keoke

 

[Randy Forbes]

Hey Randy, Hope you haven't put the steering box drop shaft back in yet it would be good to show how the belvel washers are positioned after its cleaned up.---Keoke

Aw darn (just finished).

I can describe them...

Six (6) Belleville springs (bevel washers) and each goes the opposite way as the one above/below it.

Starting from the top (uppermost in the box, on the left in the picture shown above): cone pointing up, next one down, up, down, up & finally, cone pointing down resting on the bottom of the steering box.

When stacked alternately, they make a spring. If they were all stacked the same way, there would be next to no compression at all.

Here's a decent description: https://www.bellevillesprings.com/disc-springs.html

 

[Keoke]

OK That's a very good site with lots of info on it .Some one need ed that data recently but I don't think it was presented then.--Thanks--Keoke

 

[why]

Fixing oil leaks, good god man, how about originality.

 

[Randy Forbes]

Fixing oil leaks, good god man, how about originality.

Not that I condone that sort of thing, but the purists already want to stone me...