#2 cylinder oil leaks... take a look

Neilk · 09-04-2004, 09:57 AM

Hi,

I just took out the alternator fan assembly to clean the fan and noticed that I have oil leaking from the base and head of the #2 cylinder.

My car has been laid up for the past year while the body is undergoing "rustoration" so I am not sure how much oil is actually leaking. I did get a leak down test before pulling the engine, and I was told that all the cylinders were around 4%.

I have not checked the head studs yet and the engine had been rebuilt by the PO.

Since I have your attention, can someone explain what happened in the picture below. It looks as if part of the case was eaten away? Did the alternator ground itself through there rather than the ground strap?

Thanks for the help.

Wayne 962 · Wayne 962's Garage

Interesting. Possibly due to electrolysis, possibly due to vibration?

-Wayne

john walker's workshop · 01:14 PM

at the top end of the cylinder, it also looks wet, on the head. check for loose head nuts or broken head studs.

Neilk · 09-04-2004, 02:09 PM

Off to the hardware store... to buy a 10mm allen head socket to put on my torque wrench.

One of the top head nuts for #2 was loose and the other was finger tight. Should I loosen the bottom two head nuts or just tighten the top two?

In Wayne's engine rebuild, he mentions putting lots of antiseize on the threads then torqueing to 7lbs and then 24lbs of torque. Is it better to loosen the head nuts for that cylinder, apply anti-seize to all the bolts and retighten in a crisscross pattern?

FWIW, it looks like the studs took the small amount of torque I was able to apply using my allen wrench. The head nuts seemed tight to me.

Now I have another question. Wouldn't the clamping pressure of cylinders 1 and 3 keep #2 from leaking if it were loose?

Thanks for the help John and Wayne!!!!

garibaldi · 09-04-2004, 03:38 PM

Its an old mag case, what do you expect that stuff is dying as we speak.

Eagledriver · 09-04-2004, 05:13 PM

I would try to loosen the bottom studs and retorque them all slowly being careful not to over tighten. If the bottom ones don't want to move then I'd leave them alone and just torque the tops. The danger is you might pull the studs if you mess around with them too much. I know you have steel sleeves and so the studs shouldn't pull but I'd still be careful.

The missing metal on the case may just be a spot where the metal didn't flow during the casting.

-Andy