More oil leak help - pics with engine out

[Scott R]

Pulled the motor this afternoon to try and discover the location of my massive oil leak, well and a few other small leaks and fixes as well. At any rate here are some pictures, this is the drivers side rear with the engine tin off:





You an see the wet oil running down the side in the first picture., now the question is why? Is it in fact coming from the rocker bushing?

[Motorhead-45]

From those pictures it looks like the leak is coming from somewhere about the rockers. Are you sure the upper valve cover gasket wasn't leaking? I'd say your next step is pull the CIS and look around the thermostat area.

[Scott R]

Originally posted by Motorhead-45
From those pictures it looks like the leak is coming from somewhere about the rockers. Are you sure the upper valve cover gasket wasn't leaking? I'd say your next step is pull the CIS and look around the thermostat area.

CIS is off, no leaks from the oil sender, or the breather plate. In fact I had just replaced those a few months back when I had the engine out the first time. Also the upper valve cover gasket is new, and very dry, no leaks there.

In the picture I was unable to show the fact that oil gets sucked/blown into the cylinder cooling fins and drips down the exhaust stud as well, this leaves a pool of oil about 5" around on the garage floor.

[syncroid]

In your first picture at the upper right corner; try checking the torque on the 17mm bolt that holds the cam spray bar in place. Also check the tightness of the rocker shaft hardware. If those two don't take care of the leaks then you might be looking at a cam housing reseal. One other thing, since you have the engine out and the valve covers off, take some time and clean the surfaces of the cam tower where the valve cover gaskets go. Same thing with the valve covers. When you re-install them, put them on with a light oil so they won't stick the next time.

[Motorhead-45]

Originally posted by Scott R
CIS is off, no leaks from the oil sender, or the breather plate. In fact I had just replaced those a few months back when I had the engine out the first time. Also the upper valve cover gasket is new, and very dry, no leaks there.

In the picture I was unable to show the fact that oil gets sucked/blown into the cylinder cooling fins and drips down the exhaust stud as well, this leaves a pool of oil about 5" around on the garage floor.

Only on the driver's side?

[Scott R]

Originally posted by Motorhead-45
Only on the driver's side?

Only.

[Motorhead-45]

Any photos from above?

[Scott R]

Originally posted by syncroid
In your first picture at the upper right corner; try checking the torque on the 17mm bolt that holds the cam spray bar in place. Also check the tightness of the rocker shaft hardware. If those two don't take care of the leaks then you might be looking at a cam housing reseal. One other thing, since you have the engine out and the valve covers off, take some time and clean the surfaces of the cam tower where the valve cover gaskets go. Same thing with the valve covers. When you re-install them, put them on with a light oil so they won't stick the next time.

EEEK! Cam housing re-seal? I would probably have to drop engine off at my mechanic for that since I lack just about all of the tools I need to get that apart.

[Scott R]

Originally posted by Motorhead-45
Any photos from above?

Yea, what would you like to see? Aiming down from the valve cover I can do that.

[Motorhead-45]

Directly from above so I can see the whole mess....with the volume of oil you are losing I can't imagine that much coming from a bad cam housing to head seal.

[Scott R]

Ok, it's a bit dark in my garage, however here they are:

[Motorhead-45]

Too big of a mess for me to tell from the photos....sorry. If I were you I'd start cleaning up the mess and hopefully you'll discover something obvious. Is the mess only at the rear of the motor? Have you checked the torque on the cam tower to see if everything is tight? Have you checked to see if any of your cylinder studs are broken? Have you checked the cam oil supply line at the other end of the motor?

[Scott R]

Originally posted by Motorhead-45
Too big of a mess for me to tell from the photos....sorry. If I were you I'd start cleaning up the mess and hopefully you'll discover something obvious. Is the mess only at the rear of the motor? Have you checked the torque on the cam tower to see if everything is tight? Have you checked to see if any of your cylinder studs are broken? Have you checked the cam oil supply line at the other end of the motor?

I checked the head studs about a month ago when I adjusted the valves, I'll check again tomorrow. As far as checking cam tower torque I'm going to have to read up on that since I have never looked into it before.

On the supply lines, no I have not checked, however the engine tin area where I placed all of the valve cover bolts is dry, I was thinking if the front line were leaking it would have run down the tin, maybe I am wrong about that.

And yes the mess is just where you see it, at the rear, before this I leaked nothing at all, in fact since I sealed everything up last summer it's bone dry until last weekend and then it just let lose with this puddlw issue.

I'll get to cleaning tomorrow morning!

[project 911]

Scott,

I spent some time last week tracking down leaks and found one thing that helped. I cleaned everything really well (I used carb cleaner), then sprayed the area with brake cleaner. It left the surfaces bone dry and when I checked it the next morning I could clearly see a wet spot of oil leaking from a case seam. I cleaned it again and sealed it with some RTV. Hope it holds...
You might try it and see if the problem shows itself.

Good luck.

Be aware that some of these cleaners will remove paint in a hurry, and the fumes will toast your brain.

[AFJuvat]

Looks like you are leaking from your exhaust rocker shaft or the bolt for the spray bar.

AFJ

[Scott R]

Originally posted by AFJuvat
Looks like you are leaking from your exhaust rocker shaft or the bolt for the spray bar.

AFJ

The bolt for the spray bar is just a crush ring correct?

[Gunter]

With that kind of a mess, it is hard to tell.
Depending on mileage, and when the last rebuild was done, consider a reseal.
The other way is to clean up real good, put the engine back in, add dye to the oil and see where the leak is.
Without pressure in the system, it's just guessing.

[Scott R]

Originally posted by Gunter
With that kind of a mess, it is hard to tell.
Depending on mileage, and when the last rebuild was done, consider a reseal.
The other way is to clean up real good, put the engine back in, add dye to the oil and see where the leak is.
Without pressure in the system, it's just guessing.

146K on the odometer, and no rebuild that I know of. However I purchased this car last year without any records other than an oil change, granted I paid pennies for it, however still a gamble.

I have had the motor out to re-seal it last summer, that consisted of all the exterior gaskets that can be replaced without a tear down.

Also, how do you guy recommend that I go about cleaning this thing? It has a lot of "caked on" oil from the previous leak. I had it completely dry however, I never really addressed the caked on stuff before as I have no method for transporting the block around.

[Gunter]

Having gone through this I can tell you that cleaning it with solvents and brushes is a lost cause. It takes forever and still doesn't come out right.
And mine wasn't nearly as caked-up as yours.
Steam cleaning in a shop? All orifices need to be plugged.
Call a repair shop and ask about this. Most places have a parts washer that works real well but a whole engine?

[Scott R]

Originally posted by Gunter
Having gone through this I can tell you that cleaning it with solvents and brushes is a lost cause. It takes forever and still doesn't come out right.
And mine wasn't nearly as caked-up as yours.
Steam cleaning in a shop? All orifices need to be plugged.
Call a repair shop and ask about this. Most places have a parts washer that works real well but a whole engine?

That's exactly why I just saled it up last summer and cleaned the top surfaces. I tried brushes and solvents and made a bigger mess than when I started.

I will start calling around, maybe someone has a pickup service.