Does Simple Green make engines leak oil?

[maxman]

When I first got my '82 SC a few months ago, I asked for some engine cleaning advice from a co-worker who has a '90 Lotus Esprit. He said spray it all down with straight Simple Green, let it sit for a few minutes, and rinse it off. That's what I did. Since then I have aggressively gone at this particular section of the block with some Simple Green and a scrubber pad from my kitchen. This whole time the car is just siting in my heated garage, as I live in MN. I have started three times. That's it.



Now, I am noticing a small oil leak. The car could have had it before, but when I had a PPI done they said it was not leaking anything. I'm worried that I may have caused this. In the photo below you can see the leak, it's hard to tell where the oil is coming from. I have spent the last while looking around on Pelican and the internet to find out if Simple Green is a bad idea. I have found some people swear by it, some people don't like it, but no one who says that it will instantly make your motor leak oil. Are the incidents related? I am just freaking out? Either way is there anything I can do about the leak short of taking the motor out? How serious of a leak would you call this?


This is at the very front end of the crank case.


Same spot, different angle.


Back a little further.


The right bank, things look pretty clean.


Another view of the right bank.


This is on the front end of the left bank. This seems to produce a second, but much smaller drip


Another view of the front right bank.


The fresh oil is about 5 days worth. That's about the size of a CD-ROM.

Thanks

~Max the Newbie

[aadrew10]

The cylinder in your 6th picture looks oily. Check and see if the there is a leak at the base gasket.

[4sd911]

Picture 6 is at the oil cooler right? There is a oil pressure idiot light switch at the top of the engine that is known to leak. Oil dripping off of the cam tower might be caused from the rocker shafts, re-torque them. There are many places these engines can leak most likely you are leaking from more than one place.

[James Brown]

welcome to the world of fixing oil leaks. you could have disturbed the crud enough to cause the leaks, like pulling a scab off a cut. common. replace the valve cover gaskets after adjusting the valves. upper and lower. Try not to break anything this time. with fresh oil, you can pinpoint the other leaks better.

[Geronimo '74]

Originally Posted by James Brown

. you could have disturbed the crud enough to cause the leaks, like pulling a scab off a cut. common.

Ding ding ding!!!! We have a winner!!

[maxman]

So I can stop having nightmares about Simple Green eating away motor seals? Part of me wants to spray down and scrub the bottom side of the motor so I can see exactly what's leaking. Is this a good idea? Will water spray under there cause more problems?

[Steve@Rennsport]

Simple Green played no part in your oil leaks; thats all due to age and heat.

Over time, all the gaskets, seals and O-rings shrink, harden, crack and dry up which creates the majority of the oil leaks we see.

If you truly want to find the source, one thoroughly cleans the bottom of the whole engine, adds some special dye to the oil, and uses a special lamp to see where the oil is leaking from.

[cary]

I'm kind of anal about oil leaks. I have one of those kits. They really work.
Bought mine at NAPA. Don't remember the cost. But each new dye kit is about $7.
Steve, thats a good question. Should you change the oil after you've used the dye kit? In a regular car probably not. But in a racing application?

[berettafan]

Has nothing to do with your leaks (other than you disturbed the crud that was absorbing the oil) but i won't let Simple Green in my garage. With certain metals if you don't rinse enough you will get corrosion. Fooey on that i say!

[don gilbert]

my oil leak detector kit consist of the dye from napa, and a cheap black lite from that silly mall store, cant remember the name, but it works great.

[Canada Kev]

Originally Posted by James Brown

you could have disturbed the crud enough to cause the leaks, like pulling a scab off a cut. common.

Yeah, I agree with this statement. The same thing happened to me with an old Jeep when I replaced the intake manifold gasket. I cleaned up the manifold of old oil, dirt and general crud. When I was filling the rad, it started leaking coolant near trhe radiator hose inlet. I took another look at things and discovered a crack. All that crap I cleaned off was plugging the crack good enough to stop any leaks even under cooling system pressure.

[McLovin]

I disagree with that statement.

There's no way that leaking oil can form a "scab" on an engine sufficient to stop further leaking.

[Canada Kev]

You don't think so? My situation wasn't oil, but rather anti-freeze. Dust, dirt, oil and other gunk collected in it and over time created an apparently coolant proof coating. Some time in the parts washer and some scrubbing removed it and exposed the crack and subsequent leak. I don't see why this couldn't happen with oil.

[McLovin]

No, I don't think so.

I don't think it can with coolant (coolant is a pressurized system!), either. In your case, you necessarily disturbed (stressed) a lot of parts when you did your job. My guess is your crack broke through as a result.

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by maxman

The car could have had it before, but when I had a PPI done they said it was not leaking anything.

I don't think your shop gave you a very good PPI.

[maxman]

I am wrong to think that these leaks are not a show stopper? It looks like it might be lower valve cover gaskets.

[CharlesJones]

Are these leaks actually any cause from concern? I've heard that most 911 engines leak a little - comes with the territory - and from what I can see in the photos this doesn't look like much of a leak. I'd be tempted to just leave it until the next valve adjustment, and in the meantime just keep an eye on the garage floor to check it doesn't get any worse.

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by maxman

I am wrong to think that these leaks are not a shop stopper? It looks like it might be lower valve cover gaskets.

It's not possible to determine where those leaks are coming from based just on the pictures. That's a fairly oily mess, my guess is you have multiple leaks. If you are interested in finding out, you really need to clean the engine up completely, run it and carefully look for the source(s) of the leaks.

[James Brown]

That's true Charles, who cares. It's too far down there to look under the car and oil stains just mark my territory.

[kidrock]

If you're anal about leaks, you may reconsider owning a Porsche.

Put a decent pan under the motor.

Could be the valve covers, but I believe it will be the usual suspects (breather hose, thermo o-ring, etc.) Minor PITA, nothing major.