1974 911: oil leak on the manifold

[Flojo]

yep. 2 of 6
getting RSR seals now

[pampadori]

i recently removed my cyl 3 intake rocker shaft with the engine in the car. I was very pleased when I was able to loosen the bolt/nut and use my finger to push it out of the bore.
Tip #1: however, i should have removed the bolt and nut completely before pushing it out of the bore. There is barely enough room to get them out of the bore so that extra 1/8" the nut and bolt contribute make a difference.
Tip #2: Don't remove them if you don't have to. Try resetting their position and torquing to 20# ft first. They are dang near impossible to get back into the bore if you don't have them all out and can't use a long rod to tap them in gently. Since cyl 2 and 1 were still installed, it took me about an hour to finally get #3 back into the bore. I almost took it into the house to freeze it to get some extra clearance.

Its so easy to remove the valve covers and look for signs of leaks. Do that before you remove them.
Tip #3: use a smartphone to video the areas with the flash on. They can get where your eyeballs can't.

one more, why not. Tip #4 use the orange rubber gaskets so you can reuse them. They seal better too.

[75 911s]

FWIW, I think my leak in the same area is due to a warped upper valve cover. Don't under estimate something simple like that.

[Montreal911]

update: I opened the top cover valve to take a look at the rockers shafts/pins and they were ok as per proporsche's description. I did however notice that the camshaft oil line fitting to the engine was loose (circled on proporsche's photo here above) -- HURRAY!! no more oil leaks on the passenger header!!

I have 2 small leaks remaining which I'm not planning on fixing anytime soon
1) the timing belt aluminum housing is slightly cracked (previous owner cracked it when bolting too tight)
2) the oil cooler leaks slightly

both of those leaks are MINIMAL (dime size) and I accepted the fact that these will always leak. I am happy that the main leak that cause most of the bad smell (eau-de-Porsche) is gone!

thanks to all of you for your help! merci beaucoup!

[Jerome74911S]

Originally Posted by 1974-911

update: . . .
I have 2 small leaks remaining which I'm not planning on fixing anytime soon
1) the timing belt aluminum housing is slightly cracked (previous owner cracked it when bolting too tight)

No, the previous owner didn't tighten the timing chain housing too tightly - I never tightened that nut at all, ever. Must have been the previous, previous owner.

[Montreal911]

I stand corrected