Mitch, Good New on the Rear Main Seal/ Stan and Kevin Maybe same type of oil leak.
jim larson said
Aug 30, 2011
Well my curiosity got the best of me and I pulled the starter and the inspection cover.
Rear main seal looks good and also no leaks from the back area of the block.
I'll post photo's tomorrow when my camera battery gets charged. Here what looks like appear to be the problem, first the oil fitting on the oil gauge by the block was leaking and got the clutch push rod and push rod spring wet and then dripping onto the exhaust manifold. The leak was also weeping on the front and the backside of the inspection cover on the drivers side. I fixed that yesterday.
On the right side there is oil on the # 8 plug and a little is running down the side of the block onto the inspection cover and starter. There may also be some oil coming from the rear of the intake where it mates to the head and run down from there. Can't see any evidence of the valve cover leaking. And oil pan and gasket looks good.
The treads of #8 plug is quite wet with oil and the bottom hex part. Plug appears to be burning clean on the tip. Where could this oil be coming from? Bad oil ring or bad oil seal. Hope it is the latter. I reinstalled the used plugs with the used spark plug washer. Do you think I should first just try a new plug with a new washer? Thanks.
Photos tomorrow.
-- Edited by jim larson on Tuesday 30th of August 2011 07:14:14 PM
-- Edited by jim larson on Tuesday 30th of August 2011 07:14:56 PM
Lost in the 60s said
Aug 30, 2011
Whew, I was having a hard time believing the rear seal was leaking, but you never know. Glad you looked...
If the cylinder was buring oil, it wouldn't get on the outside unless the plug was loose. Also, that much oil consumption would foul the plug badly. That oil is coming from an external leak and my guess is still the valve cover gasket above it or a breather grommet. Do I remember one of your heads having a crack or chip on the lip for the valve cover gasket or am I thinking of someone elses engine.... I would pull that cover carefully and look for wetness between the gasket and head/cover surfaces. Now that it has sat a day all the oil will have run off and those surfaces should be dry if they are sealed properly.
jim larson said
Aug 31, 2011
Here are some photo's.
Guess I misspoke a little, the tip of the plug looks like it is not burning clean. Would you suspect a oil seal or oil ring. It hard to see the oil leaking down the edge of the inside of the inspection cover; but it is there.
Still can't find any oil from valve cover. No my engine did not have a chip out of it.
Every thing is back together and I took the car for a 10mile trip, ran the rpm up to 5000 a couple of times.
No visiable signs of leaks anymore, except possibly a little from the #8 plug. I put a new plug in there with a new gasket. I suspect there is some oil getting in the cylinder from a oil seal in the head or from the oil ring. Will wait a couple of trips, to check for leakage of oil there and other areas. Then pull the plug to see how wet it is. Oil seal had probably been in there since before the car was painted in 1994. I was told engine was rebuilt in the early 80's.
Bungy L-76 said
Aug 31, 2011
I agree with Mitch, oil on the outside of the plug is coming from outside the engine. If it was coming from inside the cylinder, it would never make it past the threads to get to the outside (hex portion) of the sparkplug.
The black tip on the plug could also indicate that cylinder is running a little rich.
Usually a bad or worn valve seal will blow blue smoke out the tailpipe upon startup. Bad rings will blow blue smoke out the tailpipe all the time or on hard excelleration. Then again, if it's only one bad seal, you might not notice any blue smoke.
jim larson said
Aug 31, 2011
I guess we will have to wait and see, I am usually wrong. I installed a new plug and washer and now there does not seem to be anything coming out of the plug area. I have driven the car twice,about 10 miles each. Can't see any oil anywhere on the engine. I have the valve that diverts the pass side exhaust under the carb to heat it up and send the exhaust out the drivers side. Haven't noticed any smoke.
Oil had pooled in the pocket of the spark plug and after I took the plug out, all the threads were wet. And oil/gas had weep-ed onto the bottom 1/3 of the hex part of the plug, the top 1/3 was dry. Don't see how oil could get there. No evidence of any oil coming from the rear of the intake where it mates to the head.
While checking that area, I found a leak on the ps pump. I had removed it to fix a leak at the neck area where it connect by hose to the remote reservoir. All is good there and at the 4 fitting. I had to pump apart to check for anything inside. This seems impossible, there was the remnants of one of the oil Teflon rings that go on the adjuster. Well I cleaned everything and installed new O rings. Well I have a little leak from where the pump fits into the steel housing. Just a friction fit with an O ring. Not much of a leak, so I will wipe it off every couple of drives.
Well my curiosity got the best of me and I pulled the starter and the inspection cover.
Rear main seal looks good and also no leaks from the back area of the block.
I'll post photo's tomorrow when my camera battery gets charged. Here what looks like appear to be the problem, first the oil fitting on the oil gauge by the block was leaking and got the clutch push rod and push rod spring wet and then dripping onto the exhaust manifold. The leak was also weeping on the front and the backside of the inspection cover on the drivers side. I fixed that yesterday.
On the right side there is oil on the # 8 plug and a little is running down the side of the block onto the inspection cover and starter. There may also be some oil coming from the rear of the intake where it mates to the head and run down from there. Can't see any evidence of the valve cover leaking. And oil pan and gasket looks good.
The treads of #8 plug is quite wet with oil and the bottom hex part. Plug appears to be burning clean on the tip. Where could this oil be coming from? Bad oil ring or bad oil seal. Hope it is the latter. I reinstalled the used plugs with the used spark plug washer. Do you think I should first just try a new plug with a new washer? Thanks.
Photos tomorrow.
-- Edited by jim larson on Tuesday 30th of August 2011 07:14:14 PM
-- Edited by jim larson on Tuesday 30th of August 2011 07:14:56 PM
Whew, I was having a hard time believing the rear seal was leaking, but you never know. Glad you looked...
If the cylinder was buring oil, it wouldn't get on the outside unless the plug was loose. Also, that much oil consumption would foul the plug badly. That oil is coming from an external leak and my guess is still the valve cover gasket above it or a breather grommet. Do I remember one of your heads having a crack or chip on the lip for the valve cover gasket or am I thinking of someone elses engine....
I would pull that cover carefully and look for wetness between the gasket and head/cover surfaces. Now that it has sat a day all the oil will have run off and those surfaces should be dry if they are sealed properly.
Here are some photo's.
Guess I misspoke a little, the tip of the plug looks like it is not burning clean. Would you suspect a oil seal or oil ring. It hard to see the oil leaking down the edge of the inside of the inspection cover; but it is there.
Still can't find any oil from valve cover. No my engine did not have a chip out of it.
Every thing is back together and I took the car for a 10mile trip, ran the rpm up to 5000 a couple of times.
No visiable signs of leaks anymore, except possibly a little from the #8 plug. I put a new plug in there with a new gasket. I suspect there is some oil getting in the cylinder from a oil seal in the head or from the oil ring. Will wait a couple of trips, to check for leakage of oil there and other areas. Then pull the plug to see how wet it is. Oil seal had probably been in there since before the car was painted in 1994. I was told engine was rebuilt in the early 80's.
I agree with Mitch, oil on the outside of the plug is coming from outside the engine. If it was coming from inside the cylinder, it would never make it past the threads to get to the outside (hex portion) of the sparkplug.
The black tip on the plug could also indicate that cylinder is running a little rich.
Usually a bad or worn valve seal will blow blue smoke out the tailpipe upon startup. Bad rings will blow blue smoke out the tailpipe all the time or on hard excelleration. Then again, if it's only one bad seal, you might not notice any blue smoke.
I guess we will have to wait and see, I am usually wrong. I installed a new plug and washer and now there does not seem to be anything coming out of the plug area. I have driven the car twice,about 10 miles each. Can't see any oil anywhere on the engine. I have the valve that diverts the pass side exhaust under the carb to heat it up and send the exhaust out the drivers side. Haven't noticed any smoke.
Oil had pooled in the pocket of the spark plug and after I took the plug out, all the threads were wet. And oil/gas had weep-ed onto the bottom 1/3 of the hex part of the plug, the top 1/3 was dry. Don't see how oil could get there. No evidence of any oil coming from the rear of the intake where it mates to the head.
While checking that area, I found a leak on the ps pump. I had removed it to fix a leak at the neck area where it connect by hose to the remote reservoir. All is good there and at the 4 fitting. I had to pump apart to check for anything inside. This seems impossible, there was the remnants of one of the oil Teflon rings that go on the adjuster. Well I cleaned everything and installed new O rings. Well I have a little leak from where the pump fits into the steel housing. Just a friction fit with an O ring. Not much of a leak, so I will wipe it off every couple of drives.