Page 1 of 1
oil leak with no obvious source
Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2015 6:17 pm
by MinamiKotaro
I seem to have a leak around my passenger side head. It's not coming from the valve cover, push rod tubes, or from between the cylinder and head.
Where else could it be from?
Re: oil leak with no obvious source
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 6:36 pm
by SCOTTRODS
Compression leak or oil leak?
Re: oil leak with no obvious source
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 7:14 pm
by Piledriver
MinamiKotaro wrote:I seem to have a leak around my passenger side head. It's not coming from the valve cover, push rod tubes, or from between the cylinder and head.
Where else could it be from?
Pictures.
We LOVE pictures.
Re: oil leak with no obvious source
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 8:10 pm
by MinamiKotaro
Piledriver wrote:MinamiKotaro wrote:I seem to have a leak around my passenger side head. It's not coming from the valve cover, push rod tubes, or from between the cylinder and head.
Where else could it be from?
Pictures.
We LOVE pictures.
I'll try to get some when it's up on stands receiving its new tires Monday or Tuesday.
Re: oil leak with no obvious source
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 8:48 pm
by Piledriver
Porosity in the casting is sometimes an issue, but oil has the ability to get blown around a lot.
(Example, On a T4 in my 914) after a long highway run ~everything was covered with oil, it was getting blown around by turbulence. It was dripping off the heads, cyinders, block, on TOP of engine, oil cooler, all over the trans... bad.
Would have looked for a hole in the block, but it ran great.
(The thermostat pulley bolt is another classic, but T4 specific--- its a 6mm open hole into the sump, but well above oil level, won't leak at idle usually... but pours on a R hand turn (left turn in a 914) and spews at cruise if omitted.)
Had to hit a car wash and drive a bit and even sprinkle/blow some talcum powder to actually see what was leaking.
my buried idiot light sender was oozing by as they all eventually do, didn't look like much at idle but apparently added up to a huge mess w/hot oil at interstate cruise speed. I guess at high RPM is was spraying a fine mist.
Worked on one car, bad breather box setup spewing a hot aerosol mess only at high loads/RPM that can get sucked into the fan can really cause a head scratcher for awhile.
That engine had to come out as ~all the cooling passages were caked up/blocked with oil/dirt mix, had been going on awhile. It was cooked.
Re: oil leak with no obvious source
Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 5:12 pm
by MinamiKotaro
Update:
Source of the leak was oil I had spilled on the engine. Derp.
Re: oil leak with no obvious source
Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2016 11:55 pm
by Xoloski
One can use an engine oil dye additive and an ultraviolet light to locate otherwise hard to find minute oil leaks.