Marc Schwager

I was hunting down the minor oil leaks in the car when I came across some oil in a strange spot. I previously had some oil in the valley, so I changed out the gasket at the base of the oil filling unit along with all the hoses. With that I thought I had the top of the car fairly well sealed.

I took off the AFM to check out the cam tower seals and just generally poke around when I noticed more oil in the valley and also in an area just to the rear of the valley (the yellow arrow). I can't figure out where it's coming from. It looks a bit like it is coming from below the cover marked "A" (pink arrow) . As near as I can tell cover A is used as part of the coolant system on the passengers side head so it would be an unlikely oil source.



Any idea where the oil came from? Any chance that cover "A" is the culprit?

TIA

928ntslow

Looks like old oil residue to me (if it even IS oil). ...certainly not fresh looking. My first thought was from the breather tube to the intake, but it is a weird spot for oil to run to. I say clean the area real well, run the car and check again. I have a feeling it will not return. Of course, this is all based on the photo you show.

Marc Schwager

I should have pointed out that this was a post-cleaning picture. There was probably an ounce of oil and sludge that I cleaned out of that little slot - more than was in the valley behind it. The oil portion was still liquid. At first I thought it might be water or coolant from the heater line above, but as I cleaned it out it was clear it was oil.

1981 Shark

I noticed that a while back and after I cleaned it up, it did not reappear. I think it was spillage from an oil change/refill. Please repost and update if your investigation reveals otherwise. Thanks.

David

928ntslow

The only other thing I can recommend is getting a mechanics mirror or dental mirror to search around for the leak point. I am guessing this could be a head gasket or a breather hose.