1981 Shark

Hello,

I'm scratching my head over an oil leak. Not a slow drip, but a steady flow. Odd thing is that it seems to only do it in reverse.
The pictures show the flow that resulted while I was backing it up into the garage. Didn't have time to get it back up on the ramps this evening to check it out or get other/better pics. Unfortunately, I have to travel out of town this weekend.



I had it up on the ramps and changed the oil last weekend and checked everything I could see, but couldn't tell where the oil was coming from. It was leaking before I changed the oil. Some is getting on the manifold and creating some smoke which scared the $hit out of me at first.

It does not appear to be leaking from the pan, the filter or the drain plug. It does seem to be coming from the rear of the engine (facing the car) on the driver's side. The flow is like that of an oil pressure sender that is bad/loose, but that was not soaked and leaking when it was up on the ramps for the oil change. Looking for suggestions as to where it may be coming from and if anyone has had this happen.

Thanks in advance.

David

milwaukeeshark

Cam tower, rear cover gasket? BTDT

whitefox

Oil breather hose?

jpitman2

oil pressure switch, thermostat housing or cooler hose...?
jp 83 Euro S AT 50k

SharkSkin

Maybe a blown engine mount combined with an oil hose that's partially let go -- in reverse, the engine rocks opposite its usual direction, flexing the hose to where it can spew?*

*wild *** guess, but I've seen stranger things...

1981 Shark

Yeah, the reverse thing was what had me puzzled. Yesterday was my first opportunity to drive since the oil change and it didn't seem to leak after the oil change; 10 feet to get it back into the garage afterwards, though. During my drive yesterday, albeit a short one, I constantly checked all gauges and oil pressure read fine; temp was OK too.

I did have a thought that maybe having it up on the ramps (at an angle) trying see where it was coming from may have disguised its leak location. I guess the ideal way to check would be to have it on a lift and running with someone inside to shut it off if Mt. Vesuvius erupted.

Based on the "trail of oil" it was leaving, it does seem to be related to pressure making it spew which would make a hose rather than a gasket seem to make more sense (at least to me). A cam cover gasket was suggested, but it seems like it wouldn't result in as big of a flow. Thanks for the suggestions.

Is there any other kind of guess!?

neilh

You sure it's engine oil, not power steering fluid. Tough to tell from the picture, but if you did an oil change last week the oil would be very clean, and that line looks really dark.
Just a thought....

heinrich

Dave, in reverse, doesn't the engine rock in the same direction as always? I think the reverse part of this on a 5spd is a red herring. Likely cam tower seal (on a 32V it would be a sure valve cover gasket issue)

Chris

If it is the rear cam tower seal the thing must be virtually out of its socket looking at the trail. If the rear cam seal on the drivers side leaks it makes an oily mess of the rubber coupling on the steering shaft which can easily be seen from above.

When the cam cover seal goes due to age you can get a lot of oil pushed out when you back of the throttle at higher RPM, in fact you can get a very nice James Bond smoke screen.

How old are your oil cooler lines ?

Chris

1981 Shark

Yes, I'm sure it's oil. At first I thought (hoped) it was P/S fluid instead, but one of the larger puddles, felt, looked and tasted like oil . It is/was clean, it's just the light that makes the trail look dark; it had soaked into the driveway pretty good by the time I took the pics. Thanks.
Would a cam tower seal "spew and dribble" that large of a flow?! Not questioning your input, just trying to narrow down the possibilities. Thanks.

You may have hit it on the head. Yesterday evening on my short drive, I goosed it and did get what appeared to be a large puff of brownish carbon smoke shifting from 1st to 2nd; didn't appear blueish oil smoke, but maybe it was. This was before I realized the severity of the leak.

I'll have to bo gack through my records and see if and when the PO may have replaced the oil cooler lines; I can't recall off hand - records are at home and I'm at work (supposedly working... ). I will celebrate my 2nd anniversary with my car later this month; would rather celebrate with a drive.

Can anyone direct a good write-up on the replacement of cam cover seals and/or oil cooler lines or do the shop manuals cover it all? Looks like I may be goin' in...

Regards,

David

SharkSkin

H brings up a good point. A live axle suspension would twist the opposite way in reverse, while the engine rocked in it's usual direction. With the 928 drvetrain tied together as it is, I'm not sure if it would rock the same direction in reverse or not. It would take a small experiment to find out...

neilh

Can you tell approximately where under the car the leak is from where the line of oil stopped on the garage floor?
The engine oil cooler lines ( if you have one, my 81 does not) come off above the oil pressure switch and forward.

dr bob

Thanks to the torque tube and the way the trans is mounted, the reaction that rocks the motor is the resut of the inertia of the crank and the rotating bits. Rocks one way when you are on the throttle (counterclockwise looking friom the front...), the other way when you are off. The gear you select in the gearbox makes no difference whatsoever.

1981 Shark

Had a few minutes to look last night, but not enough to get it up on the ramps. It appears to be leaking from the back (firewall side) driver's side of the engine bank, approximately even with the back of the front wheel. I still can't tell how far up the engine the leak originates; I'm not gumby.

Neil, If yours doesn't have an oil cooler line, I would assume mine doesn't ??? Part not shown in PET for '78-82. My PO service records indicate the motor mounts to have been replaced in 12/01, but less than 20k miles ago.

Again, If it is indeed the cam tower gasket, would a bad one have that constant of a flow? Who's BTDT and has a good write-up or are the WSM best? What about WYAI's? Thanks.

Regards,
David

marton

I had one of those but it had a very small rate of flow; it was due to a bolt that had a corroded thread. The oil ran down into the clutch so I had to take the clutch pack out as well and clean it.

Marton