Sab

My shark is leaking engine oil on the driver side. I noticed a small spot under the alternator air intake hose for a couple of days now. I went for a long drive today running across town about 100 miles. It was a pretty hot day here in Miami and I ran it pretty hard. I noticed the oil pressure to be a little lower than usual, but I guess that was due to the higher temperature. I am already paranoid with all my recent setbacks... Once I got home I parked in the driveway and then moved the car in the garage an hour later. MAJOR BIOHAZARD IN THE DRIVEWAY. A massive, or better severall puddles of oil... I checked the oil in the morning and then after the drive, it went from the high mark to the low mark.
Since it does not seem to come from the engine, I guess it must be one of the oil hoses going to the radiator. I guess the only way to find out is to clean up the mess and then running the engine waiting for it to start dripping. The hoses look fairly new.
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Sab. <img src="confused.gif" border="0">

Nicole

Are you sure it's not the oil pressure sensor? The sensor is located on the drivers side.

Mechanics had screwed mine in by turning the housing, instead of the nut, so after a couple of months it started leaking, more and more. Thank god DEVEK was able to squeeze me in for an emergency repair. The other mechanic refunded the cost for the first sensor and installation...

Sab

Thanks Nicole,
it's not the sensor, the sensor and the oil pan are dry.
regards,
Sab.

Greg86andahalf

Sab,

I would do just that. Clean it up and run the engine on blocks. Driving it may transfer or spray the leaking oil around making pinpointing the source harder to do (even the fan may do some of that while sitting stil). You probably won't have to run the motor for very long to see where the leak is originating from.

It's hard to see much around and above the alternator where the cooling lines come forward. I have seepage where the cooling lines connect to the block. You can barely get a wrench in there with the oil filter and pressure sending unit out, let alone put a turn on the nuts.

Was this engine taken out of the car when the shop had it?

Normy

That's urine, not blood by the way-

It's just your cars' way of saying it loves you. Don't be insulted by it!

Really though, my '85 does this every once in a while. Work yourself up under the car and tighten the oil cooler lines at both ends. This should stop it. My car has a leak from the oil filler "cup" [mines a 2-valve engine], which gets all over the front of the timing belt cover and makes a mess on the garage floor. Repairing this is a big job that I'm about to embark upon; stay tuned~

Normy!

'85 S2

Greg86andahalf

[quote]It's just your cars' way of saying it loves you. Don't be insulted by it!<hr></blockquote>

Kinda like a DC-3 If it's not leaking oil, it's out of oil.

Thom1

Hi Sab,

It would be really cool if your oil filter was loose... easy fix.

I use mineral spirits in a spray bottle, like a Fantastic cleaner bottle. Brushes can be handy to clean the area. Let it dry, or blow it dry. Then look for leaks. Mineral spirits are $2-3 per gallon at any hardware store. <img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" />

Dave H.

i'll have to remember that one...

[quote]Originally posted by Greg86andahalf:
<strong>
Kinda like a DC-3. If it's not leaking oil, it's out of oil.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Normy

Tee hee!

-I said that to a non-aviator friend while staring down at a 5 gallon bucket half-full of oil under the left engine of the B-25 at Sun N Fun last month and he broke out laughing....

Then he realized I was serious!

Normy!

'85 S2
'80 Jetta
'76 CB-750-four
'66 F100
'89 house with a BIG OIL STAIN IN THE GARAGE!
<img src="graemlins/c.gif" border="0" alt="[ouch]" />

John Struthers

If it's not the lines, filler check the archives for the mystery oil leak.
I think there were a few humorous posts on the subject last summer. I believe Snow had one where it seeped into the intake valley area -could be wrong-. Or was it somewhere around the valve towers? Hmmm... . In any case, there was an accumulation then a "spill over". Apparently, there is a seal/gasket on the towers both of them
(driver/pass. sides) seem let go occasionally.
I think the majority of replys to the leaking tower post indicated the pass. side was the bigger effort to repair.
HTH
Winged ones... try flying in the venerable CH-47 Chinook. The rule of thumb is: "if it ain't leaking thereis something wrong, red X it!" Boeing must have been experimenting with that revolutionary Constant Loss Lubrication System. Which I understand they bought from BSA who, kindly, shared the technology with Triumph.
Can you guy's remember drip pans and carpet swatches under new bikes on the showroom floor?
And judging from the number of catastrophic CH-47 gearbox failures -that damn thing weighs more than our sHARKs- over the years they may have borrowed some of Harley Davidson OPERATOR miss-aligned sprocket and gearbox methodology.
John S. Ex-Petroleum Transfer Technician- Sota's Gulf Station- Hunky Hill, Munhall.

Sab

Thanks everyone.
I finally got some time to crawl under the beast. It is the upper of the two oil cooling lines (it could not have been the lower one...), it leaks severely where the metal fitting connects to the rubber hose. So I guess out with the oil filter, oil pressure sender and since it looks to me as if the upper hose will not come off with the lower in place I will order two new hoses.
Where do I get them? Can I have them made or only Porsche parts?

Greg, yes the engine was recently out when "the shop" replaced it after the story with the sand in the intake.

Does anyone have some usefull tips for the oil cooling line replacement procedure?

regards,
Sab. <img src="graemlins/drink.gif" border="0" alt="[cherrsagai]" />

John Struthers

Not sure if these are the correct lines but, Dr Bob in a post to the Nichols site took his lines to a local shop and had them use his 'old' fittings to fabricate new lines.
If you have a heavy equipment sales outlet near you - Caterpillar, Case, White, Mack, equipment rental outfit, or even a forklift outlet give them a call and see if they will do a fabrication in house or ask who would make a custom fit line, just call them unless you want to journey around the industrial/maintenance section of your town.
You may have problems getting the metric fitting swages and they cannot be reused. But there are Italian hydraulics on the new Ford back-hoes so you might luck out.
Good luck.
John S. <img src="graemlins/bigok.gif" border="0" alt="[thumbsup]" /> <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

Brett Matthews

Fortunately for me, there is a hydraulic fittings shop nearby, who will make up lines while you wait. And yes, I have used the old fittings again, those ol' BSA oil lines, with their Wentworth or cycle thread pitches, are not very common.
Yeah, I hear that "constant loss oil system" dig all the time.

Sab

Thanks everyone,
I found a hydraulic hose shop today that is willing to do the hoses. The first one could not do the work, but he send me to another place close by. The owner there told me he will do it himself, but that I needed to mark the exact position of the hose and the fitting, since they are loose and have turned. I did not know that they should not be turned after they are redone to prevent them from possibly leaking again. So I will have to put them back in, mark them and take'em back to the shop. <img src="graemlins/cussing.gif" border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" />
But I hope it's worth the effort.
regards,
Sab. <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

Sab

Got the hoses redone at the hydraulic shop and was really surprised how great they came out. All stainless steel, they definetley look better than new.

I already installed them, drip free after ~100 miles.
Thanks for the tips.
regards,
Sab. <img src="graemlins/jumper.gif" border="0" alt="[jumper]" />