Rebuiding Inside-out Options

[bkrantz]

Mixed with a bit of dye, the oil glows orange.

[bkrantz]

I poured the entire bottle into the oil fill, and check the UV reaction.

[bkrantz]

I first ran the engine for about 30 seconds, to see if there is an obvious leak. Underneath with UV light I only found some residue that did not get cleaned off. And no orange.

[bkrantz]

I then did 60 seconds (idle), 5 minutes (idle), and 5 minutes with some revving up to about 2500 rpm. Nothing visible in UV underneath. I checked the oil on the dipstick and still got some orange, but maybe less than before, and more blue.

[bkrantz]

I then did two sessions of about 8 to 10 minutes, with running and revving at 3000 to almost 5000 rpm. The temp gauge got into normal warmed-up range, and my new oil pressure gauge showed about 40 psi at 4000 rpm.

Underneath I found a bit of new oil dripped down--but no orange under UV. At this point, any oil, new or old, showed only as blue. This now reduces the utility of the UV.

[bkrantz]

I spent a lot of time looking with UV, and took a lot of pictures. My best guess is that I have a leak from the upper oil galley plug. Way back I had the original plugs pulled and the case threaded. During my second rebuild, I installed the threaded plugs with Weld-on White Seal Plus thread sealant.

[bkrantz]

I also found a path of oil on the angular case piece that leads up to the oil cooler. This was not really wet, and the uncertainty about the dyed oil makes me unsure.

[bkrantz]

Bottom line, I am pretty sure that at least one threaded plug is leaking, and have a maybe on oil cooler seals. When it cools down I will look more carefully.

But I am disappointed that the UV dye gave up its color, and made it harder to recognize new leaks.

[930cabman]

I feel your pain, built a 2056 and she runs great. Chasing an oil leak in the same area, I found one of the new aluminum tapped plugs was leaking. Completed an (attempted) repair in place. Thought I had it, but I am still getting a small leak in the same area.

[Puebloswatcop]

Bob, Sorry you didn't have better luck with the UV dye. I have had good success in the past, so not sure why it didn't produce better results. I hope you can at least seal up the oil plug leak.

[bkrantz]

I took another look today, with regular light. Here is the biggest oil drip, which I think came from the galley plug.

[bkrantz]

Hard to see, but a possible second leak might be from the oil cooler seals.

[bkrantz]

And so I stripped everything off the top of the motor, and disconnected all wires, cables, and fuel lines.

[bkrantz]

This time I put a bright red rag in the oil filler cavity. You might remember that last time I tucked a paper towel in there, forgot about it, and then tried to fill the engine with oil and made a BIG mess.

[bkrantz]

Underneath, I removed the muffler, shift rod, and some sheet metal, and disconnected all the cables and half-shafts. I then got my plywood cradle and motorcycle jack in place.

[bkrantz]

A piece of cardboard on each side to protect the sheet metal from the nuts in the trailing arm pivots.

[bkrantz]

Then time to undo the cross beam bolts and the transaxle mount bolts, and lower the engine down. It took me about 4 hours, taking my time and with a few distractions.

[bkrantz]

Ready for the second attempt to find and fix oil leaks.

[Cairo94507]

Man, I feel for you. Gotta love your determination chasing that leak.

I still have a couple on my car but they will have to wait until we drop the motor/transaxle to address them. Maybe over the winter that will happen. Right now I get 2 dime-sized drips when parked after a week or so. No where near how bad it was as we solved a few of the easy to do leaks. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Puebloswatcop]

Bob, I gotta say your love and dedication to this car is awesome. Don't give up, I know you will track this down