small oil leak mystery, I have to do additional research but thought I would put it out there Options

[mmichalik]

I picked up my 75 from the alignment shop yesterday. And as anyone in CA or the rest of the country knows, it's warm out.
I have driven the car a total of maybe 75 miles since the rebuild. Taking it easy, shaking it down, stuff like that.
Yesterday, driving home the temp gauge on the dash read a little over middle but nothing major. The car was running great, I was not pushing it because of the break in that I am doing, and after about 20 miles, the motor pissed out about a 14 of a quart of oil. It's not burning it inside the motor, we can see that. It appears to have come out somewhere else.
Like I said, it was only a 1/4 of a quart or less but it got all over the jugs and the transmission so it was smoking and it looked like it was coming from the right side of the motor.
I got the car home, and it sat for about 2 hrs, then I started it up and watched the motor, while laying on the ground behind the car and to the side of the car. It ran for about 3 minutes and did not leak any oil.
I'm going to put it up on jack stands, clean it off really good and start it up and see if I can see it weeping from anywhere but I did not see anything yesterday.
Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions on where to look? It's really strange and has me a bit baffled.
Mike

[emerygt350]

I picked up my 75 from the alignment shop yesterday. And as anyone in CA or the rest of the country knows, it's warm out.
I have driven the car a total of maybe 75 miles since the rebuild. Taking it easy, shaking it down, stuff like that.
Yesterday, driving home the temp gauge on the dash read a little over middle but nothing major. The car was running great, I was not pushing it because of the break in that I am doing, and after about 20 miles, the motor pissed out about a 14 of a quart of oil. It's not burning it inside the motor, we can see that. It appears to have come out somewhere else.
Like I said, it was only a 1/4 of a quart or less but it got all over the jugs and the transmission so it was smoking and it looked like it was coming from the right side of the motor.
I got the car home, and it sat for about 2 hrs, then I started it up and watched the motor, while laying on the ground behind the car and to the side of the car. It ran for about 3 minutes and did not leak any oil.
I'm going to put it up on jack stands, clean it off really good and start it up and see if I can see it weeping from anywhere but I did not see anything yesterday.
Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions on where to look? It's really strange and has me a bit baffled.
Mike

By right side do you mean the passenger side? That is where the oil cooler is located and that leak can be dependent on the engine oil getting nice and hot. If your seals are not in correctly, or your cooler has a crack, that can give a leak that only happens when the car is nice and hot.

[Cairo94507]

1/4 of a quart is a bit of oil. Maybe the engine mounted cooler?

I use Brake Clean and an air hose to clean off oil when it gets everywhere. Cleans really nice with absolutely minimal effort. I put the car up in the air, wear safety glasses and spray the affected areas liberally (cold of course) and let it sit for maybe 15 seconds, use a brush if necessary to agitate and break loose any stubborn grease and use an air line to blow it off- nice and clean. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[mmichalik]

@Cairo94507 I say 1/4 because I'm not sure where the oil level was before I started out but, it's just at the bottom line now and although it got everywhere, it doesn't look like "that" much.
I was thinking that it might be the cooler seals because the motor sat for probably 3 years after being rebuilt, before I got it in the car.
@emerygt350 I did mean the passenger side, I was thinking about the car when I was writing the post and I pictured looking at it from the back end. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
Thanks guys, for the answers, I will check that out.

[FlacaProductions]

Passenger side could also indicate a loose oil pressure switch - above the oil cooler. single wire going down thru a rubber grommet near the distributor. Accessed from top side.

[emerygt350]

Passenger side could also indicate a loose oil pressure switch - above the oil cooler. single wire going down thru a rubber grommet near the distributor. Accessed from top side.

A good suggestion and a likely culprit.

[Artfrombama]

I had to replace my oil pressure sender as well as the oil cooler rubbers because they were both leaking.

[mgphoto]

Had my engine puke that much into the air filter housing, a clip came loose and sprayed into the engine compartment. I reinstalled my original PCV valve to make a few tests. A real mess.

[r_towle]

Was the alignment all they did?

Check the following
1) motor mounts, sadly under the fan housing...but one or more of those bolts enter the oil cavity...and yah they leak.
2) front main seal...might as well replace if you remove the fan housing
3) oil filter, and all around that bracket/housing
4) two small oil cooler seals above the oil filter....so clean really well and look for drips above the oil filter...
5) oil pressure sensor, top of engine near the distributor

From there its the main one...pushrod tubes, oil crankcase plug (maybe they jacked up the car from that point and bent or damaged the bottom plug??)

Valve cover gaskets...could have been moved or in the way for some reason.

Anything near the rear suspension bolts...coiling lines, or other aftermarket items...(think about how they jacked it up, and how they moved things to do the job of the alignment)

Rich

[brant]

Depends on where the mess is coming from

Jack stands time


Guessing VC gaskets bc and when did the valves get adjusted last?

[mmichalik]

Wow, thanks everyone for all the recommendations. I will put it up on stands tomorrow afternoon and let you guys know what I find

[mmichalik]

@FlacaProductions I checked the switch, doesn't appear to be that but thanks for the advice. It was tight and clean. I checked the heads through the spark plug holes in the tin and they were as clean as a whistle as well......
Mystery deepens.

[rfinegan]

uv dye and a black (UV)light may help you find the source...

[emerygt350]

I will add valve cover leaks can end up going all kinds of places. However if it is a dripping leak, and it only happens when the oil gets to 180-200 degrees, I would be looking around the oil cooler/oil filter area.

[930cabman]

I will add valve cover leaks can end up going all kinds of places. However if it is a dripping leak, and it only happens when the oil gets to 180-200 degrees, I would be looking around the oil cooler/oil filter area.

Lets not forget push rod tubes. These buggers can be tricky to get leak free (if there is such a thing)

[mmichalik]

It looks like it's the RMS, to me. Going to have to drop the engine and trans to inspect and verify 100% but at least the push rod tubes aren't leaking. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
Thanks for all the advice and guidance.
Mike