Sometimes you can find the leak by spraying the area down with soapy water, block off the crankcase vents, and run at a fast idle so the engine builds up a little crankcase pressure.
HTH
Glen
--Previous Message--
: My son and I are trying to locate a
: fairly substantial oil leak on his 1500
: Spitfire engine. We have washed the
: block and engine bay several times with
: degreasers and detergents followed by
: adding UV dye to the oil. After
: driving the car at night, we stop and
: use a black-light to look for the dye.
:
: We cannot definitively find the oil
: leak after a short drive but after a
: day of using the car there is oil all
: over the left (distributor) side of the
: block and frame. The leak is NOT out of
: the front seal but appears to be coming
: out between the front plate and the
: timing chain cover. We have tried
: tightening all the timing chain cover
: fasteners but this has not slowed the
: leak.
:
: We found the front sealing block (the
: problem child made of aluminum) had
: some stripped or marginal tapped holes.
: I've band-aided those and I thought
: tightening those bolts more would have
: slowed or stopped the leak... but it
: hasn't helped. Neither has building an
: ugly wall of RTV around suspect areas.
:
: I may break down soon and drop the pan
: to put new front gaskets on and fix the
: sealing bar but I am really hoping to
: NOT have to do that. Do any of you
: have suggestions for where else to look
: for the oil leak? I plan on checking
: all the external oil galley plugs and
: relief valve this weekend. Suggestions
: for other places to look will be
: greatly appreciated.
:
: Doug L.
:
:
:
:
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