Oil Leak Worstning Quickly

S

Steve_KS

Member
Hello,

I got my car Memorial day weekend. The previous owner had it 3 years but drove it very little. It had a few leaks but they were a drip here and there, nothing much. I got the car home and it had a similar leak pattern the first few weeks.

However, ~3 weeks ago it started dripping oil from the radius ball I didn't think much of it since it's getting used more now. But every time I've driven it since which is about 3 times (20 miles per weekend) it has gotten much worse. now it is a very fast drip. Below you can see the trail I left going into the garage on Saturday.

I've done some searching and read bout the block becoming pressurized if the breather is bad so I only pushed it in half way this weekend but that didn't fix anything. I assume the real answer will be to pull the motor or transmission but that's beyond my abilities. Any other ideas or common causes?
 

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Jacking up the car and seeing where the leak is coming from is your next move.There are leaks that are easy to fix,like the drain back pipe and the valve cover,and hard,like the rear main.You can only guess based on the info provided.Sometimes looking at the underside will point it out,in some cases you need to clean it and run it to find.Good luck
 
Oil leakage at the front radius rod ball joint is typically due to:
> The Model "A" engine does not have a rear main bearing seal. It has an oil slinger which does not work well, so some oil leakage is to be expected;
> Crankcase ventilation is very important regarding oil leakage. Make sure the breather tube on the engine is not restricted. Some breather caps can be set down too far and block the breather tube. The cap should have 3 metal prongs inside of it to limit the cap's insertion depth;
> Over filling the engine's oil is a cause of leakage. Typically engines have a stable oil level halfway between the "F" & "L" marks on the dip stick. The system holds 5 quarts, but only 4 quarts will drain on a change, and it's only the oil in the pan (4 quarts) that registers on the dipstick and drains. There is another captive quart of oil on a tray near the top of the pan that the dip stick does not register. Do not top the engine's oil above the halfway mark;
> Over filling the transmission adds to the leakage out of the radius rod ball joint. The transmission should have one pint of gear oil. If the transmission is filled to the top of the fill hole, it has too much oil and it will leak out of the main-shaft bearings.


Going beyond your problem, here are other leak points:

>The front crankshaft seal is a rope affair, and it allows some oil to past it. Leakage here is more of a weep, and it should not be staining your garage floor;

> Another source of oil leakage not associated with the engine is from the sector housing of the steering gear box. There is no seal on the sector shaft, so if you put oil in the gearbox, it will leak out in a short period of time. One trick to stop the leak is to fill the gearbox with grease followed by an ounce or two of gear oil. The grease seals the oil;
> There are no seals in the transmission, so expect some weeping of oil where the shafts protrude from the case;
>Weeping of gear oil from the differential fill & drain plugs, and the bolts holding the axle housings to the center section is not unusual.
 
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Check your oil level. Sometimes too much oil will cause a leak. Wouldn't it be nice if that was it? Beyond that it would just be guessing on my part. I am sure others will have some ideas for you to consider.
Don't get discouraged, this is an opportunity to learn about your car.
Please keep us posted. Chap
 
Steve,
In all honesty it sounds like you bought a somewhat unrestored car that has many issues.

Is there a local model a Club’un your area? If so I would see if they have a key tech guy to look at it first hand. There’s lots of advice in the forum here about upgrade this and that and sounds like you have already done the carb and more .... my advice would have been to simply get it running well with things in its stock form first and then see where things go.

Engines need to breath so not sure if the breather pipe is clogged and excess oil is going out the main bearing running out he flywheel housing or you have other issues. I would find an experienced model a mechanical guy nearby to help with some diagnosis and assessment first hand.
I do service work and restoration am near St. Louis . Find someone in your area for some expert advice.
Larry shepard
 
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Try this ... remove oil filler cap and remove anything stuffed inside the Breather cap.

Have seen green "Scotch Brite" pads in there ... a white sticky gooey mess from water vapor exiting the engine clogs up cap when it dries out and becomes hard.

If enough blockage occurs 5 quarts of oil can be pumped out the rear main in 50 miles or so.
 
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Might be due to overfilling oil, mine leaks when full on the dip stick. I keep it at half way between the full and low mark..
 
My .02 worth here. You stated that you got the car recently after the engine had been rebuilt. Sometimes, there is a gasket that goes between the cam shaft and the bell housing that gets left out. Another possible option is drop the pan and look at the rear main bearing and look for cracks or a plugged return tube.


After reading you carb issue post, the oil leak is the least of your problems. Get that fixed first as your cars is no good to you if it is a pile of ash.


Mike
 
The 1st post mentioned drain down pipe but along with other possibilities.

Not uncommon for the bolt on the drain down pipe to back out and leak profusely. The oil ends up exactly where you see it. Check that aright after checking for overfilled crank case.

Another mentioned gas in oil. That i s a possibility but only if you have a downdraft carburetor. Updrafts leak gas on the floor not in the pan.

Richard
Anaheim CA
 
Stuck or too high float level would cause an excess oil level by adding fuel to the oil and cause the carburetor problem with excess fuel coming out the exhaust. Have you been turning the tank shutoff valve closed after shut down? I believe the other post indicates that you have a downdraft carb, therefore fuel will go to the oil rather than on the floor if the shutoff valve is left open or internally leaking badly and the float too high or stuck.

John
 
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Thanks for all of the input. Looks like I have plenty of stuff to try out this weekend.

I don't think this oil leak is related to the steering gear because I let it leak dry this weekend before driving as a test.

I'll try driving with the crankcase breather removed I was hesitant to before and drove with it half off but what the heck.

I have the motor oil right at the F on the dipstick so I'll try lowering that a bit.

I just joined the local A club last month so I'll hit them up for info at the next meeting too. At least this way I'll have more facts for them.

I haven't noticed gas in the oil but maybe I missed it. I always shut the gas off before pulling in the garage and shutting the motor off.

Thanks for all the ideas I'll start going down this list and troubleshooting this weekend. I've found I enjoy working on the A because the issues so far have been straight forward and you can quickly make progress. Keeping my fingers crossed that streak continues.
 
I had a rebuilt engine with a homemade rear main return tube,it caused a bad oil leak,I installed the proper tube and I now have just the occasional drip.
 
Last night I cranked the car over without pulling the choke or pressing the accelerator and like usual gas blew out the exhaust manifold to exhaust pipe junction. So I think that means the fuel is already in the motor and I wasn't adding it by pumping the pedal or choking it.

I checked the oil it was right at F like normal. I didn't smell gas on it, maybe my nose is broke. So I drained the oil and it was black but thin, about like draining hot oil or water so it must be heavily diluted with gas.

I pulled the glass bowl from the sediment bowl, emptied it and reinstalled it. I have not turned the gas shutoff on since Sunday. This morning after about 12 hours it was still empty. So I guess that means the gas shutoff works.

I'm confused, if I've confirmed gas is filling the motor it must be leaking past the fuel shut off and carb. But if the sediment bowl isn't filling with gas how is it getting there?

Is it possible for gas to leak through a sediment bowl without filling the glass?

The fuel shutoff has been off since the motor was running on Saturday so it can't be flooding real quick between me turning on the gas and starting the motor.

Any help is appreciated.
Thanks,
Steve
 
It sounds like the gas is leaking out of the carburetor bowl and into the manifold and then into the engine while it's sitting overnight.
 
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