What the heck is it?

German guy

German guy

Senior Member
My 30 Tudor leaves a patch of oily liquid of the garage floor. Not a LOT...but enough to cause concern. I pulled and resealed the oil pan, and installed the "Real Deal transmission seals at both ends. It is not coming from gasketed joints. When I put a drip pan underneath it drips for a day or so after a drive but does not leak at all after that until I drive it again and heat the engine up. The bottom of the engine and transmission get 'damp' with a fine film of oily liquid that drips from the lowest points. The oil and transmission fluid levels remain EXACTLY the same...no loss at all! It can sit cold for weeks without a single drip. Can this be blow-by through the oil filler tube cap creating a fine mist of oil that runs down the driver's side of the engine and is then distributed toward the back by air-flow while driving?
 
Short answer: yes. The later oil filler tube does a better job of keeping the oil in the engine. This must have been a problem from the start because Ford changed the design of the tube several times during production. The Model B had a larger tube that does an even better job. Lots of Model A owners run a small hose from the oil filler tube down to below the car. The hose has a cap that replaces the original cap.
 
Don't forget that the engine normally leaks a tad so that the ball at the bottom of the bell housing gets lubed. Not a lot but just a little..
Mike
 
Type of oil may cause more leakage, weight of oil may cause more leakage, volume of oil in the pan may cause more leakage , front seal may be leaking ( this would be the first place that I would look )

Synthetic oil leaks more than conventional oil, 5w-20 leaks more than 15w-40, oil level in the pan at or above normal oil level leaks more,you could try 1/2 quart less oil .
 
I spent years and thousand of dollars trying to kill the crab grass in my lawn. I finally realized that crab grass IS grass, and now I live in peace with the crab grass. When you finally realize that Model As always leak oil, you too will find peace.
 
Isn’t there an old saying “If your Model A isn’t leaking oil, it probably doesn’t have any”?
 
nkaminar said:
Lots of Model A owners run a small hose from the oil filler tube down to below the car. The hose has a cap that replaces the original cap.
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The kit that Neil is referring to is A-6764 Oil Breather. I don't think they are currently produced but I've seen them at swap meets and eBay.
 

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On my car, if I pour oil down the replacement cap it runs down the small hose. I found that the 1 1/2 inch plastic drain pipe used in kitchen sinks fits inside the tube and keeps the oil from running down the hose.
 
nkaminar said:
On my car, if I pour oil down the replacement cap it runs down the small hose. I found that the 1 1/2 inch plastic drain pipe used in kitchen sinks fits inside the tube and keeps the oil from running down the hose.
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That's interesting. Mine has flat baffles, angled down the tube, that keep the oil from going down the vent hose. I'm pretty sure I couldn't get a 1-1/2 inch drain pipe down the oil filler tube. Maybe a long snout funnel would accomplish the same thing in yours?
 
Note in photos and movies from the 1920's and 1930's when homes are shown that the driveways are often divided by a strip of grass running the length of the concrete or gravel driveway strips. This wasn't done for cosmetic reasons. The grass is there to absorb leaked engine oil from cars of that era. People expected and accepted that their cars would leak, so homebuilders accounted for that when laying out driveways. It's only we modern antique car owners who go ballistic about leaking oil. A little leakage is almost unavoidable with Model A's and especially Model T's. There just shouldn't be puddles of oil on the garage floor. Even THAT would have been unacceptable back in the day.
Marshall
 
Will N said:
I spent years and thousand of dollars trying to kill the crab grass in my lawn. I finally realized that crab grass IS grass, and now I live in peace with the crab grass. When you finally realize that Model As always leak oil, you too will find peace.
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Ditto!


Bob-A:D


"Skirts are for Women not Car Fenders"
 
Cat litter, the stuff that goes in the cat boxes so that they can go poop and pee in the house, will absorb oil. It is basically clay. I have some of the flat pans that are sold to catch oil and fill them with the cat litter. When the cat litter gets saturated I put it in a sealed plastic bag and throw it away. Check with your local sanitary fill to see if this is acceptable for them.
 
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