Help please, oil leak identification (with pics)

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GhostRIver40

GhostRIver40

10 Year
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
Threads
3
Messages
41
Location
Cochrane, Alberta
Hi all,
I changed the oil in my ’40 on Saturday and upon firing it up I noticed running down the manifold side of the engine in two places. As you can see in the pics, oil can be seen at the top of the manifold as well pouring down below. I know I have a manifold gasket leak (new gasket is on order). Also at the back of the engine (third pic) oil is running down. The oil that is coming out appears to be black which is strange as I had just changed it. There was also come dripping around the drain plug (black as well). Could it be that this is coolant? I do have a lot of white smoke from the tail pipe. It is a 76 2f engine that I was told by the p/o had been rebuilt recently.


IMG_2852.webp
(Top of manifold)

IMG_2860.webp
(Drip underneath pic 1)

IMG_2854.webp

(Rear leak)

Thanks in advance for any wisdom you can share.

Cheers!
 
I should also add that when I say white smoke it was -3 deg.C or so so it could have just been stream thinking back. It smelled quite strong but I think it was a regular exhaust smell, not sweet or anything. Will check coolant levels as soon as I get home. I know there is lots in my overflow, but not sure if that indicates anything.
 
Thats what I am hoping but my main concern is the head gasket of course. Old markings under the new spills indicate that this has happened before. Which means its possibly been driven for quite some time with a head gasket problem. My concern here would be the increased possibility of a crack. There is also oil around back and down the flywheel covering so I think the rear main may be leaking also. Its a bit overwhelming, I may have gotten in a bit over my head with this as its my first cruiser. At this point I am thinking it might be more painless to swap in another engine.
Cheers!
 
For the oil leaking near the flywheel--check the tranny oil level, and the t-case level--you may have a tranny-t-case seal leak that is pushing oil into the tranny, overflowing, and leaking out the front--mimicking a rear engine seal leak.-if you open up the tranny oil fill plug and get a ton of oil out of it---leak!
As for the oil on the manifold-can you see any evidence of oil leaking from the valve cover?
If not(and given that you said the engine smokes white) I would guess the valves are way out- stem seals maybe? The engine is pushing oil out in any event. Unlikely the head gasket is involved at this point in the troubleshooting(if in doubt--do a compression check)
 
Last edited:
sggoat said:
As for the oil on the manifold-can you see any evidence of oil leaking from the valve cover?
If not(and given that you said the engine smokes white) I would guess the valves are way out- stem seals maybe? The engine is pushing oil out in any event. Unlikely the head gasket is involved at this point in the troubleshooting(if in doubt--do a compression check)
Click to expand...

Awesome thanks for the ideas. I will check the tranny & tcase ASAP. The cruiser did come with lots of gaskets and seals for that...guess that could point to a p/o spotting trouble there as well.
There is no evidence of any leak from the valve cover, the drips all start behind the manifold (with dark wet spots in several places at the top of the gasket).
Compression check seems like a good start although I'm going to have to do the manifold gasket anyways as soon as it arrives. Should have a clearer idea of the exact points of leakage when I pull the manifold off.

Cheers
 
Oil leaking out of the exh manifold is not a good thing. That quantity of oil indicates a serious engine problem. Worn rings or valvestems make smoke, but not usually liquid oil pumping out of the cylinder.

See this thread for an example.
 
FJ40Jim said:
Oil leaking out of the exh manifold is not a good thing. That quantity of oil indicates a serious engine problem. Worn rings or valvestems make smoke, but not usually liquid oil pumping out of the cylinder.

See this thread for an example.
Click to expand...

Hmm ya, I hope no major fracture or warp. Any thoughts on why it might be black when the cruiser is full of brand new oil? Clean on the dipstick and looking down filler.
 
The oil is black because it is coming out of the exhaust ports which are black w/ soot.

Yes, it is theoretically possible to change the seals in situ, using some special tools. But if the valve seals are hammered, the head needs other work on guides and valves, so it needs to come off anyway.
 
Does anyone know if there is a chance that this could be a PCV valve, or system issue? I assume I am dealing with
FJ40Jim said:
See this thread for an example.
Click to expand...
FJ40Jim has linked here as there are many similarities to his situation, but I would love to hope I have other options besides a rebuild or swap. Also, if it is deep scoring in the cylinder is there any harm in driving the crap out of it (besides topping up the oil constantly) until I find a donor?
Cheers!
 
x2 FJ40 Jim-I think you can change the seals in-situ, but there are more issues that would demand the head be pulled, as he said. Based on the new pics, I would rule out the tranny-Tcase seal as a culprit. Seems only engine related--valve seals-prob/piston rings-maybe
 
Well I bought it and brought it home, it sat for a couple months. Went out and changed the oil getting ready to start driving it and I noticed this. Coincidentally discovered throttle and ignition issues at the same time when I started and it ran full open and wouldn't stop until I disconnected the battery neg. Those things are both solved but probably not great for it to have been floored right off start on a cold day after sitting for a couple cold months.
 
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