Re: Oil Leak at rear of engine!

Posted by Mike Flanagan on August 05, 1997 at 19:09:23

In Reply to: Oil Leak at rear of engine!
posted by Jim A. on August 05, 1997 at 09:41:32

Jim: Before a problem can be solved it must first be determined exactly what and where the problem originates.
How much oil are you leaking? A minor Model A leak seems a virtual gusher to the uninitiated. Have you driven the car enough to know how much oil is "leaking"? A new member in our club recently complained of a "tremendous" oil leak. A fifty mile road test revealed no observable change in the oil level. My 160B leaves a puddle every where we stop.
Let the little car sit over night and thoroughly clean the pan and flywheel housing with brake clean or a similar product. Remove the dust cover from the front of the flywheel housing. Remove all oil and dirt residue. Now start the engine and lie under the car and watch for the oil to start leaking. You may need to tweak the throttle occasionaly to get it started. If it is indeed coming from the rear main this will be apparent. If this is the case you will need to remove the pan and check to see that the relief tube is in place and unplugged and have someone that is qualified check the clearance on the main and rod bearings.
If it is coming from the camshaft the oil will flow down the inside of the flywheel housing and drip off of the rearmost pan bolt. If this is the problem then the gasket between the housing and block is either missing or compromised. A fix for this problem short of removing the engine is to plug the oil hole leading from the valve galley to the rear camshaft bearing. Sounds strange but the early ('28/'29) engines had no hole for the rear camshaft. How did it oil? I dunno. What to plug it with? A sap plug works very well. What is a sap plug? A piece of hardwood driven in with a punch. This would allow you to remove the plug at a later date.
Other than coming up and helping I think that is about all I can do....

God speed under 50.

Mike Flanagan, The Model A Fool.
: My problem of the week on my recently acquired 28 Tudor is a very bad oil leak from the rear main of the engine.I note that the parts catalogue lists an aluminum rear mail bearing oil seal.Can this be replaced without pulling the engine or can it be done in car??Thanks for any information you may be able to offer.
: Further note to those of you who helped in solving my condensor problem; I took the car for a 10 mile drive over the weekend and it felt great!Thanks again.
: Jim Angus from Western Canada




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