Leak free Moggie! 1970 2-door
Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2015 10:41 pm
Yes, it can be done!
I was told to live with oil leaks as they are good for the underside of the car blah blah blah.
However, the constant drip of oil off the front and back of the sump really started to get to me after a while and I finally endeavoured to do something about it.
A new neoprene gasket under the front tappet inspection cover reduced the flow somewhat but there was still an annoying drip from both ends of the sump. Like a true hypochondriac, I read the horror stories on these forums and was sure that the engine wasn't breathing properly or bearings and piston rings were worn causing huge crank case pressure to blow oil out of the scroll at the back of the engine and the crank seal at the front. And surely the oil was being forced all over the clutch which would soon start playing up and need replacement? Cancel the Summer holiday, I've got a new engine, clutch and probably gearbox to pay for!
Or could it just be a leaking sump gasket? Hmmm. I bought a set of gaskets and fixings from one of the main suppliers last year ( don't ask me why, just a hunch I suppose). So today I dug them out, stuck the front of the car on ramps ( chocked, axle stands, in gear, brakes on), laid out the tools and set to work: first job, run the engine up to temperature and drain the sump. Then twist off the oil filter; easy, I am truly a master mechanic. Next, off with the sump.....the cork strips at front and back were flush with their recesses, hard and showing signs of oil blow-by. The two card gaskets that run down the sides of the sump were brittle and had been over- torqued to the point of transparency and several of the bolts were missing their special load-spreading washers.
Next job was to clean out the sump and smooth off the mating surfaces. After a quick look at the bores (lovely) it was time to put it all back together.....I stuck the side gaskets onto the block with gasket sealant ( sacrilege!) and smeared the new cork strips with grease. Then I slid them into their recesses at the front and back of the sump and trimmed their ends leaving an eighth of an inch proud at each end; a pound coin is an eighth thick, by the way. Next, I put more goo on the underside of the side gaskets and raised the sump into position with a trolley jack. Putting in the new bolts should have been easy but it took me half an hour of fiddling to realise that the bolts supplied with the kit had the incorrect thread! The old ones went in fairly easily with new washers and all were gently tightened in a diagonal sequence to reduce distortion of the aluminium sump.
3.75 litres of Classic 20/50 and a new oil filter later and it was time to fire up the mighty 1098 A series. I let it idle for 10 minutes while I cleared up and then gave it some revs.
Finally I sheepishly looked at the sump and guess what? No Leaks! I now have a super- smooth, dry engine and the holiday is back on. So the moral is, if you have a leaky engine, don't despair. Just check/replace the rocker, tappet inspection and sump gaskets before spending big bucks on a recon. engine and remember- don't over-tighten the bolts!
I was told to live with oil leaks as they are good for the underside of the car blah blah blah.
However, the constant drip of oil off the front and back of the sump really started to get to me after a while and I finally endeavoured to do something about it.
A new neoprene gasket under the front tappet inspection cover reduced the flow somewhat but there was still an annoying drip from both ends of the sump. Like a true hypochondriac, I read the horror stories on these forums and was sure that the engine wasn't breathing properly or bearings and piston rings were worn causing huge crank case pressure to blow oil out of the scroll at the back of the engine and the crank seal at the front. And surely the oil was being forced all over the clutch which would soon start playing up and need replacement? Cancel the Summer holiday, I've got a new engine, clutch and probably gearbox to pay for!
Or could it just be a leaking sump gasket? Hmmm. I bought a set of gaskets and fixings from one of the main suppliers last year ( don't ask me why, just a hunch I suppose). So today I dug them out, stuck the front of the car on ramps ( chocked, axle stands, in gear, brakes on), laid out the tools and set to work: first job, run the engine up to temperature and drain the sump. Then twist off the oil filter; easy, I am truly a master mechanic. Next, off with the sump.....the cork strips at front and back were flush with their recesses, hard and showing signs of oil blow-by. The two card gaskets that run down the sides of the sump were brittle and had been over- torqued to the point of transparency and several of the bolts were missing their special load-spreading washers.
Next job was to clean out the sump and smooth off the mating surfaces. After a quick look at the bores (lovely) it was time to put it all back together.....I stuck the side gaskets onto the block with gasket sealant ( sacrilege!) and smeared the new cork strips with grease. Then I slid them into their recesses at the front and back of the sump and trimmed their ends leaving an eighth of an inch proud at each end; a pound coin is an eighth thick, by the way. Next, I put more goo on the underside of the side gaskets and raised the sump into position with a trolley jack. Putting in the new bolts should have been easy but it took me half an hour of fiddling to realise that the bolts supplied with the kit had the incorrect thread! The old ones went in fairly easily with new washers and all were gently tightened in a diagonal sequence to reduce distortion of the aluminium sump.
3.75 litres of Classic 20/50 and a new oil filter later and it was time to fire up the mighty 1098 A series. I let it idle for 10 minutes while I cleared up and then gave it some revs.
Finally I sheepishly looked at the sump and guess what? No Leaks! I now have a super- smooth, dry engine and the holiday is back on. So the moral is, if you have a leaky engine, don't despair. Just check/replace the rocker, tappet inspection and sump gaskets before spending big bucks on a recon. engine and remember- don't over-tighten the bolts!
I have learnt the hard way cornflake packet gaskets years ago