I have been trying to locate an oil leak. I am looking for suggestions. It goes like this....The leak is coming from the passenger side of the engine. I have checked the following: oil pan gasket, distributor gasket, rear main seal, replaced the valve cover gasket. All are dry. At times when I goose the car, oil will drip on the headers which then burns off creating smoke. When I park it, I notice oil dripping around the starter. I also notice oil on the back corner of the block. The firewall is coated with oil which I'm sure is blown on it while driving and the fan. Any thoughts????? I purchased some dye from Autozone, but it didn't help a lot. Should I bite the bullet and have the local garage run a dye test? :confused: :mad:

Do you have a valve cover breather on that side? Also check the oil dipstick tube, if there's crankcase pressure it will blow out of there and all over the firewall and side of the engine.

Jody

Also check the rear intake manif to block seal.

Jody- There is breather on that side. I checked the dipstick tube and it is dry around that area.

Al- the intake manifold to block seal is dry.

I did take the starter off since that seems to be where most of the oil congregates. There was a lot of oil on the top of the starter and the area where the starter bolts in.

Thanks...by the way, its a 396, if that matters.

How bout where oil pressure switch is located. or valve cover bent and oil leaking out the rear.

[ 08-23-2004, 05:40 PM: Message edited by: Nantooch ]

It could be seeping through the oil pan rail to block interface. Crankshaft rotation is throwing oil to the pass side, thus, shows up onto the pass rail/starter.

The other area I'd look is the interface or parting line between the rear main bearing cap-to-block. This is not a sealed area, just a machined surface to machined surface.

You might run the car up onto some ramps, block the rear wheels and start the engine and let it run. Crawl underneath and look for the leak(s). The height on the firewall will help in determining the height of the oil leak. You might even remove the flywheel inspection plate for better viewing.

You didn't mention anything about the front crossmember was oily, as in a fuel pump leak, oil squirting out the vent hole of the pump arm.

Two most likely spots:

1. the threaded hole on the fuel pump boss on the front of the engine. There are two threaded holes a top and a bottom -- the top needs to be plugged with a short bolt (the bottom one does not need to be plugged). This one will leak when you rev the engine but not usually when idling. The oil blows back onto the headers and drips off the starter.

2. Fuel pump itself. Some fuel pumps have a vent hole on the top and if the seal in the pump starts leaking oil past the pushrod oil will pee out the vent hole. Same thing happens . . . it blows back onto the headers and drips off the starter.

Also there is the fuel pump and fuel pump mounting plate gaskets.

Originally posted by Oldyeller69:
Jody- There is breather on that side.
Is there a baffle in the valve cover?

While doing a start up on a friends fresh 454 he had a leak from a plug in the block right under the fuel pump. Not sure if a 396 has this same plug or not. I have used the florescent dye before and can tell you it only works well if you have a really strong black light. A 60watt black light bulb in a drop light did not cut it for me.

I just want to thank everyone for their input. You guys have definetly gave me some valuable suggestions which I will check out. This was my first time posting on this site. Man, what a comfort it is knowing that people are willing to give a helping hand. Thanks!!!! I will keep you updated on my findings.

I'm with Eric68 on this one, check the fuel pump.

Welcome OldYeller... smile.gif

I had a similar leak when I put in my new 385 fastburn. I did exactly what Everett suggested. Got the car up on rhino ramps and took flashlights and mirrors with me. Finally found a couple of things.
1. The moon eyes billet valve covers I used were leaking slightly at the back side (of course) running down the back of the motor. I could see the little drops of oil falling off the starter and onto the headers, just like you. I hate that smell!
I had the shop machine the valve covers perfectly true and installed new gaskets...that was one problem solved.
The other was the oil pan gasket...or so I thought. I called the dealer who sold me the crate engine, and who also installed the cam and roller rockers, to tell them how unhappy I was with their work and if they were going to pay for the parts and labor to replace the pan gasket. They said sure, but when I described the leak, they asked me what PCV valve I was using. It was a custom billet piece that matched the valve covers and air cleaner assembly. They told me that THAT was the problem. Created too much crankcase pressure resulting in oil pushing past the pan gasket. Sounded like B.S. to me, never heard of such a thing! But just to humor them, I switched PCVs...and amazingly, they were right! No more leaks! Learn somethin' new everyday!
Hope this helps...good luck.

Originally posted by Steve W:
They said sure, but when I described the leak, they asked me what PCV valve I was using. It was a custom billet piece that matched the valve covers and air cleaner assembly. They told me that THAT was the problem. Created too much crankcase pressure resulting in oil pushing past the pan gasket. Sounded like B.S. to me, never heard of such a thing! But just to humor them, I switched PCVs...and amazingly, they were right! No more leaks! Learn somethin' new everyday!
Hope this helps...good luck. What PCV were you using and and which one did you switch to?

I'm not sure exactly what it was...if you look at the pic of the engine on my site you can see it. There is the number 50 stamped in it...whatever that means.
When I went to AutoZone, they picked one out for me...supposed to be for a 350 motor, I believe. Next time I have the car out of the garage, I'll look and see if there is a number stamped in it.

Hi Guys, my 92 RS 3.1 had a similar problem when I "goosed" it a bit as well. The puffs of smoke I saw had a weird smell. It took me a while to work out what the heck it was.

What also runs down that way in the 92 F body is 2 heater pipes. and you guesses it there was a pin point leak in the bend of those pipes. So giving it some stick warmed up the engine to the point where the pressure was forcing out drips of coolant, straight above the exhaust pipe. I rigged a temporary repair with a T pipe and some heater hose as the part isn't available from chevy and all the wrecked ones I looked at were as badly corroded as mine---still looking for them!

Any suggestions?

Is this an automatic or standard transmission?

Uh, this is an old thread and the original poster never updated . . . so I have no idea why you guys are resurecting this one. ;)