Oil Leak on 318 LA

I have an oil leak on my 318 LA up front somewhere. Not the intake manifold or valve covers (this time), and it does not seem to be coming out of the dipstick tube. Can anyone tell me if the long bolt holding the alternator on goes into oil? That is the area that gets wet.

No that bolt doesn't hit oil. Check the fuel pump for a leaking gasket or timing cover.

Several of the bolts go through the water pump and timing cover, and into threads in the block, which are open to the water jacket. Are you sure it's oil? If it's oil on the front of the engine, then check front of intake, the timing cover gasket or fuel pump/gasket areas.

I removed the alternator and put a very bright light down there. It looked like oil might be coming around the fuel pump gasket. I replaced it with a new one with a coating of Permatex #2 on both sides. I will test it out after the rain stops.

No joy. Even after replacing the fuel pump gasket and re-tightening all the timing cover bolts, I still have oil weeping out somewhere down there after a short drive. The fan blows it around so it is hard to spot the leak point. I put the timing cover on when the engine was on an engine stand and took great pains to make sure the surfaces were flat and surgically clean before installing the gasket with sealer. I would hate to think of replacing it in the car where I could not easily remove the crank pulley, seal the lower part to the pan, etc. This would be my last option.

Is there a way that oil can leak through the fuel pump? The heaviest oil build-up seems to be on top of the pump, laying in the crimped grove there. The inside of the pump is exposed to engine oil splashing around. Could it somehow get out onto the exterior? I have never seen this happen, but I thought I would ask.

Try taping your dipstick down/closed. Go for said ride and check for the oil leak afterward.

^^^ I agree, too much blowby and or stuck PCV.

I tried taping the dipstick closed and put on a new crankcase breather. Still get oil on the fuel pump. The PCV valve is new and is one of those high dollar Specter Performance units. It came with the engine. Who new there were high performance PCV valves??? I will try another PCV valve and then replace the fuel pump. I still feel oil is coming through the fuel pump somehow.

Sounds to me like it's the crank front seal. Remember the fan rotates clockwise as viewed from the front, that means the fan will blow oil that is down low over to the passenger side.

Can be hard to trace because the air turbulence kind of 'smears' the oil around instead of a vertical drip.

You might take off the fan belt to eliminate the turbulence then start it up cold & at a fast idle see if the leak shows up in the several minutes that you have at your disposal.

RapidRobert, I like your suggestion. I will try it this weekend.

or better yet, take off the fan/keep the belt/pump operating & spray some water on the radiator as needed to cool it. A slight mist like several squirts on the drivers side (away from where the oil leak is) will cool more than enough for your needs. EDIT this will buy you an extra bit of time & use cold water.

I am resurrecting this thread to report my findings, as it may help others. The source of the persistent oil leak was indeed the (new) fuel pump. Since the pump is open to the oil splashing around inside the timing cover, it can migrate up into the fuel pump housing. Apparently the crimp around the outside of the fuel pump was not perfectly tight, allowing oil to seep out and lay in the annular area on top of the pump. A big clue was that the oil would slowly seep back in while sitting in my garage. A new fuel pump solved the problem. Thanks for all the advice.

No wonder that was such a toughie to solve, I've never ran across a pump leaking oil from around the perimeter crimp (maybe it is more common than I had any idea). All good now.

And to add a little tid bit to this oil leak search thread. I found the rear corner of the oil pan gasket (small block) was leaking (and not the rear main seal again) by using my spouse's hair dryer. This should work on other engine oil leaks. Here is what I did:

A. Cut off the top (3 or 4 inches) of a plastic coke bottle to use as an air "funnel".
B. taped the funnel made from the coke bottle to the end of hair dryer
C. Removed the valve cover oil breather
D. Rammed the hair dryer "funnel" into the round rubber gasket used to seal the valve cover oil breather (cap end of the funnel) to make an air-tight seal
E. Turned on the hair dryer
G. Listened with a hose to my ear, and felt with my fingers, all possible areas where oil might be leaking
H. Found air blowing/escaping from the oil dipstick tube, but that, of course, would be normal.
I. Found air blowing/escaping from the rear corner of the passenger side of the oil pan where the rubber end gasket "tit" had slipped out of place.
J. Pulled motor and replaced oil pan gasket and oil pan rubber end seals, making sure this time nothing slipped out of place (my "mechanic" nephew had recently replaced the rear main seal and oil pan gasket without removing the motor, thus the end seal had slipped out of place during his reassembly).

My bad. Jumped the gun. Glad you solved the problem.
I had same problem years ago. This was my discovery.
Put a straight edge on the mounting surface of the fuel pump and on the part of the timing case cover where the fuel pump is mounted.
Might not be straight, surface could be rounded or concave, allowing the oil to pass through.
Happened to me about ten years ago on my 318.
Had oil leaking in that same place.
Turned out the mounting surface of the fuel pump was not straight.
Got a new fuel pump, checked that for straightness of the mounting part.
All checked fine. Never had a leak there again.

Some good suggestions here! Most wouldn't be necessary if it weren't for crappy parts. I don't trust spectre or spectra (sp?) parts anymore.

To follow up, I did check the surface flatness of the fuel pump flange after removing it. It was not flat and would have been a leak source if it had not been for the thick layer of Permatex #1 I had put on both sides of the gasket. The bad crimp was the culprit in my case. It was a Spectra pump. The new Precision pump had a flat flange and a good crimp. It was also made in China. They don't make parts like they used to.

I am having similar issue on my 360 . . . I will have to check the fuel pump, it "was" new when I installed it, and that was 10k miles ago. But of course thought it should last longer than that . . . . but hey, it is cheaper an easier than pulling the timing cover off for the crank seal . . . . one thing at a time !!!

Definitely check the fuel pump first. My pump was brand new and leaked from the beginning. Pulling the timing cover in the car is asking for oil leaks due to the complex joint at the bottom with the oil pan.