Posted By: macmic87
strange oil leak - 04/07/11 02:13 AM
my 440 developed a strange oil leak after a cam swap and i wanted to see if this makes sense. it will only leak when the engine is under a load from the right side front where the timing cover meets the pan. i have changed gasket twice with the same result. is it possible that the timing tab spot welds broke and the oil is coming from there? car can idle all day long and no leak. take it for a ride and oil is leaking.
Posted By: Kern Dog
Re: strange oil leak - 04/07/11 06:28 AM
Since I am flying blind here I'll just toss in some possible areas to look into. Maybe something will help:
PCV system: Was anything disturbed? All engines need some sort of crankcase ventilation, and an engine with higher blowby will pressurize the crankcase. If there is NO PCV system or other escape path for crankcase pressure, its possible to blow past a timing cover gasket, a crank snout seal or an oil pan gasket. Full throttle will pressurize the crankcase more.
Oil galley plug below fuel pump: If you pulled the pushrod and pump, maybe the galley plug is loose. As with the PCV situation, a loose plug will not only weep oil, but high CC pressure will FORCE oil out.
Maybe you can put the car up on jackstands and observe it with the engine running, trans in low gear and running at a speedo reading of say...25 mph. This may be enough to "load" the motor enough to recreate the conditions to get a closer look.
Keep us informed.