65 fuelie oil leak

[John S.]

Took the fuelie out for a 60 mile freeway drive last night. Car ran perfect and I was happy. That was until I got home and there was oil all over the top of the manifold, front of the dog house and even had made it's way over to the tube between the air filter and the air horn. My Sherlock Holmes investigation points to origin of the oil filler cap. Looks all original with a very old cork gasket. Two questions here. First, is this common? My 67 300hp car has a completely different cap and does not leak. Second, what is a proper fix? Is there a descent fix that will pass judging? Not fair that was three questions!

On a Side note, the car has 4:11s in it and I pretty much kept it 60-70 mph. 3000-3500 tpms. Should a steady constant rpm like that produce that much oil going up the fill tube?

thanks in advance for any advice.

John

[Timothy B.]

Re: 65 fuelie oil leak

John,

How much oil pressure? Is the PCV system working correctly?

[John S.]

Re: 65 fuelie oil leak

Pressure gage showed the about 80 lbs at speed. Idles around 30-40 lbs. oil was changed prior to my purchase last Saturday. I do not know what viscosity. Iw ill be changed to some 10-40 CJ-4 oil in the next week or so. Have not check PVC valve yet. Any proper way to test?
john

[William C.]

Re: 65 fuelie oil leak

My '65 FI doesn't leak at all, and I've had gears in it from 4.11 to 4.56 on extended trips. Is the elbow at the plenum open and functioning?

[William C.]

Re: 65 fuelie oil leak

No PCV "Valve" in a '65, just a controlled vacuum via the fitting in the front of the plenum to the oil fill tube...

[John S.]

Re: 65 fuelie oil leak

Right, no PVC valve. Elbow and line under the dog house looks good. Lots of oil on the manifold though!

[William C.]

Re: 65 fuelie oil leak

Oil on the manifold? Where is it coming from would be my first question? Is the oil pressure line to the gauge at the rear of the manifold leaking?

[Jerry G.]

Re: 65 fuelie oil leak

The cap on the filler on my race car works it's way loose. I have to put a spring on it. What your describing could be valve cover gaskets and your oil pressure seems high. Is your flame arrestor venting system open and clear?

[Joe M.]

Re: 65 fuelie oil leak

My first guess as Bill mentioned would be the oil line to the distributor......

Change the fuel pump lately? wonder if the bolt to the crankcase is missing or loose as air currents can really speadi the oil around.

[John S.]

Re: 65 fuelie oil leak

Guys,
i will post a pic in a minute. Oil is very clearly coming from the very front of the motor. Oil is on the top of water pump and on the front cover of the choke assy. Also on the front chrome tube that crosses over in front of dog house (I believe that is common slang for the upper plenum on the fuelie) pic to follow.

[John S.]

Re: 65 fuelie oil leak

see photo. You can even see oil starting to travel up the fins at the front of the top cover on fuel unit. Definitely not coming from the valve covers or the pressure line! system will not let me post any size file. Shrunk to 40k size even. It starts to download and then throws up the little red icon with no explanation. Will try later.

[Bill W.]

Re: 65 fuelie oil leak

John,
Check your base plate gaskets, especially the one in front. Check base plate bolt torque also. Bill

[John D.]

Re: 65 fuelie oil leak

John, Sounds like your engine may have a the incorrect oil pump? You are pegging the needle on the oil gauge and that is just not normal.
Fuel Injection distributors do not like high volume, high pressure engine oil pumps. That may be the reason you are blowing out all the oil.

Check the fitting on the front of the FI plenum. THe 90 degree fitting is a restrictor fitting. The one that has the rubber hose going to the oil filler tube.
Known original restrictor fittings have an orifice that is .107. Typical repros vary some but are close enough. They range from .100 to .107 which is fine.
I use pin gauges to check the holes. a 3/32 drive bit should fit loose in the hole. A 7/64 drill bit won't fit.
Sounds like you are heading for trouble and expense John. If you fill the plenum up with oil and the oil gets into the FI unit look out.

Search at top of page. Melling Oil pump.
Do what Wilhelm said. The rubber oil seal at the front of the base plate could be the culprit. JD

[John S.]

Re: 65 fuelie oil leak

John thanks for the advice. I know from 5 years on the TDB that you are the man when it comes to fuelies. I value your wisdom. I will do all of the above when I get back from trip to Vegas for the NCCC convention. Going there with the 09 and doing some auto crossing. Oil pressure is going to be one of first concerns. Do you think a high viscosity racing oil would produce that type of pressure?
Just to clear up a mis-phrase earlier, the oil is all sitting on top of the manifold or I guess commonly referred to as the base plate. Still trying to post picture.

[John S.]

Re: 65 fuelie oil leak

here is the pic I think