Hello to all. My mechanic is closed for the week-end & I'm in a bit of a panic ! I started up my 65' 356hp yesterday, (I had to turn over the engine for 7-8 seconds while pumping the gas pedal a few times) and then saw a "puddle of oil" on the driveway while backing out. I immediately parked and stopped the motor after four minutes of total running time. The oil seems to be originating from the carb area, and has run down the intake manifold base and valve coverers - towards the bottom of the block. Of concern to me is the fact that I can smell gasoline in this oil leak. I have cleaned up the mess & will not attempt to fire it up again. I pulled out the dip stick, and the level is just below the max indicator, and there is 'NO' smell of gas in the oil from the dipstick. Does anyone have an idea how this could have originated? Could gasoline have entered the oil in my engine block ? The car has 75,000 miles and was restored in 1983 with no modifications to the Holley carb, etc.. Thanks in advance for your help.
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Re: 1965 365HP Start-up disaster !
David I don't know how long you let your 65 sit between drives, but your pumping of the gas pedal and turning over the engine 7-8 seconds sounds like there is ample time between driving your 65 the Holley is lacking fuel the fuel bowl. Gasoline evaporates through the fuel bowl vent of a Holley equipped car when not in use. My 68 starts immediately after sitting for weeks or months, engine hardly even has to turn over and it is running. Knowing the car has been sitting I use a syringe to put several ounces of fresh fuel into my Holley's fuel bowl vent before any attempt to start it. Depress the accelerator once and it starts immediately.
Since you have cleaned up the mess, engine manifold cleaned up I would observe the engine after another start up to see the actual source of the puddle of what you found on the driveway. -
Re: 1965 365HP Start-up disaster !
David,
I'm too lazy right now to go look at the 365hp intake configuration, but two possible causes of the oil leak are the oil gauge pressure line or the temp sending unit.
PaulComment
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Re: 1965 365HP Start-up disaster !
I'm with Paul. I just changed a oil sending unit on a car that had been sitting for 4 years and the seal had dried from lack of use not to mention being old to begin with ,Comment
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Re: 1965 365HP Start-up disaster !
A little oil is no disaster, take Jim's advice and start the car, remove the air cleaner after starting and observe where the oil is coming from. Don't need a mechanic to do that and you just might save a few dollars and learn something in the process! Keep us posted.Comment
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Re: 1965 365HP Start-up disaster !
Sounds like there's possibly two different problems. The external leak is probably the oil pressure line, but that doesn't explain a gasoline smell in the oil.Comment
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Re: 1965 365HP Start-up disaster !
Hi, David: I encountered a similar problem with my 64-365 upon attempting to start it for the first time after it had sat for a long while. The problem turned out to be that the ethanol in the gas caused a premature failure of the accelerator pump diaphgram, located at the bottom left front of your Holley carb. This will cause LOTS of gas to run out of the carb, possibly enough to run down the front or back of the block, washing off any residual oil that may have leaked from, and accumulated on your block (It is an old small block Chevy, after all), and making you think you have an oil leak.Comment
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Re: 1965 365HP Start-up disaster !
Start it again and see where the leak is. Then get back to us.Comment
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Re: 1965 365HP Start-up disaster !
Thank you to everyone for helping out with my start-up problems. It turns out that I simply flooded the carb/engine on my start-up. Pressing on the gas pedal repeatedly while cranking was not a good idea. I forgot that it only requires "ONE" PRESS ON THE GAS BEFORE CRANKING. Car runs fine ! God bless the General !Comment
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