Oil leak?

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Robb

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I have a small collection of oil in one of the intake manifold valleys (340 intake, passenger side closest to fire wall, if that matters)… Where could this be coming from? Valve cover gasket, or could it be some sort of blow by?

I really don’t know where to start on this, so any advice would be appreciated…
 
I discovered the exact same thing 2 years ago and changed my valve cover gaskets which didn't help.I was also told that it could be coming up through the intake bolts and that they should have a thread wrap or silicone on them.I had my intake cleaned and told them about the problem and it stopped leaking for about 2 years.It started leaking agin within the last month or so.I will be watching this thread for some good info.8)
 
Dreno, glad to hear I'm not the only one with this issue, and thanks for posting in. I would never have even thought of the intake bolts!

I know there are a lot better mechanics here than I will ever be, so I too am hoping for some good info...
 
So if I take out all of my intake bolts and seal them, what type of sealer should I use? RTV? Teflon tape? Is there a correct why to correct this permanently?

Thanks!
 
I used the teflon tape last year and it seemed to help but because it is leaking again I think maybe the tape is not cutout for that application.I am going to take a few bolts out next to the valleys where the oil is to see if the threads are covered in oil.Last time I used a Q tip to clean out the threads and cleaned the bolt as best I could.This time I think I will try silicone or RTV.I'm sure there is a thread sealer out there but will it stand up to the heat? This is a bump also,lol.:-D
 
I have oil laying in my valley pan also on my 440. cleaned it off and drove it 100 miles or so, still leaking from somewhere. Cant seem to find out where though, no tell tale trails.
 
I have it on one side and not the other.Last time I took out a couple bolts they were covered in oil,but I don't think teflon tape is the right solution.I am going to look at them tonite.To apply any kind of sealant all the threads must be clean,that's a pain in the a$$.Oil looks like crap laying there as well,when I go to show n shines I leave my hood down.:-D
 
I'm pretty sure you guys hit the nail on the head.

I used to have the same issue with a 71 cutlass i owned. Oil was coming up past 1 or 2 intake bolts on the driver side. It had me stumped for months until i figured out it was actually come from the bolts. :) I took them out and put some high temperature silicone RTV or treadsealer on the treads, screwed them in and the problem went away.
Give it a shot and see if it fixes it.
There is nothing like a quick (read cheap) fix, when it comes to oil leaks LOL .
 
67cuda360 said:
I'm pretty sure you guys hit the nail on the head.

I used to have the same issue with a 71 cutlass i owned. Oil was coming up past 1 or 2 intake bolts on the driver side. It had me stumped for months until i figured out it was actually come from the bolts. :) I took them out and put some high temperature silicone RTV or treadsealer on the treads, screwed them in and the problem went away.
Give it a shot and see if it fixes it.
There is nothing like a quick (read cheap) fix, when it comes to oil leaks LOL .
Click to expand...

That sounds encouraging.I took mycar in to have the intake removed and steam cleaned because I could not get the stains off it.I told them of the suspected leak thru the bolts and understood that they would seal them.They were ok for about a year but have started up again,maybe they didn't used proper sealer.Thanks for the post 67 cuda.BTW I like that paint job.8)
 
Take out the intake bolts one at a time. Clean the threads with chlorinated brake cleaner. Chlorinated brake clean is not flamable.. Non chlorinated is VERY flamable and can be explosive when sprayed into the crank case. Clean the hole and the bolt. Use some liquid teflon sealant on the bolt threads and re-install. The brake cleaner will simply evaporate out of the oil. Silicone can come off and get stuck in the oil pickup.
 
moper said:
take out the intake bolts one at a time. Clean the threads with chlorinated brake cleaner. Chlorinated brake clean is not flamable.. Non chlorinated is very flamable and can be explosive when sprayed into the crank case. Clean the hole and the bolt. Use some liquid teflon sealant on the bolt threads and re-install. The brake cleaner will simply evaporate out of the oil. Silicone can come off and get stuck in the oil pickup.
Click to expand...


x2
 
DRENO said:
I discovered the exact same thing 2 years ago and changed my valve cover gaskets which didn't help.I was also told that it could be coming up through the intake bolts and that they should have a thread wrap or silicone on them.I had my intake cleaned and told them about the problem and it stopped leaking for about 2 years.It started leaking agin within the last month or so.I will be watching this thread for some good info.8)
Click to expand...

Wow and I thought that I was the only one with this problem. This had me stumped as well. Good call guys. People at FABO ROCK!!!!!
 
After putting my repaired rad back in the car I decided to take a run at the intake bolts.Did them one at a time.First bolt was finger tight,(what?)might have been a reason for leakage right there,but i went ahead and did the 2 middle bolts on each side.Hit them with the brake clean and used the Q-tips to get at the threaded holes.Put some Permatex thread sealant on the bolts and put em back in.We will see how it goes.There wasn't anything written on the brake clean that said chlorinated,but the other can i have says non-chlorinated and highly flammable,so I went for it.Didn't blow up the car.8)

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