Sunday funday and another oil leak!

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doogievlg

doogievlg

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I have been neglecting my dart for the summer and since it cooled off today I thought I would take it out for a spin. Got over to the shop to find a big puddle of oil under it but the bottom was dry. I took it for a spin to get things warmed up and moving. Got back and jacked it up and found the source. It's where the head and black meet in the back or the valve cover gasket. I'm going to throw new valve cover gaskets on it and hope that fixes it.

That is the best picture I could get. The car runs good besides a hesitation when I floor it quickly. It never gets hot even when idling in my garage for thirty minutes when it's 95 outside.

Anyways I'm bummed out and needed to piss and moan somewhere.
 

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How would the sending unit cause that? Would it be too high of volume? It's a stock pump but I haven't put a gauge on it since break in.
 
Senders are supposed to be sealed - but they do fail and leak. Always follow the oil up. So up the back of the block, and up the head. Looks to me like it's a valve cover but that's just me.
 
doogievlg said:
It's clean oil at least :)
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almost too clean...you don't have a brother with a good sense of humor do you?


I could see someone like that dropped a quart of clean oil down the back of the block just to watch you sweat :D
 
Nope. The dart is at my dad's shop and he hates seeing oil on the floor so he wouldn't pull a stunt like that. It has only been about thirty miles since my last oil change though.
 
If you have aluminum valve covers and or aluminum intake,make sure the valve cover isn't hitting the intake and being held up from sealing. That is a common occurrence.
 
SGBARRACUDA said:
If you have aluminum valve covers and or aluminum intake,make sure the valve cover isn't hitting the intake and being held up from sealing. That is a common occurrence.
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They are the black mopar performance valve covers!
 
glorydays said:
Same leak as mine...trying 2 track it down also...
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Let me know what you find out. I'm going to change valve cover gaskets and make sure it's seated completely. Then I'm going to retourque the heads since I haven't done that yet. If it sticks around then the motor is coming out again this winter.
 
Your going to pull the engine for an oil leak? Is it running good? everything else good? Seems like a drastic step for a leak.
 
SGBARRACUDA said:
Your going to pull the engine for an oil leak? Is it running good? everything else good? Seems like a drastic step for a leak.
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With respects to all I have to agree, a bit drastic...

I would thoroughly clean all the affected areas, add some dye-lite, pinpoint the leak source & repair accordingly.


My Humble $.02.
 
mech1nxh said:
With respects to all I have to agree, a bit drastic...

I would thoroughly clean all the affected areas, add some dye-lite, pinpoint the leak source & repair accordingly.


My Humble $.02.
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Pulling the engine is the last resort for me. I'm hoping it is something that can be done with the engine in the car but if it comes down to me having to pull the heads for some stupid reason then the motor is coming out. I don't want to pull it but there are a few things I need to do to the car that would be much easier with the motor out so I am just thinking ahead.

I will get the leak fixed though. If that does mean pulling the motor I'll do it. Too me there is nothing more embarrassing then firing up your car and pulling away from a puddle left for everyone to see. Plus it's making a mess on the bottom of the car.
 
doogievlg said:
. Too me there is nothing more embarrassing then firing up your car and pulling away from a puddle left for everyone to see. Plus it's making a mess on the bottom of the car.
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Well, You will just have to take My word on this, There maybe a person on the planet
that is more 'anal' about oil leaks, however I have not Him/Her yet, LOL !!

---roll down easy ---

mech1nxh said:
I would thoroughly clean all the affected areas, add some dye-lite, pinpoint the leak source & repair accordingly.
Click to expand...
 
doogievlg said:
Let me know what you find out. I'm going to change valve cover gaskets and make sure it's seated completely. Then I'm going to retourque the heads since I haven't done that yet. If it sticks around then the motor is coming out again this winter.
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10-4 still looking sender unit is not leaking, MP valve covers have been clearanced and no oil around them intake manifold back not leaking ... it has to be coming between the block and heads... This is a fresh build so probaly going to retorque the heads....

I have some seepage coming from the mechanical fuel block off plate bolts front... i'm going to get rid of this first....

I was also thinking about that UV dye also
 
doogievlg said:
They are the black mopar performance valve covers!
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Those hit almost every intake I have without being notched, including a Mopar M1.

Set them on the head without a gasket and check the clearances.
 
doogievlg said:
Do they hit in the front and back?
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I have a set of covers here that need modified to sit nicely, they hit on the intake runners.

Put the cover on without the gasket as mentioned, mark and grind the cover until it sits firmly on the rail, then install the gasket and cover.

When I install covers, I usually use the cork gaskets, never had an issue with them. I put a little RTV on the cover, put the gasket in place and let it sit for a bit, when I install the cover I use a thin layer of grease on the head side. That will aid in the gasket not sticking to the head, so if you need to pull it to adjust rockers for instance, it's a clean process.

Do not "over torque" the bolts.
 
Bad Sport is 100% correct, notch the covers, glue the gaskets to the covers, install with grease, makes the gaskets re-usable.
I like the Fel-pro rubber/composite gaskets.
 
I'm going to take a look at it tonight. I'm nervous about grinding on those covers and taking too much off. How bad do they hit.
 
You're gonna have to check them. It's not a big deal, just fit them without the gasket, mark them and take a little at a time out of the lip until they sit nice without the gasket.

Take a little--check--take a little more if needed--check.

DO NOT grind on the flat surface where the gasket goes!
 
And rinse them real good with brake cleaner each time you check it so metal ends up in the engine.
A dremal tool with a small cut off disk works best.
 
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