Technical MY FLATHEAD LEAKS OIL

One of you said once that when your flathead stops leaking oil, you need to add a quart or two but this leak I have to be able to fix. It is leaking from the triangular dipstick tube mounting flange on my 8BA pan. It only leaks when running when the crank flushes that flange from the inside with oil.

Id rather not remove the pan, drill the rivets and gasket this thing but will if that is the only way to fix it. I was thinking there must be a sealant I can use that will take paint. Some products I know will seal it but not paintable (silicone) and others that are paintable that aren't sealants (JB). I was thinking I could use the dremel to make a trench and fill it with sealant. Then re-paint the pan?

Any ideas would be appreciated

 

Billy, it's not leaking, it's just marking it's spot.

 

Sadly mine does the same thing.... I just happily slide cardboard under it when I return.... Smiling and thinking about all the fun I just had.[emoji4] Deal with it dude and enjoy your car, if it bothers you that bad fix it in the off season!!!

 

Flatheads leaving their mark on the garage floor simply comes with the territory. It ain't easy being the cool kid in the neighborhood.

 

Couldn't have said it any better myself.

 

If you can clean it really well there is a product called sealall that is a clear liquid in tube that is resistant to gas and oil. You might try that.

 

I think the only real way to repair it would be to pull the pan and replace the gasket.

How hot does the pan get? They make paintable silicone, maybe you could make the repair with standard high temp silicone then smear a coat of paintable silicone over it.

Actually JB weld will seal it up if you decide to try it. I have sealed fuel tanks with it.

 

That's sweat from all the horsepower.....both of them.

 

Doing it right would be great (new castings and gaskets are readily available) but I can understand a bit of reluctance to tear it apart....there are some old timey tricks.
First. look over the bottom of the dipstick tube...you have a much better hope of success if threads in casting are good and easy to seal with a bit of goo.
Next...the trick part: Drain the oil out and clean all around the little casting with carb cleaner and such. Then clean some more. Fire up another car and hook rubber hose from a manifold vacuum port to dipstick tube. Block off oil filler and the hole for draft tube. You will probably still have multiple leaks whistling at you, but you're hoping to pull a bit of vacuum inside your engine. Do some more spray cleaning down there with vac pulling the solvent though, then end your cleaning session with brake cleaner so there is no residue. Apply your favorite sealer so some gets pulled into the leak. If too much seems to be heading into your engine, stop and let the first bit dray before adding more. This gives you some hope, much more hope than just dabbing goo on the outside, of stopping the leak.
For respectability, cut away excess visible goo so HAMBers don't accuse you of building your car out of blue sealer...
I think the vacuum car should be something old...I think a computer car would set so many trouble codes from this you'd have to s**** it. Besides, flatheads don't like modern vacuum getting into their innards.

 

Now that was just plane mean.

We're gonna have to start calling you Pete the Meany.

 

that's what they make cardboard boxes for........to squish and put under car

 

That's good news....it's got oil in it

 

Cool trick Bruce, I do have a vacuum pump that runs off my compressor for bleeding bakes I could use rather than a second vehicle. I suppose the best bet is removal and repair its just a bummer since the rest of the pan has no leaks. Ill pull it off and fix the dipstick tube and the back will leak with my luck.

If I can ever figure out how to post a video ill show you guys how it runs and sounds. fast start, smooth idle, quick revs. I'd like to hear the blower whine a bit more but love the sound of the exhaust. Makes up for the drip under the pan.

 

******, after a 20 minute cycle the block seems to be 180 to 185. Oil pan is likely a bit cooler but the dipstick is pretty close the top of the pan so say 180 to be safe. Warmer on the left than on the right side, not sure why that is but about 10 degrees cooler on the p***enger side. Temp readings taken with an infrared meter.

I'll look up that sealall and see what working temps it is good to.

 

I don't think a vacuum pump will pull enough volume to overcome all the leaks in the engine. Another V8 for a vacuum source would work better.

 

Why not a wet or dry shop vac? It will sure pull one.

 

I have fixed similar leaks with the vacuum method Bruce described above with vacuum coming from another car--worked well. Then after sealer I left it for a few days then refilled--no leaks!!

 

Either pull the pan and do it the right way or place a drip pan under your motor. Flatheads will almost always have a leak someplace. That's what they are known for and that's what makes it fun.

Get yourself a t-shirt that say's "Flatheads For Ever".

 

I vote for trying the Bruce Vacuum method..Por15 will seal it too.

 

We had oil leaks on new BMWs in '80, namely the 3.5 engines...there was seepage from various castings, which suggested porosity.
A memo was received from the 'head office', and a shipment followed, delivered to our parts dep't.

Memo was clear: "This product is to be added to the engine oil content after draining off 1 liter of engine oil. Bring engine to operating temp, and top off with 1 liter of sealant. When the product comes in contact with atmospheric pressure it seals immediately, colorless and final."

Our service tech, Smitty was first to perform the operation just after completion of a 30K inspection. He was taking an inordinate amount of time, so the shop foreman went over to ***ist.
They both came up to the shop's rear parts counter with the full can of sealant.
Smitty was adamant, there was a number of cuts in the lid of the can. On one side, the lid was pried open. The magic sealant was so effective it would NOT come out of the can!

As a suggestion, just pull the pan. Fix it right. Also, make doubly sure there is NOT an excessive amount of crankcase pressure.
A hidden PCV valve would 'positively' ventilate your crankcase...

 

Never heard of this process before but it makes sense. All of my cars have big cams so not much vacuum but I could ask a friend to come over to provide the suction on my dip stick...that aint right.

Mike, I have an offy breather in the side of the oil pan to vent to the crank case and another breather in the intake where the fuel pump would have been. No PCV but plenty of ventilation for the blower motor according to the book I bought by Joe Abbin. I used it as my bible on this flathead build.

Roger on fix it right. I'll order a new pan gasket and take it apart.

 

That's OK, Harley's leak oil and they're still cool! Just like flatheads!

 

Sounds like "I knew this gal that could **** a golf ball through a garden hose".

"Lord, I apologize for that one there, and please be with all
the starving Pygmies down there in New Guinea! Amen!".---Larry the cable guy.

 

You slay me sir!.

 

And my Harley doesn't leak oil, I just chose to park it where some triumph was sitting.

 

I was raised on British bikes and was told that they had so much cl*** it leaked out of the seams.

 

My Matchless must have been a cl***y SOB!

 

Things can't rust if they're covered in oil. I say let it leak!

 

LMFAO In our house it was Limeys and Henderson's. They did ooze cl*** and that's a fact, and the Ol' Man knew how to make them leak free.

Reminds me of a story. He always hated my hawgs, or so he said. One time after a party I was hauled to my place in the run truck. Guess I must have had too much fun. I went back to get my pan the next day and the fella who was there said, "Your Ol' Man came and got it said he needed to work on the old POS." I asked him why he let him have it. he said, "He threatened me, he's a tough old SOB. " He rolled in late in the afternoon and told me that it was an oil slinging, worthless old piece of **** and I ought to put it out of its misery. I said,"It took you 8 hours to figure that out?" he said, "Nope, I already knew that, took me 8 hours to figure out it aint gonna get any F'in' better. Now take me dinner ya cheeky *******. " I wasn't around much but we always had a good time when I was.

OK back to the problem at hand. A leaker has never really bothered me. Some people don't really want me to park in their driveway. My understanding from the original post is that the flatty is slinging oil. Now that's a problem. It may be pretty hard to get the area to be sealed clean enough to make any type of sealant stick maybe a temp for the summer repair will work but eventually it is going to have to be repaired right and that is going to involve pulling the pan.

my question is can the pan be pulled in the ch***is? if so then it is just a Sunday repair and there is no real reason not to do it now. A few hours this week may make for countless hours of grinning and riding for years to come.

 

Q: Why don't the British manufacture computers?
A: They could not find a way to make them leak oil.