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Posted by: eyesright Apr 23 2013, 06:28 AM

Young 914 owner 's oil leak dried up. Im not so lucky.

I recently built my '76 2.0 engine. It runs fine but I am dripping a half quart of oil in 80 miles. I assembled the case with sealer ala Jakes video and installed seals according to video and Wilson. Oil pressure sender, oil pump, oil cooler, oil filter are all dry. Valve covers, pushrod tubes, head and jugs are dry. Sump is wet and tranny and rear bumper...I dried it off and ran it in place for a few minutes and shut it down. Case seams, oil strainer and drain plug are dry. Oil drips from the front and rear of the case so I assume the front and real seals are not doing their job.

I'll got my crank from Rimco and I'll call them to see what's up. Off hand I don't recall if the seals are on a turned journal. Would that matter? And I suppose I got my seals from them but I'll have to check my stack of invoices.

After 600 breakin miles, its still dripping. I've added some seal conditioner with no luck. Anybody have any similiar experience?

I'll post the outcome but in the meantime I'd be glad to hear from anybody.

Posted by: The Cabinetmaker Apr 23 2013, 06:40 AM

Use a couple of cans of brake cleaner to get all the oil off. Then get under it with a good light while its running. There could be more than one leak. I look for the oil at its forward most point. It might need to be at cruise rpm before the leaks show up. Ususal spots are the filter, pressure relief, drain plug, sump cover, oil temp cender cover, oil cooler, and pressure sender. Of course, there is, as you've mentioned, the front and rear seal.

Posted by: jsconst Apr 23 2013, 07:33 AM

Did you drill and tap the galley plugs during the rebuild, if not one or more of those could be leaking.

Good luck
Jeff

Posted by: gothspeed Apr 23 2013, 08:03 AM

After my very detailed 2056 build, i had a leak from one spot. It was from the bolt between the cylinders just above the sump. It was found after cleaning the engine as described above and looking around with a very good focused flashlight.

Posted by: 76-914 Apr 23 2013, 08:08 AM

did you forget the crank o-ring? like Curt says, check forward and work your way back.

Posted by: rhcb914 Apr 23 2013, 05:43 PM

"Off hand I don't recall if the seals are on a turned journal. "

The oil seals don't seal on a crank shaft journal. The rear main seals on the flywheel and the front seals on the fan hub. If you did not clean either of those up before assembly there is a very good chance that the seals are not on a fresh surface and can easily leak.

Posted by: jcd914 Apr 24 2013, 01:37 AM

QUOTE(rhcb914 @ Apr 23 2013, 04:43 PM)