Oil leak repair Options

[FJ1200]

Greetings,

Fairly new to the forums and owner of a 1972 teener. I bought the car last spring with a slightly hot rodded 2.0 and a side shift conversion. The true upside is ZERO rust, I have a lift and have inspected every inch of the car.

The issue I have is that the oil filter flange is leaking badly (1qt/20 miles). Upon inspection it appears that the upper nut can not be removed without removing the oil cooler. I have new oil cooler seals and the oil filter flange gasket coming from Auto Atlanta. Question is, has anyone ever removed the filter flange in the car? I really would rather not perform an engine drop this week, but I will if needed.

Just a little background, until 5 yrs ago I was an Audi dealer shop foreman for 25 years. As a result the nuts and bolts don't bother me at all. It is more current time constraints and the want to drive the car.

Thanks,

Daniel

[FJ1200]

Thanks,

I have not done a 901, but I have done Audi 016, 01E AND 01A as well a a 915 and a 930 box. I actually love doing trans work it makes me remember what it was like to actually fix things rather than just bolt in units. I actually just remembered that I also did all of the syncros in my X1/9 20 years ago.

By the way, 996 Superhawk, fun bike. I have a love for V/L twins as an ex Ducati owner (3 new ones). Current steed is a 1993 FJ1200 with 90k on it (bought with 6k) and an RZ350 bored and stroked to 421 with R1 suspension.

Regards,

Daniel