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

[Superhawk996]

Someone else just went through a similar leak with puddling on top of the oil filter.

Problem was oil filter was not properly tightened. Simple mistake.

Same thing going on here?

[Morrie]

Someone else just went through a similar leak with puddling on top of the oil filter.

Problem was oil filter was not properly tightened. Simple mistake.

Same thing going on here?

That was my first thought (hope) but the filter is snug and this has been leaking over the course of several oil filter changes.

I do have a couple spare filter stands. I am going to look very closely for defects on the sealing bead on the casting where it meets the filter, just to be sure.

You don't think that a stuck oil pressure relief valve pushing oil past the filter seal could be at fault? I hate to pull them if there is little to no chance but if someone thinks it is possible I will.

Would you pull all those threaded galley plugs and reseal them? If so, what sealant would you use? Sorry for all the dumb questions. Try not to be too hard on me. I've rebuilt 616 engines with no leaks so I know it is possible, but the galley plugs we use on those are press in replacements.