I have a 1973 1.7. I noticed a small puddle on my garage floor this morning. I cleaned it up and have not seen any more. I looked under the car and I think it is coming from the small screen next to the oil filter. Can anyone tell me what this is and what I need to fix it? It seems tight, is there a seal? It was above 90 degrees when I drove it. Could it be related to heat?

Any help is appreciated

Terry

Behind that screw is the oil pressure relief valve. There should be a crush washer between the cap and the case. I think I see it peeking out around the cap. Try putting a new washer in and see if that helps. Or maybe some Yamabond. Just don't use a thin blade screwdriver to tighten the cap (like the PO did). Use a tool that matches the slot as closely as possible. What weight oil are you running? It's possible that thinner viscocity oil may leak more under hot conditions. Don't forget to check and top off your oil level.

Thank you Ian. Sorry for the next dumb question. When I remove the screw to replace the washer will the car lose a lot of oil?

No only about a tea spoons worth will come out. Just need a small rag to catch.

And be careful. The Pressure Relief Valve is spring loaded.
Keep a bit of tension on that screw when you near the end of the threads.
Otherwise you will be looking for the parts all over the garage.
Also, remember how the relief valve goes in.
If it is put in incorrectly then you will have no oil pressure.

The crush washer is an unusual size. Number 22 in this diagram. you can also see the spring and piston which is part of this assembly...

http://www.autoatlanta.com/porsche-parts/h...;section=114-00

While you're in there ...you may want to replace it with Tangerine's upgraded relief valve. Here's a link. If you speak with Chris, he may even throw in the new crush washer...

http://www.tangerineracing.com/oilpressurerelief.htm

Good luck!

There's a good chance that the oil isn't coming from there. It is more likely to be coming from above that, and dripping down to that cover.

See if the oil filter flange is leaking, or the oil cooler seals, or the distributor, or the oil pressure sender....

--DD

I'd seconds dave's comment. Survey the area above, it's more than likely it's weeping down.

My money is on the oil cooler seals.

I woulda thought so too, but in the pic it looks like the oil is seeping from the case side of the crush washer and no evidence of drips above.

Terry..def do as the experts say and check the cooler seals and sender area if you haven't already!

Look for oil on top of the filter.

Thanks for all your responses. It does look like it is coming from higher up. I missed that as I only went under the car on ramps. Not a lift. Do I need to drop the engine to fix it? Assuming it is a oil cooler related leak.

Verify two things. One the leak is not coming from the oil sending unit located just to the right of the dizzy is not leaking.

Also verify that the oil is not coming from the oil fill tube. The gasket below that can leak oil and allow it to run down.

Also I would invest in a cheap USB camera for your lap top, tablet, or phone. You can get for around $25 on Amazon. Spend some time looking around with it before you go down the path of replacing the oil cooler seals. Because replacing the oil cooler seals is an engine drop job.

Click to view attachment

It is not necessarily an engine-drop job, but replacing them with the engine in is done working basically blind, with a dab of grease holding the new seal onto the end of a screwdriver. And R&Ring the cooler retaining nuts about 1/12th of a turn at a time. IIRC, Clay has even replaced the whole cooler without dropping the engine!

Though dropping the engine isn't a huge chore, so I would do that instead.

--DD

Thanks everyone. I will dig into it deeper and will certainly use all of the info you have given me.

I appreciate your help.

Have replaced cooler seals with the engine in the car. I didn’t think it was really THAT bad. Plenty of resources on here and pelican that have a number of little tricks to make it a little easier. It’s frustrating but doable. The type of job where you should plan for 30 minutes to get just one of the nuts off.

When my cooler seals were leaking, most of the oil was dripping to the bottom of the oil filter.

I replaced the oil cooler in a hotel parking lot in Salt Lake City. Didn't drop the motor. You have to remove the studs to get the cooler out that way. And the only way to remove the studs is with vice grips.

Won my class in AX the next day.

Drove it home at the end of Parade.

Yes, it can be done with the engine in the car. But it is much easier to just drop the motor and pull the fan shroud.

For what is worth a handy tool for undoing the relief valve cap is a old 3/4''wood chesil ,grind the taper on the end to the width of the slot and you are there.

X2 reply sorry.

While you're in there....the 'to do' list grows exponentially. Bring cash. A nice big stack of $20s.

Mine leaks at oil filter flange, the one gasket I failed to replace when engine was out. Any tip on replacing that without dropping engine again. Thx.

Yes. Look up as many fake-German swear words as you can, because you're going to need all of them. Mostly when dealing with the upper mounting bolt, because access to swing a wrench or ratchet handle (if I remember correctly) is a super huge PITA.

Also, get everything in that area out of the way if you can. Definitely remove the filter and let the flange drip until it stops, because it's annoying to have oil dripping on you while you try to unbolt that flange.

--DD