<VV> Oil leak diagnosis - cooler adapter?

[Doug Mackintosh]

I promised I would let everyone know what I found when I diagnosed my oil leak. I spent the last day and a half trying to isolate it and finally blocked up the engine and  removed the nutcatcher and rear mount bracket to get a better look at everything. When I removed the nuts for the nutcatcher oil started dripping from the bottom of the rear housing/block interface. I reinstalled the nuts with flat washers and torqued them. Wiped everything off, started her up, and waited for leaks. Here is what I found:
   
  - A small leak at the exposed end of the rearmost oil pump cover bolt. I turned out this bolt was only finger tight, and torquing it to 70 in-lbf stopped that leak.
  - A small leak at the exposed end of the oil pump idler gear shaft
  - A leak at the lowest rear housing bolt. Tightening this one stopped that leak.
  - The largest leak was past the nut on the bottom RH housing stud. I'm guessing this is being exposed to high pressure oil from the gallery to the oil filter due to a small housing gasket leak. I suppose oil could get past the threads into the block and make its way out past the stud, but I would be surprised if it was able to pass the several drops I observed in 20 minutes.
   
  I found no leaks at the housing/block interface, nor did I find the "smoking gun" I expected to explain why I saw oil forming in the crack to the left of the nutcatcher. 
   
  I think I slowed the leaks down a bit, but I think a rear housing gasket is in the cards soon. 
  
> I've been chasing an oil leak on my daughter's Spyder. Park it and it 
> drips from the bottom of the nut catcher and LH lower shroud. Fairly 
fast 
> "nuisance" leak, probably a few drops an hour.
>
>  There are no puddles inside the shroud. I see oil forming in the 
crack 
> between the left hand side of the nutcatcher and the LH lower shroud. 
Once 
> it collects enough oil, it disappears and reappears as a drop on the 
> bottom of the nutcatcher or shroud.
>
>  It was still dripping (formed about 3-4 drops while I was replacing 
the 
> LH thermostat) today even though it had not been started since 
yesterday.
>
>  A few weeks ago I replaced the oil cooler seals since that was the 
only 
> thing I thought of that would leak in the observed location. The only 
> other thing that makes sense is the oil cooler adapter gasket.



-- Doug Mackintosh
  Corsa member since 1996
  Corsa/NC member since 1996,  Virtual Vairs member
  Corvair owner 1969-1971 and 1996-on
 		
---------------------------------
 All new Yahoo! Mail "The new Interface is stunning in its simplicity and ease of use." - PC Magazine