Big mysterious oil leak

[gwb]

So I was driving down the interstate the other day and decided to pull into the auto store to pick up a crankcase vent hose. When we went to open up the hood to get the size of the hose we noticed lots of oil on the starter area. We then noticed lots of oil puddling beneath the car. We checked the oil level which was nearly dry. Before we set off the oil level was right at full. We got the hose and some oil to get her home. Keep in mind that I've never had oil leak problems with her before. When we got her up on the jack, most of the left side of under body was coated in oil as well as the front driver's suspension and bellhousing. I got a glance at the corner of the oil pan and it looked like it was puddling there. I'll have to clean the area off and see if the puddles again there.

My question is if the oil pan developed a sudden leak, would the car loose a lot of oil in a short period of time, and would oil be able to blow up near the starter area? If not, where should I check for a leak?

[124JOE]

check around the crank case vent

[gwb]

Thanks for the help Joe. What exactly should I be looking for?

[124JOE]

it may be the hose is cracked"leaking" or bent causing it to close off and pressurizing the bottom end and pushing out oil

[gwb]

The hose is indeed cracked a lot, but would that cause the massive oil leak I have?

[124JOE]

i was told to completly clean the whole vent assembly when changing the hose

[vandor]

The hose is indeed cracked a lot, but would that cause the massive oil leak I have?

Normally not, but other things may be going on. You need to clean the left side of the engine, so you can see where the oil is coming from. As stated above, when replacing the crank vent hoses, remove the housing and clean it, also look inside the block to make sure that area is open.

[gwb]

I guess this is going to involve taking my carbs and intake manifold off, as much as I hate to Anyone know where I can get a replacement gasket for my alquati manifold?

[majicwrench]

I would decide exactly what is leaking BEFORE taking anything apart!

[gwb]

I will take a look this week and see if I can't find anything

[BEEK]

How far did you drive for all the oil to leak out? If you drove for 10 minutes or less, the problem is not a breather hose. You will not empty the crankcase unless the vent is completely plugged and the oil is backing up the drain back tube. If it is a real severe leak, I would check the head gasket at an oil jacket, the orings in the head gasket do fail. The oil pan itself will not leak so much that it will be empty; the oil that leaks from a pan gasket is from splash and pressurization of the crankcase. Lower cam housing gaskets and the end plate gasket will also cause a severe leak.

[gwb]

Thank you for the help BEEK. We pretty much drove the car for an hour in stop and go traffic, then about forty-five minutes of interstate driving (60+ mph). I noticed no signs of low oil until we stopped at the auto store which is about 5 minutes from our house.

[gwb]

Leak discovered! The intake manifold stud closest to the firewall decided to work it's way out! How, I don't know

[boogiedude]

The intake shouldn't affect oil at all. The exhaust manifold has two studs that go through oil galleys but i don't believe the intake side does. Did you mean the cam box bolts?

[gwb]

The intake manifold does indeed bolt into oil galleys. I learned this from my mechanic who first suggested I check the tightness of the studs. Needless to say, there was oil flowing from the empty hole