Oil Leak Help

[ylbill]

First let me say that I am far from a mechanic. I can do the basic's i.e. oil changes, tune ups etc., but these cars are so much fun to drive I overlook my mechanical abilities. That being said, I'm not sure if someone can help with my problem, but I thought I'd throw this out there. I just bought my 82 Spider last August. When I got it, it had some small slow oil leaks and I ran it until December and then put it away for the winter. I just pulled it out and started it up and wanted to let it idle until the fan kicked on. While looking into the engine compartment I noticed small splats of liquid falling on the garage floor. I can't really tell where its coming from, which is why I'm posting this. I'm posting a couple of pictures of the area where I feel its coming from. Your thoughts and opinions are appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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[124JOE]

oil spils always run down
the #4 exhaust stud all the way back opens into an oil chamber
as dose the on before it

she runs best clean so grab a putty knife,screwdriver,stiff brush,a box froms a stove to drip on
and a can of hand cleaner"for the block"
stay away from the alt coil and

yor pics should be futher so we can see most of the motor
take more pics

[narfire]

I second the thought of cleaning things up a bit. I'd scrape of as much goo as possible then take a can of engine cleaner and empty it on the engine where you have a concern. Front crank seal can be another notorious leak point if the seal is old. If the the other side is covered as well, spray it too. Let it sit for a bit and the take a hose at decent but not too much pressure and spray the remaining crap away. Best with a warm but not hot engine.
The two upper exhaust studs as mentioned are open to the oil in the cam tower and with time the oil can weep through. Double nut and pull the studs and re-insert after giving them a dose of thred selant.
one to two cans of instalation fluid should have you covered for this evolution.
Chris

[ylbill]

oil spils always run down
the #4 exhaust stud all the way back opens into an oil chamber
as dose the on before it

she runs best clean so grab a putty knife,screwdriver,stiff brush,a box froms a stove to drip on
and a can of hand cleaner"for the block"
stay away from the alt coil and

yor pics should be futher so we can see most of the motor
take more pics

I have posted more pic's, but it looks like my first move is to clean it up. It does have a dented oil pan too, so I'll watch that area too after cleaning. I can definitely see leaking from I believe the cam box? Anyway, thanks for the help!

[124JOE]

as it leaks out the studs it hits the exhaust headder and does go up a bit and then sits on the headder
makes it look like its from the cam box
yes it may be there,but i dont think so

thanks for more pics

[ylbill]

I second the thought of cleaning things up a bit. I'd scrape of as much goo as possible then take a can of engine cleaner and empty it on the engine where you have a concern. Front crank seal can be another notorious leak point if the seal is old. If the the other side is covered as well, spray it too. Let it sit for a bit and the take a hose at decent but not too much pressure and spray the remaining crap away. Best with a warm but not hot engine.
The two upper exhaust studs as mentioned are open to the oil in the cam tower and with time the oil can weep through. Double nut and pull the studs and re-insert after giving them a dose of thred selant.
one to two cans of instalation fluid should have you covered for this evolution.
Chris

Hi Chris, sounds easy enough. Thanks for the reply. I'll give it a shot this weekend. Other side of the engine is dry.

[JoeDQ1]

I had a similar leak, if the car sat for a while oil would get on the header and smoke until burned off and then it would be fine (no evidence of a bad leak and no more smoke). You may have multiple leak points, but in my case (and in particular when oil was topped off on the high side) I found that the distributer gasket was split and oil dripped down the same path as you show in your picture. Might be worth a check.

I also ordered a new oil cap gasket from Allison's, some of that oil on the top of the engine may come from something as simple as the oil cap.

[ylbill]

I had a similar leak, if the car sat for a while oil would get on the header and smoke until burned off and then it would be fine (no evidence of a bad leak and no more smoke). You may have multiple leak points, but in my case (and in particular when oil was topped off on the high side) I found that the distributer gasket was split and oil dripped down the same path as you show in your picture. Might be worth a check.

I also ordered a new oil cap gasket from Allison's, some of that oil on the top of the engine may come from something as simple as the oil cap.

Thanks Joe, I'll check that out. First I'm going to do a good cleaning. Funny you mentioned the oil cap gasket, because I ordered one during the winter and will be putting that on. Thanks, Bill