Oil leak again

[jeff]

I have replaced my RV8 valley gasket twice, each time following Russ's instructions to the letter, but after getting back from a good run to Devon the gasket has a pool of oil laying on the top again and oil is dripping of the chassis.

Has anyone any idea's, I am presuming its the valley gasket as I cant see where else oil could come from to lay on top of the gasket.

jeff

[craggle]

If you are getting oil on top of the valley gasket then it is unlikely to be the valley gasket itself. There are no oil ways that lead through the valley gasket, only water and air/fuel mixture.

I would put my money on the rocker cover gaskets especially if they are the old cork type seals.

If you get oil at the front of the engine then either the timing cover or even the distributor is leaking.

Craig.

[Paul B]

As Craig suggests or you are having a lot of "blow-by" gases getting past the piston rings and pressurising the crankcase. This can then blow fumes, heavily laden with oil, out through the rocker cover breathers and all over the rocker covers, exhaust manifold, inlet manifold etc (depending on how bad it is).

Paul

[Sidecarbod]

Hi Jeff,

If you've got adaptor plates fitted so that you can run shiney rocker covers they can leak as there is no gasket between them and the head. (At least not on mine). I'd have a look in that area first as you don't have to drain the coolant whilst poking about with the adaptors or the gasket that sits above them!

Good luck,

Pete

[robinj66]

You acn get rubber type rocker gaskets - I replaced my cork gaskets and no longer leak oil from there

[jeff]

just been out to the garage and checked, cant see any leakage at all from the rocker covers, I am using the rubber ones on standard rocker covers.

I hope I am not getting blow back pass the rings as the block was bored and new pistons and rings fitted. If i disconect breather pipes and rev engine hard there is very little fumes and no oil comming out of the breather holes.

I will double check to see if the distributer is the problem.

thanks guys, help is appreciated

[Russ-Notts]

Jeff,
I had the same pooling of oil in the RV8 valley a few years back. The oil looked to be seeping around one of the middle inlet ports but it was difficult to see exactly where. I did notice that the studs used to bolt down my offenhauser manifold had worked a little loose. The pooling oil probably hadn't helped. The studs are chrome plated ones and not the original RV8 so possibly don't hold as well? I ended up replacing the valley gasket but used one of the newer composite ones which have a rubberised coating on each side. I also put a thin bead of blue gasket sealer around the edges just to make sure. Finally tightened the inlet manifold studs up with the engine cold and went round them again when the engine was hot. No leaks since but I check the studs are still tight every so often.

All the best,
Russ
p.s. Be sure to check none of the engine oil has found it's way down the chassis and splattered the shock absorbers (like mine did). You'll have a difficult time trying to convince the MOT man that the shocks aren't leaking.