oil leaking onto my exhaust down pipe

[grasshopper]

Hi all. I have a pretty significant oil leak that makes its way to the exhaust down pipe. Also onto transmission housing. Im not sure where its leaking from but looks to be near back of head somewhere. Any ideas or remedies ?

[Sscottdvm]

Mine leaks from the cambox gasket. I can see Oil seeping out under the bolt nearest to the firewall. Drips onto the intake manifold and always smells of burning oil. Seems like a pain to get to, so I’m just leaving it.

[grasshopper]

Im thinking I have the same problem. I will leave it for this year. Damn,,,

[baltobernie]

There are several vent holes on the bottom of the Marelli distributor, and if the seal on the bottom of the distributor is leaking, oil will be pushed up the distributor shaft and ultimately weep out of those drain holes and on to the exhaust manifold, causing stink and smoke. You can differentiate a leak here vs. the joint at the cam box by feeling with a rag the underside of the distributor.

[Zoofly]

Check to make sure your crankcase breather hose isn't partially clogged. Especially if the leak comes and goes. Pressure builds up behind a partial clog and eventually blows past it causing a lot of oil leakage.

[Shadoobie]

Here are all the possibilities I can think of ranging from most to least likely;
1. Distributor oil shaft seal. Keeps oil from distributor drive from coming out of the dizzy base. If it's original it's probably dead, and it usually leaks out onto the down pipe. The distributor should also have an o-ring around it where it fits to the cambox and that could also leak.
2. Exhaust manifold studs. Several of them run through oil jackets on the block. If the bolts or nuts are remotely loose they will weep oil.
3. Cambox gasket. If it's old, it can certainly get a weak point and leak. It might help to make sure all of the cambox bolts are tight at 17 foot pounds.

[njoconnor]

3. Cambox gasket. If it's old, it can certainly get a weak point and leak. It might help to make sure all of the cambox bolts are tight at 17 foot pounds.

Actually, I'd start with the cambox gasket. It was the source of my leak 2 years ago, and resulted from overtightening the four bolts, a very frequent occurrence. I'd recommend replacing the gaskets if you don't know how their age, or they look to be squeezing out from under the box covers (overtightened). If a torque wrench is not available, try finger tight plus a quarter turn. Easy fix, top of the engine, finger and knuckle safe!

I'd check the exhaust manifold bolts next. When I removed my manifold for clean up and painting last year, I was astonished that 2 of the fasteners were less than finger tight. None of the bolts was leaking oil, but it's a good thing to check none-the-less.

Glad I haven't (rap the dash wood) had to deal with a leaky distributor.....yet.....

Neil

[bobplyler]

The distributor is the easiest to do check.