Annoying oil leak finally fixed

General chat about the car goes in here.
Post Reply
User avatar
spidernut
Posts: 1906
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2006 12:20 am
Your car is a: 1979 Fiat Spider Automatic
Location: Lincoln, CA

Annoying oil leak finally fixed

Post by spidernut »

Sometimes, it seems you must wait for something to get worse before you can fix it. I finally found and fixed the annoying oil leak on my car by waiting for it to leak enough that I could actually find the source. It turned out that the second stud in the exhaust manifold (firewall side) was leaking oil upwards because the stud stripped out. I spend yesterday bashing and burning my hands repairing it and took it for a test run today. So far, NO LEAK!!!! Hooray!!!! Now I can drive it to work tomorrow. 8)
John G.
1979 Spider (Owned since 2000)
1971 124 Sport Spider (Owned since 2017)
1977 Spider (Sold 2017)
1979 Spider (Disposed of in 2017)
1979 Spider (Sold 2015)
1980 Spider (Sold in 2013)
1981 Spider (Sold in 1985)
2017 Spider (Owned since 2019)
azygoustoyou

Re: Annoying oil leak finally fixed

Post by azygoustoyou »

Oh it's tooo soon to be happy. Sorry.
I just had to say that. Congrats. :P
User avatar
spidernut
Posts: 1906
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2006 12:20 am
Your car is a: 1979 Fiat Spider Automatic
Location: Lincoln, CA

Re: Annoying oil leak finally fixed

Post by spidernut »

Took it for a second ride after washing down the motor. No drops of oil under the car, no more smoke and no more oil on the block!!! I'm so happy!
John G.
1979 Spider (Owned since 2000)
1971 124 Sport Spider (Owned since 2017)
1977 Spider (Sold 2017)
1979 Spider (Disposed of in 2017)
1979 Spider (Sold 2015)
1980 Spider (Sold in 2013)
1981 Spider (Sold in 1985)
2017 Spider (Owned since 2019)
Kev659

Re: Annoying oil leak finally fixed

Post by Kev659 »

I have a leak on the passanger side. After some run time you can see it on the block behind the air pump. Any thoughts?
User avatar
DUCeditor
Posts: 490
Joined: Sun May 23, 2010 7:36 am
Your car is a: 1977 FIAT 124 Sport Spider
Location: Monadnock Area, New Hampshire USA
Contact:

Re: Annoying oil leak finally fixed

Post by DUCeditor »

spidernut wrote:No drops of oil under the car, no more smoke and no more oil on the block!!! I'm so happy!
Then it is no longer a Fiat. Change the badge! :D

-don
Italian motorcycles. An Italian car. An Italian wife. What more could a man desire?
User avatar
spidernut
Posts: 1906
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2006 12:20 am
Your car is a: 1979 Fiat Spider Automatic
Location: Lincoln, CA

Re: Annoying oil leak finally fixed

Post by spidernut »

Kev659 wrote:I have a leak on the passanger side. After some run time you can see it on the block behind the air pump. Any thoughts?
I had the same one. I fixed the manifold leak and the leak near the air pump disappeared. I think the airflow under the hood caused the accumulation of oil there. I initially thought it might be a front main leak, but the leak is gone after fixing the exhaust manifold issue. Go figure!
John G.
1979 Spider (Owned since 2000)
1971 124 Sport Spider (Owned since 2017)
1977 Spider (Sold 2017)
1979 Spider (Disposed of in 2017)
1979 Spider (Sold 2015)
1980 Spider (Sold in 2013)
1981 Spider (Sold in 1985)
2017 Spider (Owned since 2019)
User avatar
manoa matt
Posts: 3442
Joined: Thu Oct 26, 2006 4:28 pm
Your car is a: 1978 Fiat 124 Spider 1800
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii

Re: Annoying oil leak finally fixed

Post by manoa matt »

"I have a leak on the passanger side. After some run time you can see it on the block behind the air pump. Any thoughts?"

The air pump is mounted on a bracket. The bracket is mounted to the block via two studs. The holes for the studs go through the block wall into the crankcase. Oil seeps past the threads and leaks down the block. You need to remove the studs, clean the hole and studs well from oil and apply a thread sealer prior to re installation. The same regime should be employed for the upper two studs on the exhaust manifold that pass into the oil ways of the cylinder head.
Post Reply