The members of this list never disappoint when it comes to revealing
the most ingenious and clever tricks and solutions to difficult
mechanical quandaries. I thought I'd fish for another such clever
trick:
Does anyone have any clever tricks for discovering/tracing the source
of an oil leak? It might sound like a silly question, but very soon
I will need to seal a persistent oil leak somewhere on the front of
the engine in my Toyota (yes, it leaks more than the Triumph!) and
I've found it difficult to figure out exactly where the oil is
escaping. The engine was a rebuilt engine that we purchased and
installed in 1997 and it has leaked from day one. At one point I
thought it was leaking from the mechanical fuel pump gasket when the
fuel pump itself was found to be loose. After replacing the spacer
and gasket (with my favorite gasket sealer) and tightening it up
good, I found I still had a leak. AIRRGGGH! I could start by
blindly tearing into the motor and replacing gaskets in a shotgun
fashion, but I really don't have the time or the energy for that.
The only plan that I can come up with is to thoroughly clean the
greasy lump (yuck!) and then drive and inspect. I suspect this
really is the only solution, but the collective wisdom on this list
has proven me wrong many, many times before! The dream solution
might be some kind of special fluorescent dye or something that can
be put in the oil that would magically reveal the leak. A pipe
dream? I'm sure it is!
Thanks much!
--
Pete Chadwell
1973 TR6
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