[Mgs] Something (or things) leaks - how to locate the source?

[Dan DiBiase]

The coolant leak where it's gathering on the cross member seems to me to be
a leak either from the lower radiator hose or the water pump. Have had both
of those on my '76 and that is where the coolant tended to gather.

Dan D
Central NJ USA
http://dandibiase.cbintouch.com/


On Fri, May 31, 2019 at 2:32 AM Steve Shoyer via Mgs <mgs at autox.team.net>
wrote:

> After working on my 1980 MGB last summer I had the car running but it
> was leaking.  I parked it on the lift and I'm just getting back to it
> now.  It seems to be leaking both oil and coolant.  I'm hoping that the
> leaks are coming from different places, but I'm not quite sure where to
> look.  When the car was parked, I noticed some coolant seeping out (and
> dripping onto the car parked under the lift) but I couldn't find the
> source.  Today, while the car was running, I saw oil dripping from the
> engine back plate.  It looks like some oil was escaping at the fitting
> where the metal oil pipe that leads to the filter connects to the block
> - I tried to tighten it as much as possible, but it was hard to access.
> Oil is also dripping from the rim of the oil pan near the rear plate.
> Most of the oil pan rim has oil on it, with green coolant around the rim
> in spots as well.  I don't think that the oil and coolant are mixed
> together - the oil dripping on the ground just looks like oil, and I
> didn't see any foaming or anything other than oil under the cap in the
> valve cover.  Still, it has me worried.
>
> I watched some John Twist videos on finding leaks and he said that the
> sump gaskets don't leak, so maybe the oil is coming from one (or more)
> place and the coolant is coming from another and that's just a
> convenient place for them to collect
>
> I noticed some coolant around the lower radiator hose, so I tightened
> the clamp to see if that would help.  Judging from the stain on the car
> under the MG, the coolant seems to be dripping from the front
> cross-member, but I couldn't see where it was coming from.  The coolant
> leaked while the car was just sitting, not a huge amount but it was
> noticeable when it dripped onto the other car's hood.  There were some
> oil drips hanging onto many of the engine bay components, like the bolts
> on the oil filter head, the starter, etc. - there was a drop on most of
> the lowest points of the components.
>
> Last year I pulled the engine to replace the cam and clutch, along with
> the other standard things to replace when doing those jobs.  Because it
> was my first time doing engine work, it wouldn't surprise me if I
> screwed some of it up.
>
> I picked up some UV dye to put into the oil, but is there anything else
> I can do to figure out what's leaking?  Thanks.
>
> --Steve
>
>
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