dripping oil

[Nowell Solish]

I am new to owning a 356. I noticed oil dripping more than it should from the sump plate and the surrounding area. I did tighten it but it is dripping around that area still. The person who serviced it for me put in conventional oil but it is 10W30 (because it is still on the colder side here in canada he thought that was a better choice!!). Could that be the cause of leak, is that thin enough to cause leaking?

[Guest]

Having been either the driver or owner of three VWs and now my 62 Porsche, if they don't leak you start worrying. I still keep a folded cardboard box under my car in the garage, and don't park in anyone's driveway. If you find a way to cure this "problem" let us all know. Jim Slawson, SF Bay area

[Mike Smith]

Clean off the underside of the engine and find out where it is coming from

They all leak (a little) but most leaks are curable (some are easier than others)

Common Leaks are

Sump plate - distorted around the stud holes
Sump Plate - Leaking Rivet in the middle of the Plate
Sump Plate - Stripped Studs
Pushrod Tubes - at the Head End
Pushrod Tubes - At the Crankcase End
Pushrod Tube - Crack in Seam
Front Crankshaft Oil Seal
Rear Crankshaft Oil Seal

[Chris Markham]

Your leak at the sump should definitely NOT be fixed by continued tightening of the sump nuts above their nominal torque value--which is something like 8ft/lb. Over-tightening and you could pull/break a stud, which would be a REAL hassle. It is also a common response to a leaky gasket--to quote The Maestro, if some (torque) is good then more is better and TOO MUCH must be just right. But it ain't.

A new gasket set for the sump might help, but most likely is that your sump plate and/or the edge of the sump screen is warped--possibly due to overtightening at one edge. It should be removed and checked for flatness. Usually a drift and hammer can rectify the problem, rarely is grinding necessary.

Before reassembly using a flat bar, check across the oil sump suds and see that they're equal length, that is, that one hasn't partially backed-out on removal of its nut--another hazard of overtightening. If one is "long", a jam-nut can be used to bottom out the stud--but locktite it first so it doesn't happen again. A long stud, used with the closed-end nuts of the sump can mean your nut may bottom-out on the stud before you get your plate seal. Chances are that you'd drive the stud back in--but maybe not.

Some of the third-party (i.e., e-Bay) kits now come with open nuts and lock washers. These don't look at all pretty but they do the job and aren't subject to stud interference--or at the least if you're using an open wrench (at a kilter, due to the sump cover lip) you can see if you're turning the stud--did I mention a stripped stud is another risk/cause.

No matter which nuts you use, do use a crossing pattern to tighten the nuts. At the low torque values your plate wants, plus the crush of two gaskets above and below the sump screen, it is unlikely you could warp the plate, but if you have a slight uneveness tightening the nuts in a line could push it over the edge into leaky-land.

I save the most controversial for last: some people say to use gasket tack on the (very clean) sump plate surfaces, gaskets and case. I say if your plates are flat, and you follow the above advice, that you don't need it--you can assemble it dry (and clean!) and it makes the whole thing easier to deal with in 3000 miles when you do this again. But to each their own, and it is another tool in the anti-leak arsenal.

[Chris Markham]

And to answer your question about the 10-30W oil contributing to the leak, my thought is no, and especially if it conventional oil. If you had said that it was full synthetic, then I'd say "probably", because the synthetic found every single miniscule exit place on my engine. I went back to the "blend" and will stay with it until my next full rebuild. Even so, the blend can find an exit if the car is parked on a hill

[Charles Foster]

On my last full oil change, I used a tip I found on the talklist archive - sprayed Permatex gasket spray on the cardboard gaskets, let them thoroughly air dry over the course of a couple hours, then flipped and sprayed the other sides and let that side dry as well.

Since installing these, I haven't had a drop of oil leak from the sump area in 600 miles of driving.

Note though that the studs are also prone to leaking and there is information on how to treat this in the talk archives as well.

Good luck!

Charles


--
Charles Foster
hc_foster@hotmail.com (hc_foster@hotmail.com)
http://www.northForkDesigns.net/Porsche356/

Subject: [356Talk] dripping oil
From: n.solish@utoronto.ca
Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 19:38:48 -0700
To: 356talk@356registry.com

I am new to owning a 356. I noticed oil dripping more than it should from the sump plate and the surrounding area. I did tighten it but it is dripping around that area still. The person who serviced it for me put in conventional oil but it is 10W30 (because it is still on the colder side here in canada he thought that was a better choice!!). Could that be the cause of leak, is that thin enough to cause leaking?

------------------------
nowell

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[Dave Wildrick]

I am new to owning a 356. I noticed oil dripping more than it should from the sump plate and the surrounding area. I did tighten it but it is dripping around that area still. The person who serviced it for me put in conventional oil but it is 10W30 (because it is still on the colder side here in canada he thought that was a better choice!!). Could that be the cause of leak, is that thin enough to cause leaking?

Many leaks are from oil migrating down the studs. Clean the studs and smear some nonhardening gasket sealer (Permatex) on each stud before you reassemble everything. If your sump plate has “dimples” where the studs go through, you can get a new much thicker absolutely flat sump plate from Ab Tiedemann (the Hermit) in steel or a thick aluminum one from Mainely by Design (or Vince Capelletti); either of these will be difficult to "dimple" from overtightening. Check the Registry website “vendor” pages for contact info. at www.356registry.org