|
Oil out of bellhousing - any idea ???
Hi guys,
I use a Ford FE390 with a TKO600 tranny. When I lift up the car, I saw some small drops of oil coming out of the bellhousing (lowest point). any idea where this oil comes from ? Engine and tranny ran about 2000miles up to now.... Thanks, Stephan |
Most likely rear main seal
|
Oil pan, valve covers, intake manifold, rear main seal. In that order. An aftermarket oil pan can be a real bugger to seal up and what happens is the oil will weep out and run back along the pan rails and down the face of the bell housing front cover. Run your finger along the pan rail and see if it's wet.
Frank |
Quote:
After double checking the oil pan, I replaced the valve cover gaskets. Any time I notice a drip on the bellhousing, it never fails that the valve covers need to be snugged a bit. Tighten and no more drips. I also have had an oil drip from the mechanical speedo connection on the side of the TKO. Turns out the metal cylinder was missing an O-ring. |
I would check the valve cover gaskets first. It does sound like it could be the rear main seal.
|
If it appears to be running down inside the bellhousing (outside dry) then that would tend to point more towards rear seal or rear cam plug. But, always best to check the easy stuff first.
|
Get one of these:PowerbuiltŪ Leak Detection Kit 648416 | eBay
|
Does your Bell Housing have an inspection plate on it? Mine does and in the bottom it has a small hole about the size of a match stem that goes back into the inside. If I find an oil drop I can tell if it came from the inside or the outside of the plate as the wind will blow a small amount of oil all over. What I do to make sure is wipe it clean and then stick a small piece of cotton in the hole. Later I pull the cotton and if it is oily on the part that went inside or oil comes out I know it is inside the plate and not coming from above. Since the inspection plate only has 4 bolts it is easy to remove and lok to see what is going on. And I also check the pan bolts regulary as they seem to tend to want to loosen some. Only found one leak at a valve cover.
Ron |
Stephan, at risk of asking the obvious, is it definitely engine oil and not trans fluid? New TKO600s have been known to leak out of the bellhousing. It comes from the unsealed threads that mount the throwout bearing.
|
How many miles on the engine? If it's new I'd suspect (like others have pointed out) valve covers or intake. That cork gasket at the back end of the intake. The bell housing could be dry and it's running down between the joints between the block, block plate and bell housing.
|
Quote:
Another common one is the oil pressure line leaking and blowing back. |
Get a dye kit
Stephan427SC Bingo2 has it right, get a dye kit and run the motor. In 10 minutes or short drive you will find the leak location. If you look up threads with oil leaks they come from any direction. Kit is about $50.00. Napa has them and some other stores. They also have dye for coolant leaks, trans leaks, rearend, a/c, and P/S system. Yellow glasses look cool too.:cool: Save alot of guessing. Good luck, I's betting on rear main seal or side seals on back cap at top between block and cap. Rick L.
|
| All times are GMT -7. The time now is 10:02 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0
The representations expressed are the representations and opinions of the clubcobra.com forum members and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and viewpoints of the site owners, moderators, Shelby American, any other replica manufacturer, Ford Motor Company. This website has been planned and developed by clubcobra.com and its forum members and should not be construed as being endorsed by Ford Motor Company, or Shelby American or any other manufacturer unless expressly noted by that entity. "Cobra" and the Cobra logo are registered trademarks for Ford Motor Co., Inc. clubcobra.com forum members agree not to post any copyrighted material unless the copyrighted material is owned by you. Although we do not and cannot review the messages posted and are not responsible for the content of any of these messages, we reserve the right to delete any message for any reason whatsoever. You remain solely responsible for the content of your messages, and you agree to indemnify and hold us harmless with respect to any claim based upon transmission of your message(s). Thank you for visiting clubcobra.com. For full policy documentation refer to the following link: