oil leek, i love british cars, but....

[JamesH]

.....i do try to control the flow on the "factory anti-corrosion system." i just replaced the valve cover gasket and the seal in the oil fill cap. i cleaned this side of the engine. now, i have this....in the pic....it sure looks to me like it is weeping through the threads on the foremost head stud. your thoughts?

[Beans]

Cam cover gasket's leaking.
I've never seen a leak through the head studs

[UKPhilTR7]

When I see this my initial thought is that the gasket is leaking in the top corner just by the stud. This is then dripping down to the stud and appearing like the leak is coming from it. I would seriously doubt that the leak is coming from the stud itself, unless it is that loose to allow oil to come up.

I would clean up the area and then wrap some kitchen towel around the stud, also cleaning the surrounding area including under the cam gasket as best as possible. Then run the car for a bit and with a clean piece of kitchen towel dab around the area, checking for oil on the towel. This will give you a good idea of where the leak is originating from. With the car off take the towel from around the stud and see if there is any oil on it. I often run the car for a bit and use kitchen towel to dab around areas to check there is no oil leaking. The wife often moans about where all the towel is going.

[trsforever]

Hi, It could be the stud as the cam shaft oil feed from block to head is about 1/2" away from the front stud, the gasket might not be sealing properly in that area (on a sprint engine the oil feeds up the stud Bore to the Cam)
If it is the stud you could remove that nut and washer clean the threads and seal with RTV silicone sealer and re torque the nut.

[stevie_a]

I was always told not to use gasket sealant on my head cover, as it will make leaks if not done right.

clean cover and head put new gasket in tighten down then re tighten in couple of hundred miles.

worked for me.

You can see where the oil was leaking




Look at the diffrance in the old and new washers for the screws that hold down the cover


A clean up and new gasket (No sealant)




New washer on screw



That was 4 years ago Plus and it is still leak free

[UKPhilTR7]

I personally have always used gasket sealant on the tome of the gasket that meets the rocker cover. I do not use it on the gasket to head surface. Last time I did it, I found that using sealant was the only way to hold the gasket in place. This was a cork on and from a reputable supplier, however I found it was a fraction too big around the top end and needed the sealant to make it fit. I also used sealant on the half-moons to the head surface. As yet there are no leaks; hopefully I have not just tempted fate. On a side note I did have one of them silicone head gaskets and found it totally useless. I know other people have used it with success but for me it was a total waste of time. It would not sit correct and no matter what I did there was always a little leak in the top corner by the first stud. I returned back to the good old cork ones and no leaks. I see that on ebay there are rubber ones being sold, I have not tried them yet.

[FI Spyder]

For a leak free valve cover (or other) I spray tacky red gasket sealer (from an aerosol can) on the weak side (in this case the side that touches the valve cover) and used the cork gasket. This also holds the gasket in place while you turn it upside down to attach. The cork gasket is a little big but I'm told if it's dried out it shrinks. Don't forget half moons (condition), as they are more solid I used a thin film of gasket sealer on them and the top rubber gaskets (condition) i just used dry. I like to soak my new rubber parts inj Maguire's Vinyl and Rubber Reconditioner for a day before using them. No leaks.

As for British cars leaking, my newer Japanese cars (Toyota and Acura) leak more than my older British car.