On a 383 I have, there is a bad oil leak where the damper goes into the timing chain cover. When I built the engine, I noticed that the damper had some grooves in it (not real bad), so I installed one of those press-on sleeves designed to "fix" or prevent leaks caused by that wear.
Well, it's not working! I am wondering if a machine shop could turn down the "snoot" of the damper a few thousandths to get out the worst of the grooves. I would then still install a sleeve, but it wouldn't be quite so tight (that thing was a bitch to put on!) and would be over a much smoother surface. Has anyone ever tried this? How did it work?
I'm gonna pull the damper either way (and replace the seal, too, of course). I'm just trying to decide if I need a new one or if there's a "best" way to restore the one I have.

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'87 IROC 5.7l TPI - original owner!

 

did you use any sortof lube on the seal? it sounds like you may of burnt it up with the new negine if you never. i don't think trying to remove the grooves in the dampner would help anything, but i've never had to use one of the repair sleeves like you have.

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ICON Motorsports

1st & 3rd
MM Black Diamond 538 F&AM

 

I've used quite a number of the sleeves over the years, with good results.

What almost always is the case when the sleeve doesn't work, is that the timing cover is bent or otherwise damaged. That will hold the seal in some oddball position, maybe even curled out of a plane. Also, it's possible for the outside of the seal to leak where it seats in the bore in the timing cover. And your leak could also be at the junction of the pan to the timing cover.

It sounds to me like you need to go to the quarter car wash with a can of diesel fuel in a spray can, sterilize the whole front of the motor, and examine it carefully within a few minutes of running after you clean it up to see where the oil is actually coming from.

 

Another possibility is that on most small block Chevies you MUST have a bolt in one of the holes (there are two and I can't remember which right now-but I think it is the top of the two) next to the balancer on the front passenger side, just above the oil pan rail. The hole leads directly into the fuel pump boss and oil is in there and WILL cause a really messy leak if it isn't plugged with a bolt. I've seen it happen several times. However, if your block doesn't have the fuel pump boss area, nevermind!
jms

 

jms is right, that's one I forgot about.... it's the upper one of the 2 on the front of the block, down low beside the balancer on the pass side of the block. That bolt holds on various accessories depending on the year model, or if there is nothing ther such as an AIR pump, you can just look in there and see the fuel pump rod (or at least its passage). It's a real typical new-motor mystery oil leak.

If you don't have a bolt there, put in a little short one with some sealer on the threads.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

I did even better than that. I jacked the car up and from underneath using a siphon nozzle on my air hose washed the whole bottom and sides of the engine and transmission with mineral spirits! I cleaned everthing that had any kind of oil on it. When I was through, the engine and all accessories were completely oil free.

After a test drive, I jacked it up again to inspect for leaks. I found some leakage around the oil pan (toward the front, mostly), and the valve covers seem to be leaking toward the rear. But the big leak is at the damper seal. A nice, neat trail of oil runs down from the bottom of the seal, onto the front of the pan, then back along the bottom of the pan.

Some of the oil pan bolts were uncomfortably loose, so I tightened them. The valve cover bolts could use some snugging, too, but I'll probably pull the covers and replace those gaskets. The damper seal is clearly the big leaker, in this case.

The engine's in my '74 El Camino. It's over 10 years old, but has less than 20,000 miles on it. This is why the leakage is particularly disturbing. Sometimes I wonder if the sleeve stretches the seal (since the snoot is now oversized a little) too much causing it to tear.



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'87 IROC 5.7l TPI - original owner!

 

Isn't there some sort of sealant that should be applied between the damper repair sleeve and the damper, before tapping the sleeve on?


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
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