Hey all, the weather is getting nice out and I've been wanting to get my ride out for the summer. Problem is, I went and started her up on Sunday, and found that my engine is leaking oil somewhere. I've known that my valve seals have been getting bad over the past few years, but when I popped the hood a few days ago, I found sitting oil in the indentations of my intake manifold!

Engine is a (mostly) stock 305 LG4...as I said, any 'pocket' in the molding of my intake manifold below the carb had sitting oil in them. I would assume that this is coming from underneath the valve covers? How else would it get there? How is it that it pooled up while sitting for the past several months??

Needless to say, I'm not getting her out on the road anytime soon, and with my student loan payments, rent, and all other expenses, it isn't so simple as to purchase a new engine, or engage in costly repairs ATM. For the engine sages out there, could you at least point me in the right direction, so that I can being to assimilate what the cost will be to repair?

Any input is much appreciated!

Thanks!

 

I can't really think of anything, but I don't think it's your valve covers. The oil would have made its way down toward the exhaust, not the intake.

 

Thanks for the reply. I am going to spend some time with the car this weekend, and will soak up the oil, let it run, and see if it builds back up. I'll diagnose from there. Fact remains, I'm in dire need of a new powerplant

 

For now you can try simply tightening the valve cover bolts as it's common for them to loosen on the old 305's. Do not over tighten them though as that can make it worse. Just check to see what the situation is. I would try replacing the gaskets yourself if you determine that they're leaking.

They also make a dye too that might help determine where it's leaking from, shouldn't be too hard to find though. I agree on the angles make it less likely to be the valve covers. Some other things I can think of maybe are the dizzy and/or the oil pressure port at the rear drivers side, but I also don't know if that would flow to the front and IIRC typically flows down the rear of the engine. Could also be the intake manifold bolts too. I don't think anything serious enough to replace the engine over though.

 

I have the exact situation (regarding the oil puddle on the manifold) and on the valve covers. My is an 88 IROC Z with a 305 (5sp). I cleaned the valve covers and the manifold attempting to see if there was an additional build up of oil and ideally to track down where any leaks. Its been three days...so far no leaks (that I can find).

 

probably not your valve covers. Could be coming from under intake manifold bolt or intake manifold gasket.