Oil Leaks and Flathead mechanic, Santa Ynez, CA

[tony1940]

Hi, I have a 40 Ford, engine trans and columbia rear end operate great, however, they all leak profusely. Any mechanics in Santa Ynez, CA area?

[Jack E/NJ]

Describe 'profusely'.

[cas3]

"profusely" , from my dictionary : leaks like most old Fords

[alanwoodieman]

old Fords do not leak, they just mark their territory, if it ain't leaking it is out of oil, these are some of the clichés, but in fact the sealing systems for the engine, trans are alomost impossible to stop due to lambrinth sealing system

[petehoovie]

A "profusely" leak is designated by Ford with a Part Number...

[tony1940]

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Ok, I get it, buy more oil and two oil pans, on for the engine and trans another for the rearend.



Thanks for all the honesty and direct feedback!

[sugarmaker]

Tony,
Welcome to the Ford barn. Give us the back story on your car please.
Awesome car you have and we need more pictures too. The oil leaks can get out of hand and maybe you do need repairs? I put a rebuilt "B" engine in our truck and it still drips a little. But is a big improvement over the temporary engine I had in there. You say everything works good, so that is a big plus.
Good luck with your 40! Drive it and have fun.
Regards,
Chris and Cheryl

[alanwoodieman]

couple of suggestions to help stem the oil loss. 20w50 engine oil-leave a little low on dipstick--not 5 quarts, trans should have GL1 to 4--never 5 or synthetic, heavy 140 is best in my area-add a little lucas oil extender to get it stickier and do not fill to plug level just below the plug level when cold

[Bill OH]

I slide a large piece of cardboard under the car in the garage and stay off of driveways, especially those of friends.

[Jack E/NJ]

alanwoodieman>>-leave a little low on dipstick--not 5 quarts,>>>


X2. My 21-studder, 48 Case & newer rides all get 4-qt changes. Even those spec'd at 4.5 or 5 with new filters. So a pint or so low.

[whizzernick]

Tony
I make a ( I call it a diaper ) that stops the oil from marking the cars territory .
a lot better than cardboard as the diaper is on the car all the time . The diaper also takes care of leaks from the transmission . I also make one for the rear end. any one interested may private message me

[Floyd]

To actually answer or help with your question, contact Dave Henry in Santa Ynez who has a business marketing classic cars. He does not have a shop but he handles Nick Alexander;s and many other classic cars. Good guy and will know who is a good mechanic in your area. Some that I knew have retired or worse.
Dave Henry 805-705-4926
Welcome new junior member!

[richard crow]

1 have a 40 ford with a columba they do not leak .

[Bored&Stroked]

Thoughts:

1) Transmissions: Due to the lack of a positive seal on the cluster shaft and the reverse idler as well as the non-sealed pin that retains these two shafts, it is quite common for the early transmissions to leak a bit of gear oil out the back of them. I have my own custom solutions for this problem - so I have no leaks from my transmissions.

2) Rear Ends: There is no reason for them to be leaking - other than incorrect assembly, bad gaskets, etc.. The only case where they can leak is if the car has a huge amount of front to rear rake and the torque tube is now pointing DOWN at the front. There is no positive seal to prevent rear-end lube from traveling down the torque tube and leaking out from the clam-shells. You only see this with heavily dropped front ends - where the rear end is running large tires and the torque tube is now at an angle (lower in the front). This can be resolved by the addition of a custom rear-end seal plate. (Bruce's HotRod shop made one at one time).

3) Engines: The oil-pan breather on 36? - 48 engines will almost always drip some amount of oil from the front road-draft setup in the front corner of the pan. This is normal - and is related to the combustion gasses being vented out the front. The more "blow-by" your engine has, the more it will leak - just the way it is.

The only viable solution to this is to modify the oil-pan breathing system and install a custom PCV type system. On 49-53 engines the factory had a different road-draft tube that came out of the intake manifold. It too will usually leak a bit of oil - just in a different place than before. On both types of engines a PCV can alleviate the problem - but it takes some mods and custom parts (not a hard job - multiple ways to skin this cat).

[whizzernick]

have you given any thought to the rear main slinger design that allows oil at the top when engine is shut down to flow oil to pan or flywheel area ? the pan has a large cotterpin that is supposed to keep the hole open to let oil drip to road.

[Karl Wolf]

With the Ford closed drive shaft, there is no breather.
This means that there can be an air pressure build, thusly defeating seals.
I drilled a hole in the outer part of the drive shaft so as to prevent this, and put a small fuel filter on the fitting I used, to keep crud out.

Karl

[TonyM]

Just like a radial aircraft engine.

[whizzernick]

too bad no one will address :have you given any thought to the rear main slinger design that allows oil at the top when engine is shut down to flow oil to pan or flywheel area ? the pan has a large cotterpin that is supposed to keep the hole open to let oil drip to road.

[whizzernick]

I SEE NO ONE WANTS TO ANSWER

have you given any thought to the rear main slinger design that allows oil at the top when engine is shut down to flow oil to pan or flywheel area ? the pan has a large cotterpin that is supposed to keep the hole open to let oil drip to road.

[mfirth]

Just read a post on the H A M B about SBC & SB Fords leaking along with newer trannys & rearends. Us flathead folks are not alone.