59A oil leak

[G.M.]

Originally Posted by ford38v8

Henry, Don't mind old George. He must have been having another of his frequent bad days.

George, If you drove your car(s) as much as Henry, you'd show some respect.
On second thought, why would I think that?

I only put 130,000 on my 39 convertible plus over 100,000 on my other old Fords in the past 32 years. I have driven many 1,200 mile trips in 2 days in the 39 and several others. You don't see me with all these problems. In fact I have had very few minor problems on any of my old Fords.other than with this new gas. I live where it's 90 or more most of the year and this fuel problem shows up more in heat. Do it right the first time and these engines will run trouble free for years we have better oil today than in the 30's, 40's and 50's. No sludge. G.M.

[ford38v8]

Same old George. Merry Christmas, George.

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by V8COOPMAN

Please forgive me as I scratch my head while attempting to understand your wisdom, 'cuz I'm missing something. DD

Looks like you went a little heavy on the Rogaine.

No wisdom. No pride. No boasting. Just dumb luck, I guess (again).

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by V8COOPMAN

Sounds like you're proud of your handiwork. You have every right to boast though...your car, and your successful adventure. For sure, you've beat the odds of necessarily having to find a tow truck out there in the middle of Nowhere, Utah. Please forgive me as I scratch my head while attempting to understand your wisdom, 'cuz I'm missing something. DD

What you're missing is the great joy of a road trip!
I scratch my head at any one who, as a result of of some itsy bitsy oil leak, would give up a glorious road trip.



(I carry AAA Plus that will tow 300 miles, just in case. Never have had to use it on a road trip (KOW). The slim possibility of such does not deter me from the joy of the trip but I always consider such risk and accept it and am prepared for such, just in case.)

[V8COOPMAN]

I certainly NEVER said anything about giving-up a glorious road trip. I just don't understand the wisdom of "band-aiding"/mickey-mousing such an important system as your OIL supply...the life-blood of your engine, and then "hoping" it doesn't come un-glued before returning to civilization. Fix it RIGHT to begin with, then carry-on, knowing that particular malady is no longer an issue. What if the airlines "fixed" airplanes your way just to stay on schedule? DD

[bk53]

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Have you retorqued the pan gaskets since the rebuild? I had a similar issue
but only a small amount of oil was coming out. Oil filter lines also had to be wound back in a little, cinched down. good luck.

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by V8COOPMAN

I certainly NEVER said anything about giving-up a glorious road trip. I just don't understand the wisdom of "band-aiding"/mickey-mousing such an important system as your OIL supply...the life-blood of your engine, and then "hoping" it doesn't come un-glued before returning to civilization. Fix it RIGHT to begin with, then carry-on, knowing that particular malady is no longer an issue. What if the airlines "fixed" airplanes your way just to stay on schedule? DD

You should know that I did this repair a month ago before the road trip three weeks ago. I have known that this "band-aid" worked for three weeks now but have refrained from reporting it because I knew that you would go ballistic about it. But, after thinking and pondering on it for three weeks now I finally decided that it might just be good information for anyone caught, as I was, with a similar problem without adequate time, money, or knowledge to fix it "right" as you so adequately instructed. So, I reported it. If it had been my 1947 Cessna 195 airplane the risk of mechanical failure would probably have outweighed the benefits of taking the trip on my birthday and I would have put off the trip to fix it "right". But, it was just a car that I knew exactly what the problem was, what the risk of that problem interrupting my trip was, and took the risk for the benefit. That's all.

I apologize, as I should have in advance of my report, (and have since added to my report) for upsetting you with my "band-aid" approach. I appreciate your instructions on doing the job right and will certainly pursue that approach if I ever have to remove the pan for anything else in the future but as long as my "band-aid" is working I'll stick with that. I have not and would not advocate my "band-aid" as the correct, right, nor best repair - only that it worked for me under these urgent circumstances and might come in handy for anyone else so situated.

I hope that you will continue to offer suggested solutions to my problems even though I may not do them all the time. We all have varying degrees of tolerance to imperfection. As I've said before, I'd much rather drive an imperfect car than have a perfect one just sitting in the garage. You have good ideas and I appreciate you sharing them.

[estout81]

Old Henry,
Thank you for all your informative posts.
Some people, if they can't dazzle us with brilliance, will try to baffle us with BS.

[Mike B]

I'd say, In my humble opinion, this is/was a good fix, if you are a long way from home...heck, even 50 miles away.

But me personally knowing I had a road trip coming up in a month, would probably find an hour here and there to take it apart and make a known permanent solution.

I guess we all have our ways, via our means, but I have to side with GM here, do it right once is usually the best approach.

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by Mike B

. . . do it right once is usually the best approach.

No question about it. I totally agree. . . usually, as you said.