Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Small oil leak, 1992 morgan +8

Hi everyone,

I've taken my morgan to a local dealer and was told they've had a look at removing the exhaust manifold bolts but these are going to snap on removal, so they're going to leave changing the sump gasket as it would mean removing the engine.

Any ways around this?

Thanks in advance

You could try cleaning the joint then rub some Instant Gasket into it followed by a bead of it. It worked for me on a Lotus twincam years ago.

If the same as my 79 + 8,there is nothing to stop the sump being loward from below, easy job. Done it before when i ripped drain bolt out on drive gate bolt locater.

Apparently my sports exhaust blocks access to the sump to prevent it from being lowered

Your dealer is probably right to take this approach as the manifold bolts, particularly the two rearmost ones have a tendency to seize and shear when being removed. Once this happens, the offending cylinder head needs to be removed and the remaining bolt extracted by drilling or spark erosion. I know through personal experience.

Stainless steel bolts suitably lucricated with coppaslip has solved the problem for me.

Regarding the sump gasket leak, depending how bad it is, you can try silcone. You're probably best accepting it as part of the character of a classic V8 engined thoroughbred.

I suspect you have the Librands "crossover" exhaust system which does route the primary pipes under the sump.

As a result access to the sump is very severely restricted.

If indeed the leak is from the sump gasket , then I am afraid that your dealer is probably correct. But unless the leak is really serious , as David says, I would try to live with it, until you do need to remove the engine for other tasks. Just carry a half litre of oil with you if going on long trips.

I found a small leak on mine that wasn't the sump gasket , it turned out to be the union where the take-off for the one shot lubrication sits near the oil filter. This one was relatively easy to cure , but I too have a weep from the sump, which I just live with. Yes it means I need to put some cardboard under the car in the garage, and be respectful if parking in a highly manicured area (thankfully I don't do that sort of property often) and I always ensure the oil is on the top mark of the dipstick before any 1000 mile trips, but I can live with that.

Might be an opportunity to upgrade to stainless manifold bolts though! I fit them as a matter of course now to any engine I build. Anything to make a future job easier

Broken stud removal is a bit of a pain though.....

Arwyn

Thank you for all your responses, it eased my mind now and will just live with it. Thanks Andy G for your comments too as you are correct it does have the crossover.

Gillingham,

My 1981 Delorean had two small oil leaks. Although I had purchased the parts to replace the offending transaxle oil seal (a standard Peugeot unit) I thought I would try some Liquid Intelligence 230 Stop Leak Seal Expander on the suggestion of a knowledgably automotive engineer mate.

The main rear seal leak on the engine (A Peugeot-Renault-Volvo (PRV) 2.85 V6, essentially a Volvo B28F unit) was only minor but annoying.

On the basis I would replace the transaxle oil seals at some point and thinking I could do no real damage I added the product in the prescribed amount when I changed the gearbox oil some nine months ago.

The result – NO more leak.

I have now added the same product at the engine oil change last month and so far No leak and no more small oil spots on my garage floor.

You can read about it here;-

http://liquidintelligence.com.au/products/stop-oil-leak-seal-expander
(For good order I have no personal or commercial interest in the product or manufacturer)

It may not be the long term solution but so far so good......

Have you removed these bolts after some years. Stainless Steel threads tend to Gall or weld themselves together due to surface passivation and ductility.

I would be interested in an answer here as I have never used stainless steel nuts and bolt by choice for car use on the advice of metallurgists.

Copper being introduced here will also according to metallurgists I work with will be less than helpful.

The suggested lubricants should contain substantial amounts of molybdenum disulfide (moly), graphite, mica, or talc. Not a property of copper rich greases.

The other suggestion is to use different grades of stainless steel for the bolt and nut. The easy to purchase bolt grade of A2 is less than suitable in these situations.