The good news is that my tow vehicle has an excellent rust preventative undercoating every time i pull it behind the bus, about a gallons worth of 40wt rotella. the bad news is that is seems to be coming from the gasket on the engine block end plate just above the starter. When i took it in to have the starter checked, or the hoses just above it repaired or replaced, the garage blew it clean and then checked where the leak was. According to them, the gasket was put on with "silicone"? which is incorrect. that's why it's now leaking after whenever the last overhaul was by a PO. (at least 5 years and 50,000 miles ago.). They couldn't do the repair themselves, but ....
Any way to repair this, short of taking it apart and applying new gaskets? suggestions? Oil isn't that expensive, but it ain't cheap and i really don't need further rust protection on the tow.
for those of you that wish to think this over, i plan to be in arcadia for the rally by Monday if i can find enough oil to get there. It's at least a 3 day run, so at least 4 gallons if it doesn't get worse on the way.
Tom if you can make to Lakeland, bring it to the shop and let Joe get on it! Shouldn't take that long to fix and you can still make the rally with no worries!
Better to fix IT now than to fix a lot more later on!
I've had good results on oil leaks using an epoxy made for gas tank leaks. A couple of bucks at Auto Zone. It is a LOT of work to change out the end plate gasket.
Changing the engine block to rear plate gasket will mean completely disassembling the back of the engine, pulling the bellhousing and all of the gears. The engine will have to be out, and the tranny will be off, as will all the rear accessories. Not a job I would want to do in a hurry. Mind you, I am doing much the same thing with my engine swap. I'll be stripping both engines down to the bare block, front and rear.
Good luck!
Brian
Tom, before you go into panic mode have somebody check your blower coupling and the blower supply oil line when those go bad it will look like the plate is leaking you may get lucky my friend,that 20 dollar gasket cost a bundle to replace as Brian said,clean the breathers on the engine if it is the gasket it will slow it a little
good luck
Look for the simple fixes first Tom cause that's a big one if you have to do it. Make sure it isn't just blowing back off your slobber valve on that side. My starter was pretty slimy all summer and I was subsidizing Shell big time until I got motivated enough to tighten the connections on my slobber valve on the starter side. On the plus side, as you correctly pointed out, my POS FORD wasn't rusting. Mind you, most of the parts on it don't stay on long enough to rust but that's a whole 'nuther thread.
plus just tighten all of the accessory bolts back there. I found a big part of my leak was probably the fact that three of the bolts holding the air compressor on where only finger tight. Yeah, they are a total pain to get a wrench on, but the oil was running down the back of the engine to where the starter is.
Brian
Quote from: bevans6 on December 22, 2010, 06:54:21 AM
plus just tighten all of the accessory bolts back there. I found a big part of my leak was probably the fact that three of the bolts holding the air compressor on where only finger tight. Yeah, they are a total pain to get a wrench on, but the oil was running down the back of the engine to where the starter is.
Brian
VERY COMMON PROBLEM!
I've seen it over and over again, on my coaches as well as other peoples too!
Tom if it were me that's the first place I'd check!
;D BK ;D
My pan was developing a leak when I checked the bolts. They were all loose. Pretty good advise!
Clifford, i will definitely check out the blower drain and slobber tube. i would really love for that to be the issue instead of pulling the engine, tranny, etc. i'm really not prepared for that expense just to fix a gasket, although i'd rather not have to pull the engine at all, for any reason. But if it turns out we need to do that, there are some other things we'll service and tune up while we're there.
Brian, i already heard that, but thanks for confirming, Scott, all suggestions are welcome and i'm assuming i'll get more advice at the rally. Bob, i'm pickin up some good stuff in case you are comin also.
BK, i probably should have picked you up. We came down from Columbia, ky to TN 111 all the way to 27, then i24 to i75. don't know how close that was, but probably not too far. Lookin forward to seein ya agin. ( note the KY/TN spelling) .
Tom to bad you are on the east coast I would help you but fuel to Az and time probably would cost more than you would save. Check the supply line it is on the very top of the engine
good luck
i should also mention we arrived in FL last nite. 6.3 mpg down from Ohio pullin the loaded Express Van behind 40,000 lb of Eagle. Just a little over a gallon of oil since Chatanooga, at 65 to 70 mph. i watched the oil pressure pretty close and it stayed right around 40.
hopefully, it is not worse and we can make it to Arcadia on another gallon or less. fortunately, i have about 4 gal on board, cause i checked and there is none in Bushnell where we are.
Clifford, i'm going to be working in the Rocky Mt Natl park above Denver all summer. Maybe we can at least meet somewhere. i know that's not exactly close, but it's probably as close to AZ as i'll be for a few years. thanks for the offer, but i'm hopin to get all this squared away before i tackle the Rockies.
I think the #1 culprit for oil leaks in that area is the gear driven oil cooled alternator. It's super heavy and with all that weight just hanging out a good foot from the bellhousing they flex and crack alot. The way I identified it was brake cleaner and a rag to get it really clean, start it up and get as close as you can with a good treble light. I would recommend seeing if someone could bring you an aftermarket support for the back of the alternator to Arcadia. I bought one from Brian Diehl a couple years back and I have no leaks coming from there anymore. I also would strongly recommend that if your compressor is not up to specs to have a rebuilt put on. Mine leaked like a sieve.
Good luck and I pray it's not your end plate. That would be the mother of all headaches. If it is and you end up doing it I've heard it's always recommended that you do the idler gear while you're in there.
Rick
hmmmmm I am told the alternator in my MC9 is leaking badly......
Hi Tom,
I had a leak a few years back that I thought was this same gasket. Turned out it was the cross over pipe between the heads and all I did was tighten two hose clamps.
Tom hamrick
I am with Tom me I would take to the place Ace recommends and have everything on top of the engine checked,if all is good upstairs then worry about the 4000 dollar leak.
Save me a spot at Rocky Mt. Tom and we will stop for a visit in late July we will be in that area
good luck
Quote from: white-eagle
i'm going to be working in the Rocky Mt Natl park above Denver all summer.
What are you going to be doing up in the park? That is probably my favorite national park as we vacationed there a lot when I was growing up. We hope to come thru Colo. sometime this summer, maybe we can swing up and say hey, too.
Mike
We will be running the Stillwater site next to the Lake. Some maps show that as a Thousand Trails park, but it is a national forest campground which we will be running and working on. Arapaho National Forest area.
Come visit, love to see you. Sorry, but no breaks on the fees :D. That is, except Clifford. someone with that background and knowledge, i'd pay to meet ;)
it seems it's still good new, bad news, but there's more good news than bad.
First, the really good news - The "tornado" or reaallly stroooong wind in a circular motion, really rocked the bus more than i ever could. according to radar, it went right over us just south of Arcadia. Man what a wind. Unfortunately, we were sampling wine and finishing supper instead of watching the weather. Fortunately, i saw the lightning start and we ran back to the bus to close windows. Unfortunately, i didn't check the vent, but fortunately, the open one is in the bathroom, so the sink and shower got rained on.
with the help of Jack's pressure washer, some purple stuff and some gunk, i cleaned the engine compartment enough that i can look at the engine without getting greasy. i was also able to see the leak better, and it's coming from behind an oil line nut that pushed oil into the gear box on the rear of the engine. i think that line is the source of all the oil leak. when running at lower RPM, it runs down the side of the end plate on the gasket seal (which led us to believe it was leaking). under higher rpm, it drips straight down onto the starter.
Now if we can just find a diagram that shows the part number so we can get the new one, or just take it off to see if it's repairable. But it seems the engine pull may be history for now. There are some things to be done, but maybe they can wait until something really does require an engine pull. i hate to do it while the engine is running well.
If you get oil on the carbon brushes they will become cutting tools and destroy your commutator. (spud) Clifford or ? can fill you in. Eye is tired...sorry.
John
Tom,
We might be through there. However, we usually stay at Elk meadow rv park (right at the entrance). Since we don't have a toad, we only have the bus to get around. The problem is your CG is on the other side of the top ;). We have taken the bus over trail ridge road, and although it was an exciting drive, I wouldn't want to drive it several times in one stay ;D. Certainly not a huge deal, but not your sit back and drive cruise either.
Maybe we will be able to make it at some point. I will keep you updated.
God bless,
John
Quote from: white-eagle on December 23, 2010, 08:21:56 PM
We will be running the Stillwater site next to the Lake. Some maps show that as a Thousand Trails park, but it is a national forest campground which we will be running and working on. Arapaho National Forest area.
Come visit, love to see you. Sorry, but no breaks on the fees :D. That is, except Clifford. someone with that background and knowledge, i'd pay to meet ;)
Love to meet all the busnuts in the area John. Don't know anything about the hills and valleys nearby. (ssshhh, i don't want Fran to find out there's scary mountain roads.)
Tom, cody has the Golden Access card for a break with national parks, is that park one of the ones that honors it with half price rates?
don't know libby. i would guess yes, but have never worked a contracted NPS park before. Ask me again in late May after i've had time to get the rules down pat? :). you guys comin out, too. Glad to see you posting, and so i assume both of you doin ok.
Tom,
If you haven't done that road before, you will find it most entertaining. You all will only have to do it when you are taking the bus out, since you have a toad. My advice is, watch out for the rock walls that hang out on the switchbacks (those would do a number to the side of your bus), and take it slow. You will remember the drive, trust me ;D. But it really isn't that bad. They take tour buses up there all of the time.
God bless,
Joh
Quote from: white-eagle on January 26, 2011, 04:56:53 AM
Love to meet all the busnuts in the area John. Don't know anything about the hills and valleys nearby. (ssshhh, i don't want Fran to find out there's scary mountain roads.)
We're doing great tom, we've talked about a west coast run for a long time, I lived in washington state and california when my dad was in the service and stationed out there and cody hasn't been out west since 1970 or around there. I try to keep up with everything cause cody isn't allowed on the board anymore because he refuses to be the only one ever required to sign a piece of paper in order to grace this 'honored' board so he talks to everyone on facebook. He keeps busy with his benefits and his ACLU work and he has gone back to school I have no idea what he wants with another degree but he is neck deep into it, he's been retired for 10 years, I think he just wants to paper the living room wall.