Pearson 30 Oil leak

[tfish]

Oil Leak
Dear Afourians! I have a 1976 Pearson 30 that has a oil leak that is driving me nuts!! I have consulted my local A4 guru and checked and changed the Manual fuel pump gasket, Valve cover gasket( and put in a slight bow) and Oil pressure regulator yet the leak is still coming in my blind spot behind manual fuel pump and Transmission housing. I am fairly confident the valve cover is ruled out. I could feel significant amounts of oil aft of the fuel pump bolts and on the block. I am going to reevaluate the oil pressure regulating valve. Any thoughts???

[hanleyclifford]

Check all oil pan and gear housing cap screws for tightness. Also make sure they have their copper washers, not lock washers in place. Sometimes a leak develops where block, oil pan and gear housing join.

[Al Schober]

The seal washer on the pressure adjuster is an unusual beast. It has a few edges on it that are supposed to seal the root of the thread. This washer actually should be threaded onto the male thread to avoid damaging the seal lips. Perhaps it's time for a new one?
Part no is OOIL_06_459. In the search block on the home page, just enter '459'. The picture shows the 3 lips.

[Dromo]

I'd wipe the area with a clean cloth and spread some talcum powder around with a soft brush . it might take a day but you'll be able to trace where the oil is coming from .
A mirror might be useful
Rick

[marthur]

Here is a copy something Don Moyer posted a while back. I has a number of useful thoughts about oil leaks.

[jpian0923]

To add to Don's list, the direct drive output coupling must be a press fit on the tailshaft.
I had an oil leak that I thought was from the rear oil seal but turned out to be the output coupling ID was too large for the tailshaft. I also destroyed two tailshafts prior to this discovery.

I might add, as Don pointed out to me, "when oil does leak out between the output coupling and the tail shaft, it usually eventually finds its way out between the faces of the output coupling and the prop shaft coupling, leaving a fine oily line around the engine compartment in line with the coupling mating surfaces. "