oil leak question

[madsoul]

I have a 73 240z that leaks oil when the engine is running. It does not seen to leak when the engine is off. A friend told me that this was a spesific symptom of a leak at the oil pump, and that I should look in to replacing it.

Has any one heard of this before? And couldn't the oil stop leaking when the engine is off because there is no pressure in the system, therefore the leak could be anywhere?

thanks

Madsoul

[texasz]

I would tend to agree with you presure statement. It would help to know where the oil is leaking from to narrow down the possible causes.

[kmack]

I would first get under the car and try to determine where the leak is actually coming from. That will help in finding out what is causing the leak.

[Bambikiller240]

Your leak could be at the valve cover, the head gasket, the oil presure sender, or the oil pump itself, or the oil pan. Oil is thick, so what comes out of the engine will take some time to drip off of the block, thus when the engine is off you will still see some drips appear under the car for a period of time. My oil pressure sender was leaking and I found oil drips on the ground under the car FOR DAYS after replacing the unit. The leak had stopped, but there was still oil coating the side of the engine that took days to finally finish dripping off of the engine.

Your best bet is to clean the engine throughly so that you can then see where "FRESH" oil appears. Then you will know where the leak is coming from, and you can address the issue.

Good Luck!

[Daniel]

A few more places to check.The oil plugs gasket and the oil filter.I have seen an entire oil filter gasket stay stuck on the block also pieces.If someone isn't careful they will add another gasket with the new filter.(Toyota's are bad for this).A clean inspection is always best ,but a trick is to throw baby powder on the oil covered engine and go for a short ride.The oil will show up and your car will smell goodROFL

[beandip]

Like was mentioned before you need to look for the source. If the engine is so greasy and dirty that you cannot see where the leak is , clean it . If the source is the oil pan, it could be from over thghtening the bolts and denting in the pan where the bolts go through . This destroys the gasket and the pan must be repaired and a new gasket installed. If the oil in coming from around the crank shaft pully , its the front main seal if the clutch is getting oil on it , its the rear main seal. Baby powder thats a good idea!

[tanny]

Baby powder! Now that is really innovative. Everyone calls their z " their baby" anyway. Excellent. Victor.

[rudds67]

hi,

i put some mystrye oil in the crank case and some gas treatment in.. now it is smoking ... the color of the smoke is white.. so its the gas right..? as i rev it up>> it smokes out a ton and some comes from the engine conpartment... also its leakin oil from some where... i jacked it up and it was driping from the exhouast pipe connector that runs in to the header... ithink is driping from some where on to that.... my dad said its not B/C of what i put in it.... but idk.....#@#$?

steve