Well after all the dramas with the electronic ignition not working etc, etc I finally got some correct needles and happy days.

Did a few laps of the streets at 30kph and car is running now pretty good, no leaks.

Drove down to blue slip station at 60kph and pulled up, have a chat, car sails through all the checks and then I spot what I thought was coolant dripping out under engine. Put my foot on top of leak so inspector doesn't spot it.

Travel back home (round trip 8kms) and look underneath and it isn't coolant but OIL!

Leaking from up near the crank pulley. I don't mean a slight drip, I mean a lot of oil. Brand new engine and all

Will have a closer look but maybe the cover gasket or the seal itself. Any suggestions?

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Dave K.
1979 Moke Californian + 1981 'Coke' Moke

Recon its one of 5 things
Seal may have been damaged (nipped) when assembling
The oil thrower is on the wrong way round
The timing chain cover wasnt screwed down with the seal and the vibration damper assembled on the shaft This may allow the seal to be off centre with the crankshaft nose
The seal is assembled in the cover the wrong way round
The seal surface on the damper is so so. Ive never seen one that has been used that wasnt . Just use a thin wall sleeve and press it on to the damper boss. Available from bearing supplies

Mind you if GR did this part of the motor I cant imagine any of these being the reason

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Mk1 Cooper S
Mini K Rally car

Most likely cause-
There is a fair bit of clearance in the cover's screw holes, so it's possible and very common to assemble it with the seal off centre to the pulley.
It's good practice to fit the cover with the bolts loose, put the pulley on, wiggle the cover a little to centralize the seal, and THEN tighten all the screws.

Another possibility- it's running down from the half-moon gearbox seal up behind the engine plate. Then drips off the plate... same as the front seal leak does.

As crisonic said- IF GR built it all, I'm surprised..

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Thank you for your advice, it is appreciated . . . but at the minute I am just gutted with this car. Fix one thing and two other things go wrong.

I have just had another look with the torch and I believe the oil is coming out the crank seal. Will jack it up and get it up in the air and get right underneath for a better view. Really, really do not want to take it all apart again.

Checked the dip stick and it has gone from the top mark to the bottom mark in about 8kms. Could it have anything to do with crankcase pressure blowing the oil out the seal? All seemed fine at 30 kph but went bad at 60kph.

The other thing that went wrong today is that the RTA did not acccept my 'bill of sale' from the previous owner (now 3 years ago) because he had not written the VIN on the paperwork.

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Dave K.
1979 Moke Californian + 1981 'Coke' Moke

With that volume of oil loss it would have to be the block to gearbox casing (1/2 moon) seal, or what you call the crank seal. My 1275 moke had the same problem when I bought it (recent engine rebuild) The seal must have been faulty cos it appeared to have been installed correctly. When I say faulty it was hardened and not very pliable.

Sounds like a real PITA to remove it all again, but after you've done quite a few, it sorta becomes second nature. Anyway, there's not much on TV worth watching these days.......

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1967 Cooper S - new front bearings to do.
1965 Cooper S shell - Slow progress. No time or money!
1966 Deluxe- next rustoration!
Mk 2 & XJ6 Jags. Less said the better.

I agree, there is very little oil in the timing cover, no way could you lose that much oil from the oil seal is such a short time.

My bet is it's the 1/2 moon seal. Lots of oil gets flung there by the crank and rods.
There are 2 sorts- plastic, and plastic with metal inside. The latter is a better bet.

One bloke on here had the same problem. He managed to seal it in situ with some sealant.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

I know this is serious for Minidave, but i just can't resist!

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fusea ... D=24400822

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1967 Cooper S - new front bearings to do.
1965 Cooper S shell - Slow progress. No time or money!
1966 Deluxe- next rustoration!
Mk 2 & XJ6 Jags. Less said the better.

If it is the 1/2 moon seal, does the engine have to come out and the gearbox split?

If I do this myself it might cause other problems or leaks. To get the whole unit out and return to the builder will be an even bigger problem. If sombody else works on the engine then where do I stand with any future issues.

Anybody want to buy a 99% complete 65 Deluxe.

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Dave K.
1979 Moke Californian + 1981 'Coke' Moke

First port of call would be to speak to the builder himself on any of this . Did he assemble the motor and gearbox or just the motor ?

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Whole unit came back complete, just had to paint and drop in

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Dave K.
1979 Moke Californian + 1981 'Coke' Moke

Yep, talk to the builder.
That seal is compressed to fit in there.
To fix properly the whole lot comes out, and the motor off the box...

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

And it is one of those things where it's best to do it properly or it will frustrate the hell out of you when it dribbles again in 12 months time unfortunately .

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Update.

It appears there has been problems with the crank seal in the timing cover. Similar problems have surfaced and it appears that the seal falls back into the timing cover. One suggestion was to use a plastic to metal loctite (number please doc) to keep the seal in place. Don't know if it is the production of the seal itself or the actual timing cover moulding but it sounds like there is a slight taper toward the inside and the seal works its way loose. I noticed when the engine was taken out that the timing cover was a blue colour when the rest of engine was a gold colour. So someone has replaced it somewhere along the line. Seems that some timing covers are OK with seals and some are not.

Either way I will take the radiator off and the bottom pulley off and see if the seal is there. Hopefully I can just take the timing cover off replace the seal (with loctite) put on a new gasket and should be OK.

Top of radiator has been bingled at some stage and doesn't present very well so was considering one of those aluminium radiators at a later stage - so now may be the time!

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Dave K.
1979 Moke Californian + 1981 'Coke' Moke

My rule here- current plastic seal, put it in DRY. NO sealant, or Loctite.... or the seal slide about like a butcher's *****.
Earlier metal cased seals, use some gasket cement.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Seems alot of places sell the 88G561 seal (looks as if it is all plastic).
What is metal cased - is that a steel outer to the seal - and would have a different part number?

Any other ideas on how to anchor the seal - maybe try another timing cover?

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Dave K.
1979 Moke Californian + 1981 'Coke' Moke