hey guys just wondering i have a bad oil leak that needs to be fixed but i need to drive my car tomorrow i only have a oil light is there any way in telling with my light when im getting low on oil and it needs topping up?????

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1964 smooth roof panel van
1967 Mk 1 X-Police cooper s
1970 mini k
1975 leyland

Keep it topped up at or above full mark.
That light comes on at about 8psi or so, is useless really. By the time it blinks your bearings are running out of oilz.

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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.

ok thanks doc. ill do my best to keep it topped up cheers

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1964 smooth roof panel van
1967 Mk 1 X-Police cooper s
1970 mini k
1975 leyland

yeah Doc is right,,, they`re (the oil light) supposed to be an oil "Warning" devise

But they are more of an -->"your engine is now stuffed" light

How bad is the oil leak?... like a litre per day??? 4 litres per day??? how much are you loosing during how long a period???
& where is it comming from???

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

ok from what i can gatherits leaking form the bottom of the timing chain cover where i cant get and also the orange seal where flywheel is. as to how much, i go for a drive round town and come back and within say 1/2 hour there is 2 puddles/marks about the size of a cd......

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1964 smooth roof panel van
1967 Mk 1 X-Police cooper s
1970 mini k
1975 leyland

Ok,,, fist up i`d be checking your crank case pressure,,, it maybe that there is issues with either the breathers being blocked,,, or not even having engine breathers,,, or your piston rings are showing some serious signs of being quite worn,,, or maybe all of the above

how old is the engine?

& like i said before,,,, & please don`t answer in the size/dimentions of the puddle of oil on the floor) check how much oil you are "Using" by topping it up to the maximum mark on the dip stick,,, then go about your usual driiving & checking the miles/Kms you`re doing & then re-checking the dip-stick to see how much you`ve lost, over how long a drive

got it>>>???

this will help us establish how much you`re loosing & how quickly you are loosing it

either way tho,,, seems like an engine out job is going to be wanted to effect the repairs/replacement of seals on both ends of the engine at least

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

ok engine has just been rebuilt.how much is being used ill have to get back to you on that one sry.

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1964 smooth roof panel van
1967 Mk 1 X-Police cooper s
1970 mini k
1975 leyland

Ah ok,,, well that`s a start,,, go & check that you actually have some engine breathers fitted,,, (i ilke to have at least 2 on roady engines & a minimum of 3 on big phat race donks) & if so, then make sure they are not blocked up

if there isn`t any engine breathers,,, or they are blocked,,, then your engine will want to breath "Through" your oil seals instead

do you know what the engine breathers are? look like? where they`re (meant to be) fitted etc???

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Also is the oil synthetic or mineral , a synthetic oil in a motor thats not breathing properly as Matt said, will get thinner as it gets hot and pushes out the seals, it then coats everything in a thin film which runs off as it gets hot adding to the oil that's pushing out the seals, I use Penrite HPR 30- 20w-60 Mineral , the "Snail's" motor is bog stock standard( different head and carby ) as it rolled out in 74, its only done 43,00km's , the previous owner had the car serviced with synthetic oil and the motor and engine bay had a thin film of oil , with regular services with HPR 30 I really only have the normal fume of oil, I also use the "Snail" on a regular basis which keeps the seals in good condition.




.

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This is what has happened to me last week with a similar sounding problem:



I pulled the radiator out and removed the timing cover. The seal was still in the correct place but was not centered correctly and I could see where it was wearing on the extreme bottom of the seal (probably meaning the top of the seal was letting oil out). Another thing I found that the cover was not dead flat all around the bolt holes and with just a gasket, maybe oil was leaking past. I used another timing cover and seal - making sure that the seal is centered around crank evenly, and used some Ultra Grey compound on both sides of the gasket and no more problems.

A pain as it is you will have to investigate further.

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

can you do this with the motor still in the car?

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1964 smooth roof panel van
1967 Mk 1 X-Police cooper s
1970 mini k
1975 leyland

yes, you can do the front (timing cover) seal with the engine in the car,,,

& you can do the rear (primary-clutch) seal with the engine in the car

BUT!!! """IF""" you have to do both front & rear seals,,, then it`s just as easy to take the donk out to do the both,,, & while you`re at it , with the engine out you can attack any other ugly areas that need attention

but just my 2 cents worth,,, i`d still be checking the amount of crank case pressure & if its excessive , then find out why first tho

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.