308 oil sump question

It's cast alluminium and it can easily be welded

 

There must be earlier discussions on this, but if not, here goes. Unless you were totally reckless (and a little unlucky), it is more than likely that the oil is dripping (leaking) around the studs that hold the sump cover on. This is not Ferrari's finest hour of design, and it is difficult to thwart. I have installed what are known as "statoseals" in place of the normal flat washers as these have an integral rubber o-ring that helps somewhat. However, due to the design, there is almost no way to keep these studs from dripping a few drops of oil at least occasionally. Add a little moving air, and it can look like you have a massive under-car spill when it is MOST LIKELY just a few drops. In other words, unless you are totally crazy about such things-live with it!

 

There's a good chance that it is NOT a sump leak. Oil can invisibly travel a long way as a thin film, only becoming visable when it ends up someplace with nowhere to go (like the end of the sump studs).

To really find out where it's coming from, add a UV flourescent dye to the oil, and then use a UV lamp in a darkened garage to watch what happens when you start the engine up. You'll be able to see the dyed oil emerge from it's real source & flow until it ends up on the studs.

Search the old Fchat archives:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/discus/messages/112/112.html?1067658613
(Search button is way down on the bottom left of the page).
for 'oil leak', there's a lot of info on troubleshooting them, including sources for UV dye, lights, etc. There's a bit in the new archives, but it hasn't come up much recently.

SUMP STUDS UNLIKELY LEAK SOURCES:
BTW, there is only 1 engine stud that's exposed to the sump. It's on the pulley end of the engine & holds the timing cover on. The other sump cover studs go into blind holes. If any of them are leaking it's because something's wrong with the sump cover gasketing.

 

To confirm what Verell said...Oil will always drip off the bottom. You must find the highest point of the leak. Until it's dry up top, you aint never gonna get it dry at the sump.

 

My '84 QV was leaking from the studs. When I removed the pan (which is quite an expereince in and of itself) after I cleaned everything, I used permatex on both sides of the new gasket. Don't over do-it, just a small bead. Also, I made sure I circled all the studs with the permatex, again, on both sides of the gasket. Be careful when re-tightening the stud bolts not to overtighten, use a hand ratchet, not an air ratchet or impact ratched.

This solved the leak for me. Before applying the permatex and new gasket, make sure after everything is clean you wipe the surface areas down with a degreaser, this does a final clean and makes the permatex adhere better to the surfaces.

Lastly, just to be clear, apply the permatex to the underside of the block first, then install the new gasket, making sure you press the gasket in place evenly. This is where you will see if you applied too much permatex, and if a lot is squeezing out the sides of the gasket and into the oil sump compartment, wipe it clean and don't over do-it when you apply it to the underside of the gasket before you reinstall the pan.

Phil