Argh...oil drips on the floor! | FerrariChat
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Argh...oil drips on the floor!

Discussion in '308/328' started by Perfusion, Feb 13, 2006.

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  1. Perfusion

    Perfusion F1 Rookie

    Oct 16, 2004
    4,151
    Marietta, GA
    Full Name:
    Aaron
    #1 Perfusion, Feb 13, 2006
    After my long drive yesterday, I parked the car around 4pm. I went back to the garage this evening to just "have a look" (first real weekend of serious drives after my oil change) at things. Much to my dismay, there was a small oil puddle (4-5 drips vs. 1) under the left side of the engine. From above, I can best describe it as more towards the oil cooler side of the engine than aywhere else. I'm still getting used to this whole mid-engine thing!

    Anyway, I don't know if I should be concerned or not. In my opinion, a car shouldn't leak any oil - ever - if everything is up to snuff (gaskets, correct oil viscosity, etc.), but maybe I'm being a bit too optimistic for a 26-y-o Ferrari with near 79,000 miles.

    Rather than taking the car a mechanic and hemorrhaging money over a few drips, I'd rather try to at least *find* the source first, and proceed from there. Any "likely culprits" I should look towards first? One last item of possible note - the drops on the floor were JET black (blacker than even the oil my Corvette leaked with 5k miles on the oil), yet the oil is 2 days old. Is that just from picking up grime along the way to the floor?

    PS - Mobil 1 0W-40
     
  2. Rifledriver

    Rifledriver Three Time F1 World Champ

    Apr 29, 2004
    37,099
    Cowboy Capitol of the World
    Full Name:
    Brian Crall
    #2 Rifledriver, Feb 13, 2006
    Left side oil leaks
    Oil cooler and hoses
    Air pump drive pulley seal
    Distributor seals/gaskets (another reason to go to direct ignition)
    Bell housing sources (crank seal, clutch shaft seal)
    Vapor seperator system


    A few drips overnight on a car that age is to be expected. It can be made better, depends on how hard you want to work. Also you just got it. Put that on your list and over the next month or 2 you will begin to develop some priorities on needs and where on the list they should be.


     
  3. J.P.Sarti

    J.P.Sarti Guest

    May 23, 2005
    2,426
    #3 J.P.Sarti, Feb 13, 2006
    If a Ferrari doesn't leak oil its time to add some as the motor oil is bone dry.

    You'll find a few more issues of greater importance soon as well.
     
  4. dbw

    dbw Formula Junior

    Apr 3, 2005
    897
    palo alto ca
    Full Name:
    dave
    #4 dbw, Feb 14, 2006
    axle boot? the stuff in there is pretty black....
     
  5. jimwalking

    jimwalking Formula Junior

    Jan 3, 2006
    489
    #5 jimwalking, Feb 14, 2006
    Perhaps the oil is just too thin. There was a thread a few months ago about different oil thicknesses and people spoke about how they cured oil leaks by going thicker. If you do not wish to change your oil immediately, perhaps one of the over the counter products that add viscosity will work in the short term.
     
  6. BT

    BT F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Mar 21, 2005
    15,291
    FL / GA
    Full Name:
    Bill Tracy
    #6 BT, Feb 14, 2006
    Obviously a joke. Is it really that common for a Ferrari to leak oil? I have not had a sinle drop of oil leak from my 348 and it is 17 years old. Am I really fortunate or is the oil leak not as common as is typically joked about here? I find it hard to believe that more than 25% of the Ferraris that are on the road leak oil regularly with all the intense servicing that goes into these cars.
    :)
    BT
     
  7. Watry

    Watry Karting

    Aug 8, 2005
    78
    Berkeley, CA
    Full Name:
    Andrew Watry
    #7 Watry, Feb 14, 2006
    These engines are so complicated, there are so many sealing surfaces (flat, round, and otherwise), and most are aluminum, which expands and contracts more than iron or steel, that I think oil leaks of some magnitude are pretty much a given. Plus, if you're talking a 26-year-old car (308, I presume), it's probably been rebuilt, or at least apart, presumably not by the factory, so the reassembly was likely not done to factory specs with factory tools and materials, no matter how good the job. All by way of saying it's a long way from brand new.

    Also, I hear anecdotally that synthetic oil will tend to leak more, some times a lot more, than regular oil, especially in an older engine that had regular oil in it for years/decades.

    Andrew Watry
    lots of leaking Alfas over the years
    one leaking Ferrari
     

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