Oil leak diagnostic help please

1. Motor mounts
2. That "stuff" next to the oil plug
3. Oil plug washer
4. Pan gasket
5. Sandwich plate bolts (maybe not, I guess this would be the other side then)

I would clean the pan and up where possible, drive the car (heat it up) and see where the oil is.


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Maybe Oil dipstick connection. The motor mount holes are blind so not them.

 

Oil there can come from many places, some higher up on the engine, and the air flow under the car spreads things around.

As noted, I would get some rags, maybe spray some brake cleaner, and clean things up. The after a bit of driving, you inspect again and may see a source more clearly.

The cam seals can leak, the differential seals at each axle. The shift shaft seal can leak. These are the more common leak areas. There can be a clutch seal, that leaks through the opening at the bottom of the clutch casing, and the oil travels around on the pans. The pan gaskets can leak, although do not just overtighen, they strip easily. Might snug them up a bit using a 1/4 inch ratchet to avoid too much torque.

The gear and oil drain plugs can leak, but again beware of overtightening. In general snug up some bolts, eg. on the cam covers and such, but use a torque wrench or do a conservative hand feel snugging up.

I am going to bet on the shift shaft seal. If they have not been done in a long time, may as well do them. There is an internal shift shaft seal as well that you redo when you do the outer one. The oil dipstick tube noted would also be a suspect.

 

Factory rust proofing... Italian style

 

Oil flows down hill and gets blown around by the wind. Showing us a picture of an oil pan covered with oil is a pretty useless way to determine anything.


You got a bunch of well intended guesses. I was a very experienced journeyman Ferrari mechanic when your car was built and I wouldn't even waste time bothering with a guess. Clean it, run it some and diagnose it. I know everyone just wants to be told what to fix or what to replace but there's no shortcuts here.

By the way, this isn't "An" oil leak. It is several.

 

How did oil from the shift shaft seal get up the front of the motor near the front pulley?

Many currently available brake cleaners are now very flammable, unlike the old "Bad " kind and can catch fire from a heat or other ignition source and should only be used with great caution. I have seen several shops set cars on fire with the stuff. Ferrari insulated exhaust manifolds like that 328 has are famous for it. Far better to use a detergent based cleaner.

 

Yes, fair point, a microfibre cloth, dry or maybe with a little varsol would be much safer, on a engine that has sat overnight. I have used brake cleaner, but infrequently, most recently when I was cleaning out and regreasing the cv joints, out of the car. Handy stuff, but very flammable.

 

All great suggestions, that should begin with a good clean of all the that area. Otherwise you are just guessing as there is way to much oil and dirt there to see where it could be coming from, and don't rule out multiple oil leaks! Oh the joy

 

The good news is there is quite a bit of oil, so once cleaned up it should be pretty clear where it is coming from. Multiple small leaks can be harder to pinpoint.

Do look from the top of the engine too, take off the air cleaner, and see if there are any leaks at the cam, cam cover gasket, around and behind the front cam belt gear. Might be some clues up top.

 

Go by the quarter car wash and use as many quarters as necessary to high pressure spray clean the under side from both sides and the rear,and then get under there with a rag and cleaner. You can do some cleaning from the top, also, but keep the water away from the distributor area.
Doug

 

As mentioned , clean accurately . When all suspect areas are dry, spray or puff ( the old way ) with talcum powder. Every thing will look white : after a nice drive you may track the oil weeping sources