Oil Leaks

[Randy_G]

I am in the process of dismantling the Lark, I have noticed on the doner frame the years of crud buildup on the crossmember and the lower A-arms as well as all the draglinks there. Seems that the 259 (still resting there) has more than one oil drain on it. Where are the problem areas and is there any chance that some bright engineering fellow solved this problem(s) since Studebaker closed the doors? I am hopeful that instead of tearing it apart I can finally assemble some of it. Thanks!

Randy_G
South Bend or Bust 2007!
God I miss chrome on cars.

https://www.AutomotiveHistoryOnline.com

[sbca96]

Unfortunately, any replacement seals you buy for the Stude engine are
only copies of the original. Though Felpro could easily design a one
piece pan gasket from modern neoprene, and make our lives easier (and
our driveways cleaner) they wont due to demand - or perhaps SDC is not
vocal enough?

Tom

'63 Avanti, zinc plated drilled & slotted 03 Mustang Cobra 13" front disc/98 GT rear brakes, 03 Cobra 17" wheels, GM alt, 97 Z28 leather seats, soon: 97 Z28 T-56 6-spd, Ported heads w/SST full flow valves, 'R3' 276 cam, Edelbrock AFB Carb, GM HEI distributor, 8.8mm plug wires

[StudeRich]

Actually the 1951 to early 1960 had old fashioned CORK gaskets with separate "retainers" inside the valve cover that never held them properly. Now-days we have Neoprene rubber type replacement gaskets for those. If your car is a 1960, it more than likely has the LATE 1960 2 hole valve covers instead of those old 4 hole kind that leaked badly. The late ones always had a neoprene type gasket with welded-in retainers that when properly installed actually SEAL.

The other bad spots are the pan front & rear arches, timing cover seal and sometimes the rear main seal. People ALWAYS assume that it is the later, actually it rarely is. Blow-by from badly worn engines cause most of the timing cover leaks, proper maintenance which most never got, will fix all of them.

StudeRich
Studebakers Northwest
Ferndale, WA

[64V-K7]

Best option here is to get up close and personal. Steam clean the chassis and engine to see what's there. Run it a while and see where the problem is. It could be small, but even a small leak on top of the engine will run down and drip somewhere. If it's a little bit from everywhere, then, remove (fan, waterpump, water manifold, front hub, fuel pump, timing cover, filler block, valve covers and pan) and seal it up the way the factory did. The lower part of the timing cover ( filler block)can be ruined by continuous tightening. Two or four bolt valve covers, if not deformed, only need to be tightened lightly, with a gasket sealer.
One thing to look at first is the oil pressure sender. Fuel pumps can also push oil out the pivot pin and in great amounts, even if it's fairly new..

Bob Johnstone