Eric,
The only "seal" on the rear main of a Big Healey is a screw-like groove
on the crank that is supposed to route oil back towards the pan (unless you've
added an aftermarket seal). These are a machined fit with the block and wear
gradually over the years ... it's hard to imagine something giving out all at
once.
Even if you had an aftermarket seal give out, the grooved crank should prevent
a serious, all-at-once oil leak.
Check for blockage in the vent pipe from the crankcase to the carburettors.
Excessive crankcase pressure could cause/contribute to your sudden leak.
The main problem with running too much oil is the crankcase will whip the
oil into a foam (which could cause reduced pressure at the gauge).
bs
********************************************
Bob Spidell San Jose, CA bspidell@pacbell.net
'67 Austin-Healey 3000 '56 Austin-Healey 100M
********************************************
> List,
>
> on a pleasant drive yesterday I noticed an abnormal smell obviously coming
>from my BT7's engine. Temperature looked ok
but oil pressure was a bit low at 50psi (normally shows 55psi when engine hot).
So I stopped to check the oil level and
found no traces of oil on the dipstick though I had checked the level 100 miles
before. Took out my spare oil of the
trunk and poured some in when I saw a puddle of oil accumulating under my car.
Had someone towing me back home and had a
look under the car. Oil pan looked good with no dents or cracks in it. Oil was
spilled all under the car backwards from
approximately where the bellhousing meets the engine (now it's been rust
protected for the coming winter ;-).
>
> My question is, is it most likely that the back seal of the crankshaft went
>bad? If yes, can this be caused by running
the car with too much engine oil in it and what is the reason for it? In case I
have to renew this seal are there any
suggestions what to renew as well once this part of the car is repaired?
>
> Thanks for all recommendations.
>
> Eric BT7
> Heinsberg/Germany
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