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That's usually a pretty easy fix. You can try two things, one at a time. Drain out the oil. Then use a tooth brush and solvent to clean out the threads in the housing. Frequently there are little bits of "stuff" there! Clean the drain plug so it has no trash bits in the threads and wrap it with teflon tape, like the plumbers use, and put the plug back in. Does the trick about 90% of the time. For the remaining 5 or 10%, do the hole cleaning bit AFTER you have run a 1/2" pipe tap in... MORE
Some guy with a 76 midget wrote me and asked... I have a 1976 Midget. The car has something on it I can't figure out. There is a cable from the speedometer head to a white box and from the white box to the transmission (for the speedometer gear). My question is the white box. On the back it says "percent of life used" and on my car it is 32. Does this correspond to the mileage on the speedometer? What is the box for? Anybody have an idea? Percent of WHAT life, or WHOSE? Steve "my1978mgmidget" 32337... MORE
David, The seals stop oil draining down the stem of the valve, deflecting it from the edge of the guide. Fairly primitive as they don't actually create a seal as such because they are pushed up the valve stem a bit (by the amount of valve lift) So if the head is awash, the oil floods onto the exposed valve stem below the seals and they no longer work. (sorry if that sounds patronising - not intended) Guy "Guy Weller" 32334... MORE
If the breather system is the source of smoking it is extremely easy to check. Simply disconnect it! A 10 minute test drive will show up the difference if this is the problem. Disconnecting the breather will almost certainly cause the rear crank seal to leak oil during this test. Personally, I doubt if a faulty breather is the cause of smoking. It is much more likely to be a cause of a bottom-end oil leak than a top end smoking problem. Guy "Guy Weller" 32332... MORE
David, On an engine with a badly worn rocker shaft it will pump oil under pressure from under the rocker bushes faster than it will drain by gravity down the push-rod holes. Once the level builds up above the ends of the valve guides - which may take a mile or two at medium to high revs, the stem seals on the valves no longer control the entry of oil down the valve guides. Then the blue smoke starts. Guy "Guy Weller" 32331... MORE
Be careful! If you cause oil to leak out the rear of the crank, you may well oil your clutch, and it's an engine out job to replace the disc! "joe blxfstz" 32335... MORE
Brad, my rebuilt 1275 smoked blue and I followed all sorts of advice from list members to get it right before I finally fixed it. Of many "cures" attemted, the two that made the most difference in my case were: 1. Replacement of the rocker shaft. Too much oil was leaking out of the rocker bushes. It was apparent by running the engine with the rocker cover off. I left the cork gasket seated on the head and let the engine run at fast tickover. It leaked so fast that it soon created a lake on the top of... MORE
The pcv system should produce a slight vacuum. Remove the oil fill cap and put your hand over the hole with the engine running. You should be able to feel a slight vacuum at idle and also when you increase engine speed. If you feel even slight pressure, you will get oil past the rings (and probably out the rear crank "seal".) "joe blxfstz" 32327... MORE
Worn rocker gear by itself should not make a huge difference to the amount of oil burnt, except for the fact that there would be more of the stuff sloshing about up there to get sucked down (worn) valve guides. To see if it is worn, you can get a reasonable idea by pushing the rockers against their springs along the shaft from their normal positions - if the shaft itself is worn, you will see/feel a ridge on the underneath (thrust side) and the rockers will have less side-play on the un-worn section of shaft. If you want... MORE
Brad, You can see if your rocker shaft is okay or not by removing the valve cover after the engine is warmed up and restart the engine. If oil is thrown all over the place or runs out of one or more rocker arms in streams then it is worn. If oil isn't thrown all over the place and only a small amount can be seen dribbling down the rockers then it's probably okay. 'Usually' if they are really worn the oil will be coming out fast enough that the drain holes can't keep up with it and you... MORE
The 68 STILL burns oil. From cold, the first 5 miles are just little puffs, then it goes into James Bond mode. Not full time, it comes and goes. I tried our shop mechanics idea to determine if the rings are seated. I have the head off, so I put 1" of oil on top of each piston. The oil has not dropped hardly at all in 1 1/2 hours. I can tell from the head, which chambers were burning oil, and the one that was not, has the most significant amount of seepage, almost 1/8", the others are... MORE
"toilet paper oil filter" Thanx for the feedback on these, Bob Gardiner. I remember these adds in the WayCJitney catalog as well. I never used one and used to wonder how well they worked. Pretty damn well I guess...380k miles worth!! :) Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 32279... MORE
I am in the middle of changing the front suspension on the 68. I am catching my breath, and allowing the spring pans and disc brake backers to dry from being coated with fresh paint. Thank you to Peter for the new shocks, I will have the cores on their way to you this week. Btw, I was missing the bolt on the right shock that keeps the trunion bolt from turning, I hope this isn't a big issue. Just Ed, the parts are great, everything is going on fine!!! All the bolts coming threaded through the bushings, eliminated... MORE
"We can all agree...." Yes we can, Jens...most of us. There are some (few?) who think "oil is oil" and this is true...unless you are talking the "additive packages" that brand name mfgrs. add to the basic stock intended specifically for automotive use. Then the "oil is oil" idea goes right out the window! :):) Paul A (and I) use(d) Fram's for many, many moons with no problems so it is quite possible that conscientious scheduled oil (and filter) changes are more "key" in this than alleged quality of filter. I don't know but certainly, "better" is "better" by... MORE
Funny Paul, 'cause I use to use Fram oil filters as well. And I never had a problem with them as far as I know. But any oil filter article I've read (about 7-8 over the recent years I guess) rates them below most others in terms of quality build and filtering ability over time. So I switched over to Hastings (probably really built by Fram, right??!:):) Wonder if there are differences in the one's built "today" vs the one's built "yesterday"? Dunno. Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 32240... MORE
Correcto, Jens... I've never seen a kind word about Fram oil filters on any oil and oil filter articles I've read thus far...as you say, quite the opposite. well...let's give Fram a chance to reply to your email and see what they have to say. Understand your comments re: the bypass valve and that you are waiting for a replacement filter for your "Marina" type. Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 32230... MORE
Hi Cap'n and Jens, I guess I've got to be a lone noise in the wind here. I've always used Fram or Pennzoil filters for as long as I can remember. I've got a 1275 in my van that has almost 300,000 miles on it since a major rebuild. Did 105,000 mile on a quickie rebuild before that, on an engine that came out of a burned MG Midget wreck. Admittedly this engine is now pretty tired, but it still goes OK. I changed the oil and filter religiously at 5k miles, with nary a peep out of this... MORE
Jens... Thanx for the oil articles...still reading 'em. First page sort of missed the boat on synthetics multi-grades as opposed to mineral oil multi-grades. Polymers are "bad"....synthetics don't have or need 'em...so....I mean, obviously!! Don't know anything about oil filters but exactly what brand was the "no holes" filter you replaced. And how's the oil pressure holding up now with the new filter? Or, haven't you tried it yet? Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 32217... MORE
And the problem is, with a welding mask on you cannot see the low-temperature flames from the mattress until it is well alight and the smell just cannot be ignored! LOL!! Guy "Guy Weller" 32191... MORE
I'm having as problem removing the brass nut for the fuel line coming out of the tank. The tank is now off the car but the nut refuses to budge after several days of penetrating oil (Kroil) soaking. Part of the problem is that the nut is an odd size and none of my wrenches/spanners fit it properly. It is within a few thou of .600 inches and this does not match up to fractional sizes. 19/32 is as close as I can find and at that size I have only an open end wrench. I purchased my Sprite... MORE
My 2 cents worth. I don't think there is a exact reading, but I think 120-160 is normal. A compression test is more of a overall test and should be done twice. The first time, just pull the plugs and do it. The second time, squirt some oil in each cylinder and do the test again. The results will show condition and any problems, then there are leakdown test, etc. The readings should be within 10 percent for high and low. If there are any problems, like yours of cylinder 3 & 4 being low, the oil test will... MORE
Hi Nelson, The nut size is 5/16" Whitworth. If you have that wrench, slip it over from the fuel pump or cut the line to slip the wrench on. Because of the nut construction it's REAL easy to collapse it. If it's really corroded to the tank, likely an adjustable wrench will collapse the nut, so be careful. Later, Paul A "Paul Asgeirsson" 32190... MORE
Nigel, I think Nisonger Corp. also does speedo's & Tach's. One of mine was the wrong number, and Faspec had a used one. They sent it in and it cost me $125 restored and rebuilt. Bob, Troutdale, OR "Robert Webb" 32143... MORE
Peter Do you know how much odo's and tach's cost approximately to renovate/restore? Mine are both working fine, except the odo has lost its trip reset button thingy which I'd like fixed/replaced. I don't think there is anything wrong with either of them, but I would like someone to check them over before I put them back in. Tia Nigel "amukdigiphoto" 32140... MORE
Jens... OK...you got part of the oil pressure problem but I too wonder how "secure" (air tight) that junction/line to the oil pressure gauge is in view of that loose coupling. Whatever... indicated pressure to the extent of anything under 55-60psi "hot" @ 3,000rpm is below mfg's tolerance, as is anything under 10psi "hot" at idle. And, most especially with 20/50 weight mineral oil. Keep at it, man..you're gettin' there! :) Cap'n. Bob '60 :{) PilotRob@... 32136... MORE
