From: darling@simlab.arc.nasa.gov on behalf of Dave Darling [darling@simlab.arc.nasa.gov] Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 1999 9:02 AM To: Rob Arabian Cc: 914 Subject: Re: [914] Oil Leak Problem. At 9:37 PM -0800 3/22/99, robert arabian wrote: >Oil leak is coming from the bolt which attaches to the oil pick up tube. >It is located on the passenger side of the engine and looks like a case >bolt, but attaches to the oil pick up tube. It is stripped and turns >loosely(it wont tighten no matter what I do) and I cannot back it out to >re-tap the the pick up tube. Uh-oh. This does not sound good. Did this start shortly after an oil change? One where you cleaned out the oil strainer? If that is the case, you have probably broken the internal boss that the bolt screws into. And that means a total tear-down. 8^( The fact that the bolt will not tighten or back out is not a very good indicator either. From my own memory, the bolt-head is recessed too deeply to get much of a grip on it with pliers or vise-grips or anything like that, so you may not even be able to pull the bolt out and try to look for damage. (If the bolt isn't damaged, the crankcase is.) You can keep driving it like that, but only at the risk of cata- strophic engine failure. If the case has cracked, the bits can work their way into the oil pickup, which can lead to engine damage in a big hurry. John Muir also talks about damaging the camshaft--not sure if he means through metal in the oil or what. I would very seriously consider tearing the whole thing down. If the car is a stock 1.7, you can usually find a used motor for pretty cheap. So you might just keep driving it until it dies, then throw the motor away. The 2.0 stuff is more expensive, so it might be worthwhile tearing it apart and inspecting the parts right away. Not sure about the 1.8. Good luck, and sorry the news isn't good. 8^( --DD Dave Darling 74 914 2.0 (VROOM!) darling@simlab.arc.nasa.gov <--- OR ---> ddarling@wgss.com "914: The Porsche Picnic Basket. A lid that opens on each end, and a handle in the middle.." -- CHD