Leaking oil

[afflora]

I am new to this forum having just bought my 16 year old son a 1977 Spider 2000 for his first car. Not sure if I was crazy at the time or not but wanted him to learn how to work on cars. I am new to the Spider although I do have some experience with Alfas from when I lived in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia).
My question is there appears to be a fairly substanial oil leak - less than a pint over a week - coming from the passenger side of the engine. However, I have cleaned it all off with degreaser and still cannot find it. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

[tokky28]

Is the leak coming from the front or the rear of the engine bay?

Andre

[afflora]

It look like it is coming from the front side of the engine bay on the passenger side

[Roadtrip]

A couple of possibilities in order of likelyhood:

1. Front crankshaft seal
2. SPICA oil filter plate (check snug, but don't overtighten, the studs are small).
3. SPICA pump O-ring (try tightening the four 13mm nuts)
4. Distributor seal

Clean the engine real well in that area and watch for a leak. If it's a front crankshaft seal, it'll likely pool a little on the shelf just below the injection pump belt.

[afflora]

Thanks, I will have a look this evening. Is there a hose that runs under the fan from one side to the other. I was thinking that this leak has got worse since I saw that the hose was rubbing against the fan and I moved it out the way. If there is, I assume that it is carrying oil? However I will check your suggestions and get back to you.
Thanks

[84GTV6]

That hose goes from the oil dipstick to the oil vapor seperator, if it has a hole it'll make a mess!!

[afflora]

Do you know how long that hose is and what size and I will pick it up today
Thanks

[Roadtrip]

I don't think the routing of your hose is correct. Maybe someone else that knows for sure can chime in. The hose on my Spider is routed past the bottom rear of the radiator, completely out of the way of moving engine parts. I don't know the size, but just cut a short piece off your existing hose and take it to the parts store. If you route it along the bottom rear of the radiator, I suspect 6' would be more than enough.

When you reinstall the new hose, put a little oil in the hose to prime it. Somehow I doubt that a leaky vapor separator hose would leak that much over such a short time, but if it's cut, it has to be replaced anyway.

[77SpideRacer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by afflora Do you know how long that hose is and what size and I will pick it up today Thanks

[afflora]

Thanks to all who helped with this problem. I think it was the hose but will watch carefully the other possibilities