for years the back (clutch end) of my motor has been damp with a slight drip. Not enough to make me want to do any heroics but still annoying.

About a month ago I decided to figure out what was going on.

Thinking it may be that the "triangle of death" has reared it ugly head, I took some pictures of the area and noted it was oily. I also noticed the drain hose from the air box was terminated by laying in this area. A few months ago I had a slight overfill that resulted in free oil in my air box. At that time I cleaned the air box but assumed the oil went to the ground. I cleaned the Triangle area with brake cleaner and engine cleaner. Took it out for drive after verifying it was dry. On return, it was oily again.

I then thought it may be that the parts back there were loose. With a friend, we found that we could turn the fasteners about 1/16-1/8 of a turn. I also extended the air box drain to below the motor as the factory drain line extension was missing. I cleaned the area again and took it for a drive. Still oily after the drive.

A few weeks ago, I was at a HPDE and I went through a quart of oil in a 20 minute session. This seemed extreme. I went home and inspected the car. With the rear elevated so I could inspect and the motor hot, I had my wife rev the motor to 4-5000 rpm. Oil came pouring out. the next morning, with the motor cold (thermostat closed), I repeated the test. No visible leak.

At this point, I decided it was a leak somewhere between the thermostat and the oil cooler. We removed the oil cooler, inspected the area, connections and oil cooler seals to verify they were intact and functional. The seals were soft, pliable and not deformed. At this point I ordered a replacement cooler (be seated when you see the price), and upon arrival installed it with new seals.

It has been about 100+ miles since the cooler was installed. I have driven the car with both high and low rpms. No oil leaks are visible!

I will be attending a Hillclimb next week for the final test but looks like I got the problem solved.