Why is there major oil on top of a 73.5 engine?

[caproader]

So here's the deal:
I took the 73.5 CIS engine out when I painted the car. While the engine was out, I replaced the thermostat 'O' ring, the three oil cooler seals, the crush washer under the plug next to the thermostat, and the breather gasket.
Shortly after installing the engine, I noticed a major accumulation of oil on top of the engine back by the oval breather (between the CIS system and the engine/transmission joint). When I got out the fiber optic bore scope and looked (with the engine running), I saw plenty of oil on top of the engine but no apparent source.
When I took the engine out, I noticed that all the braided fabric CIS lines that are 5 inches above the oval engine breather were completely soaked in oil and the top of the aluminium oval breather was a swimming pool of oil. There was also oil on the foam engine insulation and the big oil breather line to the oil tank was oil soaked. All which led me to believe that there had been a major oil fountain operating on top of the engine. The inside of the CIS airbox was dry. The top of the trans was dry.
With the engine out, I removed the 4 valve covers to check for broken head studs (24 Nopes) and checked all the oil seals for pinches or nicks (Nope again).
Is there anything else I should check before I put the engine back in?
My theory (hope) is that I over filled the engine with oil when I installed the engine the first time and the engine pumped the excess onto the top of the engine by way of the big oil breather line. Once the excess was pumped out, there was no longer an exit stream to see, just the pooled oil remaining on top of the engine. Or perhaps the clamp on the big breather line was loose.
Or is my head and ego hopelessly locked into the Wishful Thinking Department? What else can I check? The case half seals seem tight.
Thanks,
John, Member # 322
PS, it looks like Mark and I will be back in One Lap with the 73 again this year.

[Rich Lambert]

I had something like this happen last year on the way to & from Treffen. Oil everywhere for 3000 miles.

I had replaced the pressure sender just before I left and put the wrong type washer under it. It's supposed to be a copper washer, but for some reason I had an aluminum one in there. A new washer fixed the leak.

You're probably smarter than that though...

[caproader]

Rich,
My level of smartness is best summed up by Charlie Brown: "I am never so dumb as when I am trying to be smart!"

Thanks for the thoughts. On the CIS engine the oil pressure sender is moved to the back of the engine next to the fan. The hole left back by the breather has a plug with, in my case, an aluminum washer. I wonder if a copper washer would make a difference.

Thanks again for replying.

John, member #322

[edmayo]

Hi John, at it again eh Take that breather cover back off, I bet you got the gasket on wrong and it isn't covering the cut out portion of the case. (you won't be the first)

[caproader]

Ed,
All the best to you in the Great State of Texas. Hope that you did not get blown into the next State during the rainstorms last month.
So the Gasket is supposed to cover the hole? I'll take the cover off tomorrow night and flip the gasket. Meantime, thanks for the help.

Mark and I got the local Porsche dealer to help out with the OneLap registration fee, so it looks like the two of us will be joined at the hip one more time. At our age, I'm hoping that he has forgotten all my war stories from last year so we won't drive each other crazy driving between tracks.

John

[caproader]

Ed,
Now for the good news (or maybe this is the bad news): The gasket is placed in the same orientation as the picture in the parts book; If the centerline runs the direction of the car, the tab is on the driver's side and closest to the fan (the 7 o'clock position if viewed from above). The gasket seems to be intact. Also, I can see where the hole on the metal put a slight indentation in the gasket tab.

So my plan now is to install a new gasket, reinstall the engine, add 8 quarts of oil, run the engine to warm and add oil up to the mid line of the dip stick.

John

[edmayo]

John, when you took the old gasket off did it appear to be oily? If so that was the leak, it only blows oil out when the crankcase gets pressurized from the running engine. If the gasket was oily I'd suggest flat sanding the cover on a piece of 180 grit on top of a flat surface. (we use a piece of plate glass) The cover may be warped, you'll know as soon as you start flat sanding. The cover surface will only be shiny at the high spots. Sand until gasket surface is uniformly shiny. A thin coating of some gasket sealer will help also.

[caproader]

Ed,

Thanks for the suggestion. I will check it out for flatness. But you are correct, the gasket was oily

Meantime, in comparing my collection of dipsticks, I find, for reasons that are unclear to me, that I have 2 sizes (lengths). The one that was in the Targa is approx 9.75 inches while the one in the OneLap car is approx. 11.375 inches. The one in the sporto has a 930 part # (None of the others have a part #) and is also 11.375 inches. In the spare parts bin I have another 9.75 length dipstick. I can not figure out the reason for the difference in length.

An inch and 5/8th difference in length would translate to maybe 1-2 quarts of oil. Is it possible that reading the shorter dipstick caused me to overfill the Targa?

John, member # 322

[caproader]

Ed,

I placed the breather cover on the section of granite cut out for the kitchen sink of my wife's new counter top.- the breather cover was flatter than a 60's era fashion model.

Having run out of ideas, I think that I will just re install the engine this evening.

My new problem is in the One Lap car. One of the lower studs that attaches the trans to the engine case is stripped out in the cae half. Have you ever put in a Time Cert through the trans bell housing while the engine is in the car? Or am I better off to take the engine out and remove the trans?

As always, much thanks

John
Member #322.

[edmayo]

Sorry John, there is no way to install a time-zert through a bolt hole, gonna have to separate the units again.

While I don't know the dipstick lengths from memory I don't see how the 930 # one would be correct since that wouldn't have existed back in 73, and since that was the longer one it adds to your theory of being over filled. The 73 should take about 10 qts on an oil change. Start from empty, add the 10 quarts and see which stick seems to be telling the truth