21 Jul 12 10:23, Mark Hofmann wrote to Roy Witt:



 RW>> Did you try to re-torque the pan bolts? Sometimes they will work
 RW>> loose enough to allow pressurized (piston blowby) gas to force
 RW>> airborne oil (crank churned) to blow by the gasket. Be careful,
 RW>> don't overtighten those bolts or you'll twist one off. Just snug
 RW>> them up with a 1/4 drive socket. A 3/8 drive will put too much
 RW>> torque ability in your hands.

 MH> No, I have not tried that.  From my fast inspection, it looked like
 MH> the oil pan itself was clean.  Just the lower area - between where
 MH> the motor meets the transmission.  Just a few drips there when I
 MH> checked.

The crankshaft exits the block and oil pan there, and that gap is sealed
by the rear seal, which keeps oil from escaping the oil pan. If the bolts
that hold the pan to the engine block in that area work loose, that could
be a source of a leak. It is also subject to blowby pressure, thus why I
mentioned giving those bolts a torque check.

 RW>> The latter is probably from the low pressur sidee, which has a slip
 RW>> on hose and a clamp. Check that one. The rest are seated pipe
 RW>> fittings that may be loose...check those too.

 MH> Yes, it doesn't appear to be the power steering pump itself.  It is
 MH> one of the hoses, clamps, or the metal line that runs to the steering
 MH> box.  It has a good deal of rust on it.

There should be one that is held in place with a hose clamp. That is the
first place I'd look, then give those rust spots on the hard lines a good
look. The rust may make that hard line porus enough to spring a small
leak.

 RW>> If it's a rear seal, you might be able to re-seal the pan by using
 RW>> one of the gaskets made for doing such a job. It's all one piece and
 RW>> there is no gasket alignment problems when you do it. If the rear
 RW>> seal is like the 87 and newer GM seals, it's a one piece and can be
 RW>> switched by backing off the trans and then removing the flywheel to
 RW>> get at it. But, most shops will remove the trans to do that job.

 MH> I have seen high temperature silicon that some people use to seal
 MH> various leaks, but I have always thought that to be a kludge.  Leaks
 MH> have always been one of my most irritating things to deal with on
 MH> cars.  It seems all gaskets eventually give out.

The worst case animal for that is valve cover gaskets. But todays engines
are sealed pretty good at the engine factory and valve cover gasket leaks
aren't found as often as they used to be.

 RW>> ceiling fan in it and force that heat down the walls in winter.

 MH> We have moderate sized ceiling fans in all the upstairs rooms,
 MH> including the family room on the first floor with the vaulted
 MH> ceiling.  We have natural gas heat, so it isn't too bad.

My house is all-electric. Whatever we do, we insulate, insulate and seal
doors and windows. This fall, between the hot summer and cold winter
months, I intend to go around and check all of the door and window seals,
again. During the spring and early summer months, the AC thermostat is set
at 86F at 11pm and we open the bedroom and kitchen windows at night to
cool off the house with a cross-flow of cool outside air. I've never heard
the AC come on until the thermostat setting switches to 84F around 11am
and I'll shut it off if the outside temp is lower than that. Around 3pm,
the thermostat drops to 82F and I'll close the windows and rely on the AC
to keep us cool until bedtime at midnite.

 MH> My former home didn't have any ceiling fans or lights on the ceiling
 MH> in the upstairs when I first bought it.  One of the first things I
 MH> did was install ceiling fans in each room.  I had to run power from
 MH> various places to get them installed, but it wasn't too bad of a job.

Growing up in humid summer months in Illinois, all we had was a 7" window
fan in each room...all that ever accomplished was to keep me awake to
suffer the humidity even longer. I eventually learned about A/C systems
when I went to work in a dairy when I was 16...

 RW>> I'd have a professional paint that. You youngsters can have the fun
 RW>> of climbing tall ladders.
 RW>>
 RW>> My dad at 74yo thought he could use the ladder he had leaning up
 RW>> against the garage to get over the fence, rather than walk around.
 RW>> He also thought he had the strength to do that while he was on the
 RW>> ground and scaled the ladder while he was upside down, but gravity
 RW>> changed his mind for him and he landed on his arse under it. That's
 RW>> when he called a roofer and had them come out and fix his roof. I
 RW>> could just imagine him doing that from the 3rd story of his house.

 MH> I'm not crazy about being on the roof at all.  I'm a major
 MH> do-it-yourselfer, but when it comes to the roof, it is worth the
 MH> money to hire someone.

I used to install TV/Radio antennas when I was in highschool and a few
years after, part time. I was never afraid of a tall roof or tower until
the day a co-worker fell from a 100ft tower and died. All that did though
was make me more aware of the dangers of tower climbing. I still climbed
towers and installed antennas though.

I saw an interesting TV install at my dad's 3 story house when he and mom
first moved into it. There was a 3rd story room that you could see 360
degrees for mile upon mile. In the peaked center of that room was a TV
rotor, that had a mast going outside and a TV antenna mounted to it. I
wasn't too surprised by that until I realized that the only way up there
to install the antenna and a hole vent cover was to use an extension
ladder from the 2nd story roof. That roof was as angled as the 3rd story
roof, making an extension ladder as unsteady as all get out. I didn't envy
the installer that job and never volunteered to go up there to fix it when
it broke.

 MH> This spring, we needed our gutters cleaned.  Even with gutter guards,
 MH> they still eventually get clogged up.  I also needed a new lithium
 MH> battery installed in my weather station.  I hired someone to do the
 MH> job.  It was well worth the money.  Falling off the roof of my house
 MH> would cause major damage if not worse.  I'll pass on that one.

If there is roof access through an attic window, I'd do that job. If I
have to use a tall ladder, at my age I won't do it anymore. But I would
have 30 years ago.

                R\%/itt


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