Oil leak, Loose Bolts

Deplorable1 · Mar 14, 2019

Hello everyone, I have a question some of you may be able to help me with.
Today I was looking over the Deuce (after driving it yesterday) and noticed a slight amount of oil around the front exhaust manifold bolt. So I grabbed a wrench and sure enough it was about 1/2 to 3/4 of a turn loose, so was the bottom one and as I moved rearward they were slightly less loose.

I plan on degreasing the motor and driving it around to check for any leaks.

So my questions are:
Is the head OK?
Is this normal for the manifold bolts to loosen up over time from vibration?
Does this mean I need to replace the exhaust manifold gasket?
Is there any tips or info on what to do/look for?

I'm sure the wealth of knowledge on this board/site will keep me from aua

Thanks for any input!

Here's some pics: Arrow points to the bolt in the second pic.

rustystud · Mar 15, 2019

Deplorable1 said:
Hello everyone, I have a question some of you may be able to help me with.
Today I was looking over the Deuce (after driving it yesterday) and noticed a slight amount of oil around the front exhaust manifold bolt. So I grabbed a wrench and sure enough it was about 1/2 to 3/4 of a turn loose, so was the bottom one and as I moved rearward they were slightly less loose.

I plan on degreasing the motor and driving it around to check for any leaks.

So my questions are:
Is the head OK?
Is this normal for the manifold bolts to loosen up over time from vibration?
Does this mean I need to replace the exhaust manifold gasket?
Is there any tips or info on what to do/look for?

I'm sure the wealth of knowledge on this board/site will keep me from
Thanks for any input!

Here's some pics: Arrow points to the bolt in the second pic.
View attachment 758224
View attachment 758225

I'll be honest with you. It is almost impossible to eliminate all oil leaks on this engine. It's like a "Detroit Diesel" ! Well not that bad, but it leaks. So don't sweat the small ones. It's the "large" leaks you need to be concerned about ! Mine still "seeps" along the block, after dealing with it for years now. As long as it is not "dripping" on me when I'm under it, it is OK to use.
Yes the bolts will come loose due to vibration, so you do need to regularly check the engine. Also good "lockwashers" helps, along with some "Loctite" on the troublesome bolts.

cattlerepairman · Mar 15, 2019

The "bolt" you are pointing to is one of the studs and nuts for the exhaust manifold. It is oily likely because oil from higher up is dripping on it. Likely from the valve cover gasket or from the head gasket. My rebuilt LDS also seeps here and there and I used a lot of care with seals and sealing surfaces.

The oil you are concerned about may represent years of accumulation. Just clean it off and see how long it takes to get dirty again.

pjwest03 · Mar 15, 2019

With a lot of older vehicles of many types, they fall into the category of "If there's no oil under it, there's no oil in it." As rusty said, if it's not leaking out in buckets, it will be fine.

Deplorable1 · Mar 16, 2019

Thanks for the input guys, I just wanted to confirm my suspicions and not overlook a potential disaster. On to the next project.

Sent from my moto e5 supra using Tapatalk

Redpawn · Mar 16, 2019

pjwest03 said:
With a lot of older vehicles of many types, they fall into the category of "If there's no oil under it, there's no oil in it." As rusty said, if it's not leaking out in buckets, it will be fine.

It's not an oil leak it's just marking it's territory.

BEASTMASTER · Mar 16, 2019

when someone says to me you're truck has some oil under it, I just say ,ya ,it's a truck.

Oil leak, Loose Bolts

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rustystud

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