hi all my 89 5.3 has a nasty oil leak that drips down over the anti roll bar. it is ok until the car builds a little pressure then floods out but I cant see where from? any suggestions as to the possible source? many thanks in advance

this will be the union or pipes from the engine oil cooler , full flow on a UK car

pipes are available, ut are expensive

if left , it could quickly empty the engine of oil causing huge damage

best way is to get her in the air and have a good look round

BB

I have goi the car up and suspected the oil cooler but cant see a leak. it seems to get worse as the car warms up and looks to be running down over the sensor at the front of the engine?

are there any oil seals that might have gone?

Front crank seal is just above your sensor. Might pay to check your breather system as well as the seal. If it is cooler pipework, l have had success with loctite hydraulic on the fittings unless it is damaged of course.

Best thing is to clean up all the old oil and then go for a drive then recheck. It's hard to find the source of the leak if the engine is a mess

There is a black rubber bung just above the A bank side of the water pump casting that when removed gives access to the timing chain tensioner. About 1 inch across. This dries out and fails and leaks a treat. Check that too.
Greg

thanks all for your help. it seems to be coming from above the sensor and running down the front of the engine. it is a major leak though and almost gushes as the engine builds oil pressure. can flipping see owt though!!!

Excuse the hijack; what sort of access to the tensioner do you get? Is it for adjustment or just inspection?

If this is oil GUSHING as you say, maybe the plug in the timing cover has fallen out, RARE in any discussion, and I mean RARE.

On the attached parts drawing you will see an o/ring #18 that sits between the block and the timing cover, NOT you leak, but the hole in the timing cover has a plug in it to stop the oil flowing out. This hole was used on the E Type for the oil filter adaptor, from memory???

Other oil LEAK areas are the alloy elbow on the front of the LH cylinder head, but that is pnly a lEAK, not a GUSH.

The timing chain ratchet release hole bung (as Greg mentioned) on the RH side will only be a BAD leak, not a GUSH.

An oil GUSH in my language is oil under pressure.

The cooler hoses are underneath that area, but there is a metal pipe fairly close, and a STUPID clamp attaching to the sump bolt, and if that sucker has been loose, and they do loosen up, a hole may be rubbed in that pipe, and that pipe IS under pressure.

Inside the timing cover is NOT under pressure as such, so a bung etc missing will NOT gush in any sense of that word.

Sooooo I am assuming we are on the same language here.

Steve, it is for inserting the release tool to take the tension out of the timing chain, although it is just about certain (according to the Great Palm and many others) that the tensioner will break when you try to re-tension it! Never done it, and when I do my rebuild of the engine, eventually, and use up all the lovely new parts I have been quietly assembling off balance sheet, I shall be fitting the new one I picked up!
Here's a before OEM bung, and after pic, where I fitted a top notch Ron Kelnhofer ally jobbie in place of the OEM rubber bung that fails in about 4 years or less.
Greg