REGAL Oil leak

[ck80]

Yeah, I will probably take your advice and not mess with the fuel pump gasket. My aunt bought this car new. When she passed away, my Mom got the car. She passed away four years ago, so I have it now. It only has 55,000 miles on it. I have done a few things to it, like replacing the bumper fillers, headliner, shocks.

Do you think it would be a good idea to get the grime buildup cleaned up? That way I could be sure if the fuel pump is where the leak is coming from.

I have cars that are clean and shiny. I have cars that are dirty and grimy. I'll speak to the whole undercarriage, not just around the pump.

Upside to cleaning off grime is when you're trying to rebuild/restore a car, you can paint it and make it shiny.

Upside to leaving grime is it acts like a bandaid. Caked up grease can slow down or prevent small fluid leaks from seeping that are underneath it.

You're in NC so it's isn't much of an issue, but, all that grease acts as the ultimate rust proofing. But if you remove the grease be prepared to need to repaint anywhere it came off of or the area will flash then surface rust. Also be prepared to address the leak.

As for near the pump, if you were replacing the gasket you need to deep clean the area around it first anyways. Gasket replacement for this particular part isn't hard, and is very cheap. The risk of something else breaking is minimal as long as you are careful not to cross-thread fittings.

It's nice to hear you've got a car that's been kept in the family, even if it's unfortunate how you had to wind up with it.

Depending how you choose to use the car you may want to look into a steel timing chain/gear set. The factory one had nylon teeth on a metal hub, and age/heat can make them brittle, break, and let the chain jump/slip without much warning. If/when you do that repair and have the front cover off, you'll be cleaning up that engine for sure.

 

[Mikey]

I have cars that are clean and shiny. I have cars that are dirty and grimy. I'll speak to the whole undercarriage, not just around the pump.

Upside to cleaning off grime is when you're trying to rebuild/restore a car, you can paint it and make it shiny.

Upside to leaving grime is it acts like a bandaid. Caked up grease can slow down or prevent small fluid leaks from seeping that are underneath it.

You're in NC so it's isn't much of an issue, but, all that grease acts as the ultimate rust proofing. But if you remove the grease be prepared to need to repaint anywhere it came off of or the area will flash then surface rust. Also be prepared to address the leak.

As for near the pump, if you were replacing the gasket you need to deep clean the area around it first anyways. Gasket replacement for this particular part isn't hard, and is very cheap. The risk of something else breaking is minimal as long as you are careful not to cross-thread fittings.

It's nice to hear you've got a car that's been kept in the family, even if it's unfortunate how you had to wind up with it.

Depending how you choose to use the car you may want to look into a steel timing chain/gear set. The factory one had nylon teeth on a metal hub, and age/heat can make them brittle, break, and let the chain jump/slip without much warning. If/when you do that repair and have the front cover off, you'll be cleaning up that engine for sure.

Thanks again for all of your information. Nice knowing that the grime is an asset. Also glad you told me about the timing chain gear. I may go ahead and replace that gasket if I get bored. Thanks, my friend.

 

[blk7gxn]

I'd guess you can try replacing the gasket between the pump and block, it'd be less than $1 and a razorblade to find out.

FYI, to some degree these cars just plain like leaking oil though. The entire reason GM abandoned corporate blue for black paint was to cut down warranty claims for seeps weeps and leaks.

Yup! if you can't fix it, hide it...fast forward 30 years, and we all wonder why GM is in the tank lol