oil leak

Well, I just got back my 80b with the new supercharger and it is like night and day driving it. The car can keep up with anyone. I did however notice some oil on the floor of my garage the next morning after I drove it that night and being a mgb you expect some but then drove it a little way again and notice oil again. I looked under the car and noticed that the oil is dripping from the center of the cross member. I dont see any oil coming from the valve cover, or the behind the heat shield by the sc.
If anyone as any ideas I would appreciate it...or should I worry about it at all. Thanks

Tappet covers? That's where mine leaks and trickles down to the cross member.

Mike, I would give you engine a good cleaning, and then see if you can trace where your leak is coming from. My money is on the two tappet covers. If you have a double-jointed monkey wrist, you can get behind the exhaust manifold, and tighten them a little with a box wrench.

When I put the supercharger on my 73 B, I didn't notice any new oil leaks, so until you give it a good bath and THEN start looking for a leak, I wouldn't connect the oil leak with the supercharger!

andrew240 Wrote:

If you decide to check your tappet covers, take the front one off, take it to someone who can drill a big hole in it (maybe 1.5") and weld a huge vent tube in it. A piece of tailpipe with a 90 degree bend works well. Point the opening up and forward. But a breather/filter to go over the end of it - the kind that you can press on and tighten with a hose clamp - Moroso makes them. If any of your oil leak was caused by the blower installation, you've now vented the bottom end enough that you're not pressurizing it.

The problem may be tappet covers but with your set up, I'd look at the timing cover too - of course after checking all the lines to/from your oil cooler. Best of luck.

Whooo Hoooo!

Oil leaks and Superchargers! It don't get much better.

Ain't no MG garage or parking stall complete without a nice layer o kitty litter every once in a while to soak up the leavings.

Now, this is prolly your tappet covers , valve cover, or your rear main seal.

My vote is fer tappet covers. You ain't gonna see em leakin unless the car has been runnin. Also, what they leak gets to run all over the place and you get to get all Sherlock Holmes like in tracing back to the point o origin. Moving cars and fan blades get that oil runnin all sorts o places.

So clean it up real good or at the very least wipe the suspect areas down so there ain't no pools o oil sittin on the block or oil pan etc. You need to get tready to be lookin fer fresh stuff.

If you want to be really thorough, pressure wash and degrease the engine and then when shes dry, douse her with talc powder all over her suspect leaky nether regions. The talc will show the trail o oil once she starts gushin.

Tappet cover leaks are funky, some times a little, sometimes a lot from the same place.

Check the valve cover too. real common fer them to be leakin off the back side and down the back o the block and out to the bell housing and cross member. That's an easy fix.

Tappet covers can run much the same. Quite a bit more wrist wrangling is involved in putting them right though.

If you can eliminate them two areas, best to be looking fer the drain hole in the bell housing. Should be a little cotter pin thingy hangin on down from a small hole in the bell housing. If yer rear seal is leakin, this is where it gets to dumpin. The hole is there so the fluid don't get built up and affectin the clutch.

Man if it is yer tappet covers, you got yer work cut out gettin round that supercharger.

Stock up on Johnny Cat. Yeee Haaaw!

Wow, a supercharger in a later B. Bet she just zips along now!

Hope you get it worked out.

I cleaned the engine and spayed brake cleaner around the tappet covers as best I could, also check and wiped down all other possible area that were mentioned. It is raining here in Houston and the sleet in heading here tomorrow so hopefully I can take it out later this week. I did notice (in the little area that I could see) oil around the tappet cover near the front of the engine...can even see the one near the back.
Will take all your advice see what happens. Thanks

Ooops! I hope that was non-chlorinated brake cleaner. Otherwise you might need to replace thoose tappet cover gaskets. Sorry to be the bearer os potentially bad news.

Keep a pretty good check on the oil level. Put a piece of cardboard ( I use good carpet about the dimensions of the car) under the car. Did your oil pressure change any at speed? Just curious.

The cleaner is safe...but I havent been able to drive since the weather down here has gotten nasty the last few days and looks like it wont get better until the weekend so I will keep you up dated. Does anyone know how tough it would be to remover the sc and then tighten the tappet covers?

The brake cleaner was spayed mostly on the block and away from the covers..I wipe those by hand as best I could...I havent been able to take it for a drive since I drove it back from the mechanic because of the nasty weather we been having here in houston. I will follow up once I am able to drive it.