I have an ´88 2444 with an oil leak problem. There seems to mbe a hole in the cylinder head just above and in front of no. 2 exhaust. Oil seems to seep out from where the cam shaft is, no pressure leak, more as caused by gravity. I have not yet removed the valve cover to look from the inside, but tried to glue the leak from outside with no success.

Would appreciate suggestions on how to fix this, including suggestions for glue/resin, and how nI can locate the inside end of the hole. The hole seems to be very small, not big benough for a fishline to be inserted.

Thanks in advance

Eddie

First, make sure your flame trap is clean, and that the three hoses leading to/from the flame trap housing are clear.

A blockage in this system will cause a buildup of crankcase oil pressure, with leaks resulting wherever the resistance is least. If there is a blockage, and you seal up your head as others have described, you will next get oil appearing somewhere else. Not to mention that the crankcase has become a home for foul vapors and their fallout.

Checking the large hose headed down to the breather box is a bit of a pain. Maybe pull the other two hoses at their far ends, seal off one, and blow into the other. If the oil filler cap is removed, you should be able to blow through. If you can't, there's a blockage below the flame trap housing and you'll need to clear it.

I have fixed oil leaks like this before with JB Weld. First you have to get the area clean and "totally" free of any oil, including the crack the oil is seeping through. Carb cleaner is a good product to wash the oil away. I would let the car sit for a day to allow the oil to drain back into the oil pan and then wire brush and clean the site. You may need to file a slight indention in the head (not deep and not through the wall) at the site to give the Epoxy more grip. If you can get it clean, the JB Weld will fix it. I use the standard cure product which takes about 2 days to fully harden and haven't tried the "fast cure" product. There are several different brands of Epoxy that will probably work, I'm just giving you my experience.
Good luck
steve

The oil gallery in the block feeds oil to the head at that location. It's a drilled passage in the block between cylinders 1 & 2, with a corresponding hole in the head gasket aligning with another drilled hole in the head near its outer surface. You can see the passage in the block in the bottom (of five) photo in this posting:
http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/index.htm?id=959227&show_all=1

The head gasket is still in place on the block, so its large oval hole at that spot is what you're looking for. The head (picture above) is flipped over and around so Cyl #1 is at the left, but you'll see the oil passage and can tell if that's where your leak is.

The gallery is under full oil pressure and any porosity in the casting there will allow seepage. Even under pressure the typical tiny, restrictive passage of a porous casting will barely seep - and look like a gravity-fed leak.

I'd suggest your first step is to get everything near-surgically clean in that area, then run the engine while pinpointing the leak source. If it is porosity in the casting, I don't know what you can do about that short of replacing the head or getting a specialist machine shop to weld it. I doubt that glues or sealants would work, but others may have had success.

--
Bob (son's 81-244GL B21F, dtr's 83-244DL B23F, 'my' 94-944 B230FD; plus grocery-getter Dodge minivan, hobbycar 77 MGB, and a few old motorcycles)