thedoctor Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 About 1000 miles ago, I replaced head gaskets and had a valve job on my 1983 dl, ea81. Engine is running great but I have a persistent front oil leak, and a more worrisome coolant disappearance of about 1 qt / 100 miles. No visible external leaks. Compression pre-repair: 1:90, 2:102, 3:38, 4:118 I did find evidence of HG failure on cyl 3. Compression post-repair: 1:165, 2:157, 3:167, 4:160. Something is going on over there on the left side. Plugs 2 and 4 show darker than 1 and 3. See attached photos. Sorry for out of focus, but you can still see the difference when I hold them side-by-side. I did go back and redo the intake manifold gaskets, which made no difference. I would appreciate any suggestions as to my next move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedoctor Posted July 13, 2012 Author Share Posted July 13, 2012 (edited) Eureka. I found the problem... and it's me! But seriously, I decided to have another thorough look see at the entire situation. I just let the engine run and I stood there... and lay there gawking and searching for even one drop of coolant coming from anywhere. Nothing. And then for some unknown reason I reached in and grabbed the accelerator cable and pulled. And bless me soul there was a wee leprechaun peeing out from under me carburetor. I let off the accelerator and the green stream stopped! The coolant bypass hose had a slit in it that would only open up under higher pressure! Now I know y'all knew very well my compression numbers did not tell a tale and my spark plug differences were nil. Y'all were just being polite. I guess we see what we're afraid to see. But I am one happy guy right now. Edited July 13, 2012 by thedoctor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdweninger Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 So what about the persistent front oil leak? Did you replace the front main seal, cam seals / o-rings, oil pump, when you did the HG's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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