addiing stop leak in a Gt-40

[prairiethunder]

looking for opinions on whether putting some stop leak in with the oil is going to mess up a gt-40. I seem to lose about a 1 ltr of oil over 40- 50 hrs. It's more the mess it makes and it seems to be gumming up my bilge. I haven't spent a lot of time trying to find the leak but I'm not going to re-build the motor to replace a gasket. The leak is from the bottom of the motor somewhere. (not the oil filter) Am i better to keep an eye on the oil level and deal with the minor mess and bilge than try the stop leak?

[ers906]

I am not familiar with Stop-leak..... What exactly is it?

[gride]

does that really sound like a viable fix to you?

[teamseal]

Fix the darn leak!!

[ers906]

It seems that there may be a catastrophic failure at some point. this may be a case of an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of the cure

[prairiethunder]

It seems that there may be a catastrophic failure at some point. this may be a case of an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of the cure

i hear where your coming from..... i see it as a major project. i have to pay someone to fix it.... don't have the skills to attempt myself

does that really sound like a viable fix to you?

is this my wife? why is my question being answered with a question?

Fix the darn leak!!

I'll take that. point scored: teamseal 1 prairie 0

[DealsGapCobra]

I have seen stop-leak used and work in some situations and not in many more. I would first look to see where the oil is leaking. My guess is a pan gasket and I don't think the stop-leak will work there and you don't have to rebuild the engine to swap the gasket.

[j2nh]

Sooner or later you will have to address the source of the leak. Might as well get it done. Take a close look at the fitting on the bottom of the pan where the quick drain oil hose exits. I have seen two of these fittings loose and leaking at the pan. Might be a simple easy fix or it might be something more but either way you need to identify it before considering solutions.

[horkn]

I have seen stop-leak used and work in some situations and not in many more. I would first look to see where the oil is leaking. My guess is a pan gasket and I don't think the stop-leak will work there and you don't have to rebuild the engine to swap the gasket.

I would think the pan gasket is the culprit too.

Is the pan able to be dropped without lifting the motor? I think you could do it with the engine in place if need be.

[prairiethunder]

thanks for the suggestions. This had been a "waiting for a baby starring at boat not using for the last 2 weeks in august issue". the pan or oil line seems to be the area of the leak as there is residue on the bottom of the pan. as someone pointed out (can't remember who) I don't think stop leak would help if that is the seal that is not working....

Baby boy finally showed up on the weekend so i will have less time to stare at the boat. It might be a pita but i think the oil pan can be dropped to get a new gasket installed. I'll put it on the winter project list

[WakeSlayer]

Baby boy finally showed up on the weekend so i will have less time to stare at the boat.

This must be your first? You may be staring at your boat more than you were before. ha ha, sorry, just being funny.

You will be lucky if it is just your pan or hose. If it is, I would think just tightening either would fix it. My guess is rear main. Easy to fix. Once you have the motor out...... Pulling the motor really is not that hard either.

[prairiethunder]

i know why you say that about starring at the boat. It is our second baby....

pic's of first baby girl last summer

[srock]

I don't think you ever find a good solution to a problem in a bottle. Wait, I take that back...

[maxpower220]

It is your boat and you should do whatever you would like. I would not put "leak stop" and any engine that I was going to keep more than a week. Fix the problems properly. It sounds like a loose oil drain hose, perhaps the oil pan gasket, or at worst the main seal. None of those require an engine build. Heck 2 of those may only require you to tighten some bolts.

[Ceruzziracing]

Ditto on not using Stop Leak, and I'm not going to rag on you for not pulling engine when you have a new baby, etc... Congrats on the new edition... In regards to the pan, I have a 97 SN with GT40, looks verrrrrry tight under there, don't think pan gasket can be done without at least pulling engine up off mounts a few inches. If it's not making blue smoke and power seems fine, I'd just deal with the leak until you have enough coin to fix her. For now, get a few of the oil absorbent diapers/mats that they sell in all the performance catalogs (ie. Sumitt Racing) and place under oil pan. Might be able to put a small, non combustable wedge under them to keep them out of bilge water. Good luck with the little one!