ahem.... a head gasket leak?
 

call me ignorant, but i've never seen a head gasket leak oil just like a valvecover gasket. because, nothing in my performance is hurt. there's no antifreeze in my oil, nor vise-versa. i went ahead and cleaned around the sparkplugs with a cheap supertech carb cleaner. so, we will see tomorrow, if it's coming from anywhere else. but there's nowhere else for it to come from.

I would make sure your valve cover isnt loose. Check your oil filter, dip stick tube breather hoses.

yupp, checked all of those.

maybe your oil pan seal? if you've checked all the others, and it isn't them, that'd be my last guess for you after a rear main leak.

but right at the sparkplugs???

then defiantly not what i mentioned if it's by the plugs...

the only things i could think of then would be the valve cover or a head gasket... unless you had some scoring on the cylinder walls and oil was coming up through loosely fitting plugs, but you'd know that for sure because your performance would be dropped out like a doper in high school. defiantly a mystery leak :blink:

Don't worry, your not crazy...I am having the exact same issue. I used two cans of brake cleaner on the right side of the engine two days ago to determine the source of the leak....checked it today and it is wet right where the head meets the block.

I have never seen an engine leak oil from a head gasket so I was skeptical at first as well....I am wondering if there is an underlying issue that I need to repair, or can I just change the head gasket and call it a day? My engine is pretty noisy (lifters) and was thinking about just replacing the head...would that actually benefit my engine much?

Sorry to hijack, but we are having the exact same issues and I figure any reply will benefit us both. No need for me to start a new thread with the exact same issue.

^i know on some of the years, the head castings had some weak spots in the middle area, and would sometimes develop small cracks. i believe it was on the older Renix engines and the early FI heads until something like 1993. doesn't mean the newer ones won't crack though.

i guess after you clean the area, check for cracks. hopefully it isn't.

i have the EXACT same issue.... right where the 2 sides meet only on the passenger side by the plugs.... i replaced the rear main/oil pan/o-rings on the oil filter adapter/valve cover gasket/PCV-CCV valves and still have some drops.... i hope you all can help me figure this out... wheneveri go home from the holidays i have to park in the street because my dad doesnt like oil drops...


I will let you know if figure it out as well.

got a theory. the passenger side of the head is where the pushrods run, right. so, no fluid would be traveling around there, maybe some oil. it's more of an open area like a pocket, with relatively thin sidewall. if your head gasket would to crack there, or even if the head would to crack there, it wouldn't hurt your performance at all, because that section doesn't hold pressure or compression. the pocket shape and rounded edges COULD prevent the crack from traveling further, thus preventing any other cracks or compression loss, or fluid mix. the only thing you would have is the crankcase pressure forcing some oil through minor cracks on the head or the gasket. mine is a class II leak. no drips.

I have the same problem on a mopar reman '95 H.O. block that I put in my comanche along with the conversion from 87 renix to 95 H.O.


no drips, just "sweat".