This one kinda blows my mind, kinda doesn't. I had a Weber 45 on there for about a year (up for sale soon!) Anyway, just put a Nikki back on there, with all vacuum lines either plugged or well-accounted for. Not using the oil metering pump, it's been disabled since we put the Weber on. So I noticed the night I made this change, the next morning there was a major pool of oil under the car. This has happened every time I've run in the past few days. When I yanked off the Weber, I did forget first to drain the radiator and that would have run down the side of the engine, so I thought that maybe that just weakened some gaskets that were already not doing too well, but I'm not sure. Anyone have any ideas on this?

P.S. Yes, I did do some searches but couldn't find anything that matched my situation. In addition, it had leaked oil before, but only a drop or two at a time.

 

just a some what off subject question why did you take off the weber?

 

It was a pain. I had this manifold that came straight off the block instead of curving up an over, which required a custom-made cable and a bunch of other adjustments to keep it working, and I never seem to have enough $$ for the fuel pump and regulator necessary to really get the most out of that kind of carb...plus, it's my daily driver and I drive about 40 miles round trip just for work, so with gas as much as it is I want to stay economical and still have a little "punch". The Nikki has that, so that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

bump

 

That's a good story, you should stick with it. The stock set up is most likely the easiest to maintain and will give you the best performance for the buck, especially with gas prices going up (I was watching a fake documentary on FX last night about a future oil crisis, seems with a bit of bad luck gas could top $7.00 gallon within a year). And the stock Nikki, properly tuned and with everything else in good shape, gives the 1st gen plenty of punch.

About the oil leak, I've had good luck reducing and even eliminating pretty serious oil leaks by adding engine stop leak products from companies like GoldenEagle, Bardahl and STP (get the thick stuff that costs $4-5 a bottle, not the thin stuff for $2-3 a bottle). I've also noticed that this cuts way down on the usual oil smoke at start up. The stop leak must rejuvenate the seals and reduce oil leaks, even bad ones. Good luck!

Ray

 

I thought it was a good story. I'll give that stop leak a try today, hope that solves some trouble. Might check the oil pan bolts to make sure they're tight.

Now the carb itself. I just rebuilt it, but I'm noticing that the front primary jet isn't shooting any fuel out...this after adjusting the crap out of the accelerator pump thinking it was the problem. But now that I know, I wanted to run an idea by everyone. Couldn't I disconnect the fuel line and spray carb cleaner right in there a few times to clear it out? I don't want to remove the air horn again unless I have to. How's my idea?

 

Alright, put in the stop leak, checked the oil pan. The leak isn't coming from there. It appears to come from under the oil cooler...it's an '84, so it's not a good oil cooler, just the fins. But that's definitely where the leak is from. And it's steady. About 2 drips/second. But only when it's running. What I can't figure out is how changing the carb could cause this to happen...any ideas out there?

 

The carb probably didnt cause it. You've got the beehive oil cooler leak. You need to change the O-rings that are on there, (the 4 of them).

 

Cool...hopefully doesn't take very long.....missed 2 days of work already 'cause of the carb. My real question now is, well, why now? Just ironic?

 

It just happens. The O-rings get fried under heat. Doesnt take much, but make sure you dont strip any of the nuts holding it on. It will make the task VERY difficult due to the awkward positioning. And, your heater hose is no good anymore, replace it under preventative maintenance.

 

This thing is suddenly becoming a real pain. Must have cooked them prior to the work. I'll have to check it out soon....maybe tomorrow. Until then, I'll just keep dumping oil in there.

 

Yeah, the oil cooler will leak on ya it, and it drips on that radiator hose that goes to the heater core, so its a good idea to replace that because the oil softens the rubber and it wil burst eventually. Get the 4 O rings, slap em in there, replace that hose, and you'll be good to go. Do it soon on a weekend or when you have a couple days off just so you have plenty of time. Like I said, do it soon though, otherwise you risk that hose bursting too. Just watch your oil level and pressure in the meantime and you'll be fine

~T.J.

 

Does anyone know what size rings go on there? I'd like to have my dad pick them up for me while I'm at work so that I can attack the problem after work (it drips too much to wait for the weekend).

 

You're in Kansas City, right? They've got the oil-cooler o-rings at Victoria British. Just have your Dad run by there. IIRC, they were about a buck a piece maybe.

 

I dont recall, and Im too far away from my parts car to find out for ya. I know MazdaTrix wants like $4 for em if I remember correctly. I got the filter adapter thingy for my gauges and the O Rings I needed came with it, so I never had to buy em. Someone here knows though Im sure. Make sure the ones he gets are chemical resistant, otherwise they'll break down over time and leak all over again. Then you can just get really good at replacing them. Oh, and be really careful with that front hard line. I twisted mine and it split right down the side. Luckily I was in the process of installing a front mount oil cooler when I did it. If that happens to you, youll be amazed at the mess you'll make starting your car up and having oil spray though a crack in that pipe at 60 PSI Not to mention possibly killing your engine and setting you back a good $100 for a new one somewhere.

~T.J.

 

You get the same wonderful spray when you forget to tighten a AN fitting down on the cooler neck.

 

Oh, this is sounding more and more fun by the minute. I'd go to VB, but I've about had it with them. Don't trust them or most of their parts...one of the "perks" of having worked there. I did a search and found some measurements, so we'll see what we can come up with.

 

I keep hearing about problems with parts from VB. I've never had a problem. I got a couple intake mani gaskets & o-rings for the coolant passages, exhaust gaskets, oil-cooler o-rings with no problems. I've never tried the bigger stuff tho.

You worked there? VB or Long Motor?

 

Call center, so both. The little stuff from there, gaskets and such, are ok. They used to have alot of parts that were original Mazda, but now I'm not so sure...I've seen some horrendous stuff come out of there. I've only used a few things from there, such as gaskets and a new accelerator cable. I got the carb rebuild kit, and regret every second of it. Doesn't come with jets, gaskets were bent and "vague", and it comes in the most generic packaging I've ever seen. I guess it's an ok kit if you just need some gaskets and needle seats. But for bigger parts, it's a gamble. Thought about checking out a clutch kit from them at some point, but I dunno.

 

Oh, some good news. After spraying down the entire oil cooler area with cleaner, I have determined that it is most definitely the o-rings and that I should be able to replace them soon...thanks to all that replied.

 

Ok, just went out to my car during my lunch break, grabbed a 14mm wrench, just to see. I can easily remove the 3 nuts attaching the oil cooler to the pedestal. Of course, I didn't go all the way because I would have to disconnect the coolant line--parking security probably wouldn't look favorably on that. I'm about 90% sure that's where my leak is, not so much between pedestal and block. Tonight will be the moment of truth, and I will post again with results. There's a good one on this just put in the archives, but it lacks certain details of which I intend on providing.