318 LA oil leak (HUGE one)

[Bad B-rad]

After sitting for 2 months, I fired up my 318 (LA) factory 2bbl,(in a stepside W150) and it is POURING engine oil, from top, passenger side rear of the engine. At first glance it looked to be from the oil pressure sender.
I had a new in the box sender, so I changed it,(with out looking to see if that WAS were it was coming from, my mistake) and it is still pouring out but it is NOT from the sender.
While I clean up the mess, and wait till a friend can run the engine, while I climb up and try and stick my huge head down in the back to see where its coming from, I figured maybe someone here will have ran into the same issue, and will have an idea what it could be.

Once again it is running right out of the top rear passenger side, down bellhousing, so its not rear main, or oil pan, and its not the oil filter gasket.
Can intake manifold leak this bad?(steady pour)
Thanks in advance.

[green69rt]

I'm sure you checked the distributor and valve covers.   There's not a whole lot back there unless you get into disaster scenarios like cracked head or broken head gasket.  Is there a oil gallery plug back there that could be leaking?

I can't see an intake manifold gasket causing it, does the intake manifold gasket touch any oil other than whats splashed up there?

Edit: just checked out some 318 data and it looks like the oil gallery plugs are inside the bell housing so that's not it.

[Bad B-rad]

Because its a 4x4 truck with larger tires I have to climb in to get a good look,(and I am 6'3 lol)
But when I changed oil pressure sending unit, and it still pissed, I felt the area where sender is and it is not sender, that's about all I know yet.

It always ran great, and when it started up, there was no crazy sounds, it just pours out steady, it could be distributer gasket, that is if it would leak that bad?

I was kinda thinking distributer or intake, is all that's there AFAIK, but It seams to be pouring out fairly quick to be them.  I always had Big Blocks, so IDK.
I hope to be able to check it tonight.

[b5blue]

I vote valve cover gasket.....

[Bad B-rad]

I vote valve cover gasket.....

OK I have b5blue locked in with valve cover gasket(I think that pays 3:1, LOL)

Do we have any other bets???

[John_Kunkel]

Telescoping inspection mirror, a must for every toolbox.

[Bad B-rad]

Telescoping inspection mirror, a must for every toolbox.

YES SIR!!!!
I have a few, of them, (mine have red handle) Also the magnetic pick up tool, they are a few cheap MUST HAVES,LOL
yesterday afternoon it rained, but wife gets home in a few, and I will be out, with mirror in hand to take a look!!!!

[Bad B-rad]

 I cleaned up all the oil and gunk, old and new.
Blew the area off with air gun, removed the air cleaned, moved all the wires out of way, and unbolted the coil and moved it to side.
With a bright flashlight, and my trusty mirror like John had mentioned, I climbed up into the engine bay.
Then had the wife start the truck, and BINGO!!!!!!
Found it.

The oil pressure sensor, screws into a pipe(more like a "T") not directly into the engine block.
The leg of the "T" that kicks out has a plug in it, that is where it is leaking.
I could not see it or even get my hand back there, until a few things were out of the way.

When I changed the sending unit, I would have bet money that the sending unit screwed directly into the engine block, NOT into any pipe.
I didn't see, or even feel that "T".

Boy do I feel better.

Is this fitting on all small blocks,  just truck engines, or has someone added it, just to mess with me I bet  ?



.

[LaOtto70Charger]

Good find. How long have you owned the vehicle?  I had put a t pipe on a old Ford f350 years ago so I could run a aftermarket pressure gage in the cab and verify what it actually was running. Could be what someone tried on yours.

[Bad B-rad]

Good find. How long have you owned the vehicle?  I had put a t pipe on a old Ford f350 years ago so I could run a aftermarket pressure gage in the cab and verify what it actually was running. Could be what someone tried on yours.

I have owned for 3 or 4 years, but have yet to do much with it.
I fixed the brake issues it had when I bought it.(changed the nose to 77, and added the MOPAR cab light with the penstar)
Welded in new driver floor pan, and small patch on roof(that was all the rust)
Then changed all fluids and rebuilt the carb.
Por 15 the bed and most of the frame.
You may be correct about the extra OP gauge.


My mistake was, I never laid eyes on the leak, just figured it must be the oil press sender. (not the feeder pipe TO the sender,LOL!!)   
But some times you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you!!!