Changed the oil on my 22 Depot Hack for it's first winter slumber at home since it was purchased last year. Drained the oil. Let it empty for a number of hours. Filled with SAE 30. 3 1/2 qts. Ran fine. Tested top petcock, just a small drop. After 2 days on jacks big puddle. Hard to measure. Seemed to be coming out of top of view glass. Drain plug is tight. Went to top petcock got a long constant drip. Overnight top pet dripped out about 2/3 qt more of dirty oil. Wondering if I might have a big sludge factor in the pan. The T was not well cared for and we've done extensive elec, radiator starter rebuilds. Thoughts anyone? Thanks, Russ

Russ,

First, even if you just drained the oil, the petcock will always give you one or two drops. It's just the oil still left in the petcock. Never trust just a few drops.

The view glass type gauges are cool looking, but that's what they can do: leak.

I think the oil just settled back off the internals of the engine after it was allowed to sit for a while. Remember, the troughs in the lower inspection pan will hold probably half a quart that can't drain out. So, with your added 3-1/2 quarts, you probably had a total of 4 in the motor. Four quarts will get a pretty good flow out of the top petcock, which is fine.

As for the oil looking dirty so quickly, change it after a few hundred miles and maybe repeat until the oil looks more "reasonable". However, keep in mind that with no filter, Model T's make oil look dirty pretty fast. That's kinda normal.

Much appreciated, thanks

Sight glasses have a small vent at the top, probably where the leak is coming from. The top of the sight glass should be above the upper petcock. If it is lower, then it will leak from the vent.

I ditched my sight glass for two reasons. It was hard to read, at one point looking like it was full when the oil was low. More important is the potential disaster if it should happen to get broken off. That will loose most of your oil, not just a few drops. Are the odds against that? Yes, but it can happen and I choose not to gamble on it.


This is a safe alternative. Since the picture was taken I've added clamps to keep the tube in place. Open both petcocks and let the oil seek its level, then close them after reading.

Russ - have you or did you remove the lower rod inspection cover while doing your oil change ? That's where an accumulation of sludge/foreign objects,etc. like to settle down to. Also, it's good practice to remove the lower cover retainers (horse shoes) located on the inside edges of the crankcase - another spot for "junk" to accumulate.

Incredible sense of community here, thank you all:

--- I agree on the sight glass, it is hard to read and you might as well get under there and check with original petcock method. I will ditch it this Spring.

--- I do like that clear tube idea a lot.

--- Also in Spring it will be time to do the inspection and probable gunk removal.

Thanks again

Russ

Be sure to read the last line on Steve's suggestion.

http://tfoye.com/custom%20car%20work.html

Look at the first picture on that page - between the clock and speedometer. Down below is a metal can with a cork in it.