It's a '93 Del Sol with about 250k. Just had a valve job. Before the valve job lots of oil leaks. Now just one or two. Whilst I was putting head, manifolds, etc. back together I took photos of the oil pump. Please lend me your opinion if the oil pump is leaking. Thank you.--Phil

 

Possibly. Follow the wet oil upward to its highest point. That's how you'll find the source.

 

I would clean the oils off first.

It's a lot easier to trace oil on metal than oil on old oil

Given in my opinion it's easy to take that stuff back apart to inspect

 

If left long enough oil will travel upwards against gravity via capillary action of the dry surface. Just like how the top of my valve cover is starting to be wetted with oil even though the leak is the cover seal 4 to 5 inches down from the top edge of oil wetting.

The highest point of oil may be mid block with no entry or exit points to be found.

In the kind of case I mentioned the dye test is probably the most effective way of locating the true source of the leak.

The pictures show a pretty oil wetted motor. It looks like it has had lots of time to travel around on the motor.

 

Guess I see it this way, considering where the work is in the pictures, you're about 30 minutes work plus a couple hundred bucks from replacing the old pump (possibly original) on a 250k motor that you just redid the head on. In the same situation I would just replace it anyway.

FWIW, my 93 del sol oil pump went at about 240k.

 

I'm pretty sure you're overcomplicating a simple exercise. Following the wet, dripping oil to it's highest source will surely identify the leak.

 

I believe you are mistaken about my over complication. I think you may not have noticed the direction I was going.

You are most definitely right about the highest source of drippy like oil identifies the leak in the majority of situations. I was not disputing that in any way. However there are significant situations out there that this does not ring true with, and other methods are better suited.

With heavier oil leaks, capillary action, air currents, and at times, multiple leaks, significant oil can travel around and coat enough possible leaks areas with enough oil that true identification can be difficult to darn near impossible without dye.

That may or may not apply to this particular instance. The statement was made mainly for others who may visit this thread whether now or in the future. And it could also be useful for OP if in the event multiple areas in the vicinity are oil coated enough not to be able isolate just one possible source as the leak.

I would also like to add, the advantage the dye has over the method of clean the motor of oil and re-observe is this.... If multiple leaks are present there is high probability on the re-observe only the worst leak will initially be noted and then disassembled and repaired/reassembled. Then upon further inspection/observance after the initial repair the other leaks will be discovered, likely not long after, requiring more labor to disassemble and repair/reassemble. This could potentially happen multiple times before all the leaks are situated. With dye, most leaks can be identified and repaired at once saving time and labor.

The person with the car researching oil leaks and/or asking about their oil leak should be the judge of their situation on what method would be best suited for them. Not every situation is equal. So all reasonable and well established methods probably should be provided so the car owner(s) can make an educated decision for themselves and their situation.

I quoted you to highlight the fact that, that isn't the only method or always the best suited method. I probably should have also quoted the clean and re-observe method too as it too isn't the only method or always the best suited method. Dye too isn't the only method or always the best suited method either as sometimes it can be a wasted expense and a waste of time.

As far as I know, these are the main well established methods used today. Each with pros and cons. Actually I probably should say each has it's own proficiencies and issues.

 

Thank you, Ron, TC and BB, for the excellent advice and suggestions. I have never performed a dye test to hunt down an oil leak, I will have to research this.

My thinking now is, as Belair Brian suggested and (sorry) counter to Ron's signature (which I have thought of a lot) "Don't guess, troubleshoot", to replace the oil pump.

Thanks again to you all.

 

Good luck. Given the location of the oil and the fact that the crank pulley is already removed, I think your decision is reasonable.

 

Excellent! Thanks to you all again.