Need help with source of major oil leak

[Josh]

If I only lived 800 miles from Matt, I would be loading my car up on a trailer and sending it his way if he says he is available.

This is not a small undertaking and there are only a few people in the world that have experience with this repair.

You can try to source someone locally but two things will happen:
-They will refuse the job as it is an obscure repair on an obscure car
-They weld it together and it still leaks as they are not familiar with the material the block is made out of (very poor aluminum alloy)

[DMCMW Dave]

We've got a great welder in our area who has done a couple of blocks for us. We trailered the car to his shop, he did the work right in the trailer. I agree with Matt, if you know what you are doing this isn't a huge deal.

Whatever you do, don't waste your time with crud like JB Weld in this instance.

BTW - I missed that cutaway photo when it was posted. That's a GREAT illustration of the problem. The hole at the top center is the main oil pressure galley feeding down into the main crank bearing. If the rot goes sideways into the oil line you get oil all over the street. If the rot goes straight down you may not notice it until you get rainwater in the oil (or - worst case I've see - seeds left there by mice!).

[baseball_fan]

Just a quick update on my car. I was able to find a very experienced welder who was able to do the aluminum tig welding repair. He wanted it trailered to his shop so with holiday season and weather it just took a bit longer to get the project moving. I was expecting like a large hole or crack that needed to be repaired but one of the 4 "deep pockets" seemed to be "pitted" for lack of a better term. It was nothing that would show up on a photo, but if you stuck your finger down there it felt rough, while the other 3 pockets where relatively smooth. The welder also confirmed that he felt the pocket was compromised, and other 3 were not (I guess he could tell by how the welding process was going). Of course he welded all 4 of the deep pockets. The welder also took care of cleaning the area, which he said was much more time consuming than the actual repair itself.


The car is running normally and not leaking. The project seems to be a success but I realize I really don't know for months to years to come. I wish to thank everyone who contributed to the discussion.

[David T]

With a repair like this it is VERY dependent on the skill and technique of the welder. Sounds like he knows what he is doing. Consider doing an oil change soon to remove any junk that may have gotten into the motor from the repair.

[Citizen]

Just a quick update on my car. I was able to find a very experienced welder who was able to do the aluminum tig welding repair. He wanted it trailered to his shop [snip].

This is a little off topic, but related only because you mentioned trailering your DeLorean. I am interested in purchasing an open type auto-hauler trailer that will handle a DeLorean. What trailers have others successfully used (width, length, weight and capacity, number of axles, tongue capacity, etc.)?

Or, can anyone cite a particular brand and model of a trailer they have used successfully to haul a DeLorean (or other small car)?

Thanks in advance and congrats on a successful repair of your car.

Thomas

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[David T]

Probably should have opened a new thread. I have successfully used a tow dolly but you cannot back it up and the car must have plates and insurance and if it is an automatic you must put it on backwards or remove the half-shafts. With either the 5-speed or the auto you need good tires. With a trailer you can tow it in any condition. Getting an enclosed trailer is great because you don;t have to worry about the weather but you need a large tow vehicle to handle it. The thing you must check is width, a Delorean is a wide car. Any car trailer can handle the weight and the length.