does your Gardner leak oil?

[jenevers]

Mine does (4LW).

Do the highly polished/painted engines we see, need constant cleaning or is my 4LW particularly leaky?

[jonesthenuke]

Depends what you mean by "leak". I suspect there is a great deal of variation in this depending on running time since build (or rebuild) etc.

 

I get a smear of oil which I think is coming from the head at the flywheel end but its so little that its hard to tell where its from. Also the occasional drip from the fuel pump cambox/governor. I have a few old newspapers below the engine and very rarely change them. I think the current lot have been there a couple of years.

[matty40s]

Mine only leaks when it is running.

[mark99]

Mine (2LW) does the odd drip and smear. I just wipe it down after every trip or other. So does my brother who has a 2LW too. I would imagine most do and to 100% eliminate would lead to madness!    I am super careful never to put a photo of an unwiped engine in here !

Edited September 17, 2020 by mark99

[GRLMK38]

I collect drips in the absorption mats between annual services, about 50ml per 400 hours (best guess). 

[Movin' on]

1 hour ago, GRLMK38 said:

I collect drips in the absorption mats between annual services, about 50ml per 400 hours (best guess). 

I thought you had a posh tiny chrome "bucket" to catch them ?

Edited September 18, 2020 by Halsey

[GRLMK38]

40 minutes ago, Halsey said:

I thought you had a posh tiny chrome "bucket" to catch them ?

Ahhh.. you want a public confession! Yes, I have two stainless steel drip trays that hold the mats.  I assure you they are shinier than the engine....

[LEO]

Yep.

Gardner's do, Amersham high street used to get some tremendous oil stains where the generators (generally Gardner 6LW's) stood during the fair. I also remember a visit to Malta years ago, when the the main mode of transport was old buses (usually Gardner powered) shipped out from the UK, the main bus station in Valletta was an oily mess from deposits from all the old vehicles. I get some small leaks from my 2LW after a run but but they wipe off easily. Bearing the mind the age of the engines oil leaks are reasonable, I recall the leaks from cars of the same period - I know my BMC's and Vauxhall's did.......modern machining seems to overcome this, especially with Toyota engines and the Hyundai I now run never uses a drop of oil between 2 year service periods..

[Movin' on]

3 minutes ago, LEO said:

Yep.

Gardner's do, Amersham high street used to get some tremendous oil stains where the generators (generally Gardner 6LW's) stood during the fair. I also remember a visit to Malta years ago, when the the main mode of transport was old buses (usually Gardner powered) shipped out from the UK, the main bus station in Valletta was an oily mess from deposits from all the old vehicles. I get some small leaks from my 2LW after a run but but they wipe off easily. Bearing the mind the age of the engines oil leaks are reasonable, I recall the leaks from cars of the same period - I know my BMC's and Vauxhall's did.......modern machining seems to overcome this, especially with Toyota engines and the Hyundai I now run never uses a drop of oil between 2 year service periods..

 

and they do relieve oil pressure assisting longevity?

[jenevers]

Glad it’s not just mine?

[BEngo]

They are not oil leaks.  They are the outputs of the power unit and environs patent continuous exterior  rust prevention system.

 

 

N

[Tracy D'arth]

Its just sweating a bit from working, perfectly normal.  A BMC that doesn't leak is rare, and rusty.

 

We have a man here who is a genius, he can stop Triumph motorbikes from leaking.

 

Our Hyundai car never leaks, its taken no oil in 10 years and the one before had no oil in 16 years.  The last Ford I had, XR3, poured it out through a broken spot weld in the sump pan.