Use of Dye and Black Light for Diagnosis

[ExpeditionImports]

Hi Guys,

Spent some time tonight trying to find an oil leak on a 710m. I knew it was coming from the #1 cylinder area, I figured push rod tube seals or some such. Brian had been using some automotive test dyes for some drivetrain filming. Decided to try some of this stuff out for myself. Wow. .5 oz, ran the engine for 5 minutes while syncing carbs and then turned on the blue light. Perfect blue streak running up the motor to above the #1 cylinder. Popped off the front engine tin and here I have a puddle of die/oil on top of the #1 cylinder.

Very clear that the push rod tube seals were dry. Put a wrench on the bottom of the lifter housing nut and got an easy 100-120 degrees of turn with minimal effort. Cleaned it all off with some solvent. Fired the engine back up.....leak gone. I wish they could all be this simple. I am pretty amazed at the dye and how quickly it allowed us to diagnose the leak. With as cheap as this stuff is, it should definitely be considered if you are hunting down a leak.

Cheers,

Scott

[Gear]

Hello Scott,

Sounds like a great success. Could you post up the name of the product that you used.

Thanks

Justin

[Jim LaGuardia]

Dye is great, you can get it at most auto parts stores, they sell inexpensive kits with a penlight, glasses and a bottle of dye, do the leak finding in low or no light. I use a high intensity blacklight and a Blue LED pen light for tight spots.
Dye works best in clean fluids(gasoline, motor oil, gear oil)and usually is bright yellow or green.
The only systems you cannot use dye in are those using brake fluid.
Now everbody go find your leaks

[Gear]

Now everbody go find your leaks

Thanks Jim, that was funny and useful at the same time.