Bah, externally lubricated is just a way of justifying a leaking engine... It never ceases to amaze me that someone will spend all the money and time to install a separator - all that can do is recover blow-by from crankcase.. man, if you have that much usable oil floating around your crankcase so it can blow out the vent, you've got other problems that need to be addressed.. spend your money there.
If it's leaking, fix the leaks! a separator wont help you there.
The places that Franks and Conts leak are well known, functioning gaskets, seals and proper assembly will not leak. Beware that it can be quite difficult to "see" the leak thanks to all that wind inside the cowl but again, there's no secrets.
I like Real Seal products, but you can still have a dry engine without them. I find them especially beneficial on older engines that may have had some ham-handed handling on sheet metal sumps and thin push rod tubes that may not be perfectly round anymore, especially since new Franklin seals maybe be stiff from old age, and the rocker covers arent young anymore... But there's no excuses on a Cont.
My -3 came with a freshly overhauled engine. after few hours of time around Dallas and the 7 hour ride home, it leaked like a mother. After pulling the engine I discovered that the crank halves were fine as were the rocker covers, but push rod tube seals, the oil pan, and the accessories were all gushing like Niagara. Oil pan mating surface was warped and dented along with a used gasket that was broken, no silk on the oil pump housing, and no gaskets/sealant on the vacuum and fuel pumps. Fixed all that and now it's dry
Ohya, threw that wet vacuum pump out and went dry. in the process, found a very expensive fuel line about cut-through by the alternator belt, a leaking nose strut, and leaking threads on the nose gear retraction cylinder too...
It's a bonding experience... fix your leaks. Yes, you can.
Found another leaking thread on one of the main retract cylinders yesterday during the annual.. no biggie. Bellanca just used a 1/8 npt threaded hole on the cylinder and after all these years, it's not surprising the thread finally gave up, especially at 1500 PSI.
oh, by the way.. Rangers and Radials have their own special issues thanks to up-side down cylinders BUT they still don't leak if they're assembled correctly! The do smoke like a mother when they start after a period of idle and have a ginormous about of oil vapor in the crank... separator could help there. My Ranger had a baffle inside right before the crank vent exit that did the job. (PT-19). Both of the radials I care for now leak like crazy but that's the owner being lazy... "radials don't leak, they mark their territory" Both Cessna 195s
