AK_MOBBER

Ok so earlier this week I come home from school and park in my driveway. As I'm pulling into my driveway I notice a couple spots of oil on the concrete. I was thinking, "CRAP!" because I'm the only one that parks in that spot. So I pop the hood and check the oil, IT DOESN'T EVEN REGISTER ON THE DIPSTICK! I put a quart of Mobil 1 in and then it showed up below the low part of the dipstick. I put the car on jackstands and got under there but could not identify where it was leaking from. I think it is coming from this little cover but I cannot tell.

The cover is listed in the below image as the number 1. my question is does this cover keep oil from leaking? I though it only covered the flywheel. My car is too hot right now to take it off and risk burning myself with searing hot oil.




Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

BTW I don't have warranty and I just ordered a helms service manual from helminc yesterday.

fsttyms1

that cover wouldnt have any thing to do with leaking oil, if any thing thats where its dripping from. i would recomend getting under your car and inspecting it closely to see where it might be coming from, one way would to be put a clean piece of card board or something like that down under your car and let the car drip on that to get a good idea of what sido or where its coming from. i would also look at your oil plug, filter and oil pan gasket. those would be the most likely places.. other wise i might recomend brining it in to have it inspected.
good luck

Gilgamesh

Definitely check your plug...especially if someone besides you has been doing your oil changes, those aluminum treads are easy to cross and pull. That is why I am getting one of the Fram quick plugs, anyone have any experience with them?

Strannik

If the cover is wet, oil most likely leaks form the main rear engine seal. It is a round seal around crankshaft. Sometimes tranny has to be removed just to confirm this, and definetely - to replace. So you are looking at major $$$ if this is the case...

Gilgamesh

Unless its under warranty, then the dealer is looking at major $$$ to fix it for you for free...take it in if its uner warranty, for sure.

AK_MOBBER

Ok I took off the aluminum peice that covers the shifter and I took off the peice thats the #1 in the picture above and I wiped the whole thing down really good. It seems to still be leaking and its coming from somewhere above the flywheel. This totally sucks because i'm pretty sure it is the rear main seal. I will check it out some more this weekend and try to see where it's coming from.

I was thinking about getting some of that engine leak sealer that they sell at autozone/schucks but I would rather get it fixed the right way. Anyone have any luck with using these kinds of things? I thought they were just thicker weight oil that plugs up any leaks.

#$#@$^% THIS SUCKS!@!@#!@#

mp3coupe

Do not put that in your engine!
First of all get a mirror and a flash light. Remove the shield and look at the flywheel do you see oil on it? If the rear main is leaking and your roughly 2qts low that flywheel would be covered in oil.That flywheel is spinning so if the rear was leaking it would be pulled onto it and would fan out on it. Even if you see oil dripping from that spot doesnt mean its coming from that spot. It could be running on the lip of the oil pan. I would get a can of brake clean and clean the oil mess. Run the car and get under it wait and watch. Besure the car is secure(jack stands) lift ect.... Keep your fingers from any moving parts.. just covering my own a55
If the car is still covered dont even worry about it!!!!

SilverUA5

Can't you take it to the dealer?

Gilgamesh

Dude, if its covered, have you tech tell you where it WAS leaking from after they fix it. Oil stabilizer, oil treatment, any of that will play havoc on this motor, PLEASE don't do it. Especially those sealers, if they seal leaks, what other tight areas inside your engine that need to get oil through them will they seal?

AK_MOBBER

I hate quoting myself... No I have no warranty - NOTHING. The was wrecked before I purchased it not badly but it was wrecked.

I refuse to take it to the dealer and get charged possibly thousands of dollars to fix it. I am pretty damn mechanically inclined having saved a HUGE amount of money by avoiding dealers and doing the work myself. Thus I will continue to do so.

I wasn't really considering putting any of those oil leak stopping products in my beautifull 3.2 engine but I just wanted to know if anyone has had any experience with them.

I am still waiting on my helms manual before I start ripping things apart to find the leak. The leak is somewhere around the flywheel but not directly above it because the flywheel has no oil on it. It is also a very slow leak and even when I wiped all the oil off the bottom of the engine and started it and then got under the engine for about 5 minutes it still did not leak at all.

On a side note I changed the PVC(positive crankcase ventilation) valve and the engine seems to run a lot smoother. There is less hesitation now. The old PVC valve I took out looked to be the original one that came with the engine and when I shook it it didn't make any noise like its supposed to.

Today I am replacing an upper control arm on the front passenger wheel well that is slightly bent causing strange tire wear. Then I will see if I can find this leak.

My 99 TL has 39,000 miles on it.

Gilgamesh

Shame on me man, I'm just blind, LOL. Sorry man, I hope that it is easy to chase down.

jjpark

Yes, I have experience with the Fram plug. It's very convenient, clean, and have had no leaks. One caveat: takes a LONG time to drain. If you leave it to drain until it pretty much stops dripping, the oil is drained fairly completely. Putting in 4.6qts does bring the dipstick to the proper level. It has saved me alot of mess... now when will they come out with something that keeps the oil filter from spilling over too much!

Jung

Gilgamesh

Well the main reason I am thinking of going to this is that if I have to let anyone else do the oil ever again, (like I did when I was on that road trip) they will not be able to srip the threads on my pan, that was expensive. But it really takes longer to drain huh? I would see how, that check valve does not look nearly as big as the opening if you just take the plug out.

AK_MOBBER

My leaking baby is not going to get any more mobil 1 synthetic until the leak is fixed. It looks like it's coming from the corner of the oil pan near the flywheel. Lets hope so cause thats an easy fix compared to a rear main seal!

Whenever I change my oil I take the oil cap off to let gravity help drain the oil. When it's almost all drained I put in about a 1/2 quart of fresh oil just to flush any stuff out. The first time I did this on my 95 accord I saw black chunks coming out!!!!!

Gilgamesh

I do the same thing, I was just wondering about how that fram plug works, I don't want a fiasco like when stiffy lube pulled the threads from my pan last time. Cost me $400 at the dealer to get fixed, that could have gone to some nice headers or an Icebox

fsttyms1

i like the fram plug also, yea it takes a little bit longer but its so much easer cleaner, i like it

Allout

Just a question, why would the wreck void your warranty? You're under the basic warranty so maybe try another dealer???

Allout

BTW, I agree that it sounds like the main rear seal. To isolate, some people use dye and a black light to find.