I got this oil leak and am unsure where it's coming from. I posted the pic below, anybody know? It seems to come from a bracket that bolts onto the axle. Why would this bracket leak oil, is there another component above it that might be leaking and spilling over it? Your thoughts and expertise is greatly appreciated.


http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/8237/img0396x.jpg

 

is the cv joint boot torn and its throwing axle grease out?

or is it engine oil?

 

It's engine oil for sure.

 

Did it just start, or has it been happening for awhile? Leaving a spot on the pavement, or were you just under there looking and noticed it?

 

I have been constantly looking under for about 1 month. I had taken my car in for replacement of the rear main seal after dealership investigated and said it was the seal. After I got the car back I Seafomed engine and fuel, changed oil and when I went back to mechanic to complain about my engine light turning on (loose 02 sensor plug), and while it was up on lift I took notice of the leak. I removed a small plastic piece by transmission to see if leak was coming from there and it was dry, no leak.

 

Had you wiped that down before taking the pic? That looks pretty clean to me in the pic.

Couple of thoughts: 1) maybe you spilled a little oil on the engine when re-filling during the oil change, and now it has dripped down to the bottom; 2) if the replacement of the rear main seal was not done properly, the oil would leak into the area b/t the engine and the trans, then seep out at the nearest seam. Hard to tell exactly where that is in your pic.

 

I am sure it's not coming from seal. It's coming from up higher. The main seal would be towards the end of the o2 sensor on the wire side. If you click on link then click on picture it will zoom in and you can see the red circle I placed identifying where I see the oil drip.

 

what does the mechanic who last worked on it say?

 

He didn't know. He said that he would get back to me. I'm just gonna put it on my ramps and investigate myself today after work.

 

If its coming from up there. its most likely the valve cover.

 

that was my original thought--a few loose bolts on the cover would not surprise me~

may as well adjust the valves as long as you have the cover off to install new gasket

very slim chance its cam seals,,,but another place to look

 

Makes sense. I'll check it out tonight.

 

i got an oil leak to. been leaking for more than a month and bringing in to the shop to replace hoses and seals. but its still leaking and they told me it might be cause my engine is cracked.. is that possible?

 

when you say leak- do you mean drops on the floor at home, or a trail follows wherever you go?
how soon do you have to add oil?

If you had a cracked block the engine would run pretty bad as well as leak
Car been overheated at all?
thats past halfway on the guage for a TL

clean the engine with Gunk engine cleaner or similar- get orange or citrus scented as its a pretty bad smell for a few days
once the engine is clean you can find the leak much easier
there is even UV dye you can add to oil,,like ac leaks can be found with it..

most likely suspects-
rear engine main seal, ck thru inspection plate bottom of trans/eng connection
valve cover gaskets,
can be other things like oil pan bolts are loose

 

what hoses and seals did they claim to replace? for how many dollars?

 

the first time i brought it in they changed the oil pump seal then the 2nd time there was some oil coming from the upper power steering hose and the 3rd time they checked the oil pump again and nothing was leaking so they told me it might be that my engine is cracked. Never pass half way on the over heating meter. The oil i starting to leak faster and faster. And the car runs shakey and rpm drops when i turn my a/c on and i idle. if that has to do anything with it

 

the roughness indicates a few possibles- low compression, coil, plugs

like I said before -clean the engine so you can see where the leak is

add some leak finder dye to the oil- then a blacklight can see it easily

no reason for the block to be cracked,,doesnt sound like the smartest shop~

when a customer pays you to find and fix a leak- thats what you do,
not guess whats wrong...
Or is there some long history of this we dont know about?

how long have you owned the car?
a 99 is going to have some issues but not like this

 

jdj what do you think?

 

I looked myself and could not pin point the leak to valve cover or anything in that area. Took it back in to my buddies shop and after further investigating, we have found a very tiny hairline crack in my engine block. My engine is not running rough though (yet).
This let me down. I have 83k miles, always took care of my engine, never raced my car, never overheated. I bought this car with 43k miles certified and have since drove 40k miles. So I asked my mechanic what he thought could have cracked my engine considering everything previously stated. The best thing he could come up with is that since the crack is located close to the rear engine mount and also close to the bracket that is pictured in the link I placed at the top of this thread, it could of have been caused by a hard bump on the road or the like.
We'll be calling in a welding specialist to look and see if he can do the welding needed without pulling engine.

 

you dont need a welder--you need JB-WELD for metal- its slower cure formula gets more strength

it fixes engine blocks no sweat--with actual holes in them!! tractor engines!!

were there other motor mounts broken in your history with the car--or found recently?

 

No engine mounts broken. Just front trans mount was replaced last year. JB Weld? Stronger than actual welding?

 

its a 2 part epoxy you mix together and apply
been used for decades and still working on some fixes from back in the day..
keep a set in my toolbox and the bike tools, just in case someone needs to repair a case~
used it to make an alternator bracket mount on the old chevy one time!!

easy to use- great for small cracks like you describe
the block is aluminum,,takes a special expert to weld on that material

ck their website for info on how to do your project

 

Thanks for your imput 01tl4tl totally agree with you about how they should find the leak man. I was getting pissed after going back 3 times haha I'm going to take my car to another mechanic. Thanks a lot

 

Oh and to answer your questions nothing every happened to the front of my car I'm the original owner (wells my dad was) just got rear ended like 3 times lol but besides that I was surprised when he said that my engine might be cracked

 

I just changed my O2 sensors and that particular one is pretty much straight down from the rear valve cover.

 

Had a certified welder weld the small crack (took less than 10 mins) Also through some JB Weld on it for assurance. So far so good after weekend of driving on expressway multiple times and sitting over night.

Glad this is over finally. Ordered me my lip kit and will move on to "funner" things

Thanks for the recomendations. All you guys here are a great help and I feel greatly privledged to be apart of this forum. A-Zine rocks!