I recently found out I have an oil leak on my 07 Type S with 126,000. I'm not sure how long it has been leaking, as I have been away at school for a few months, and I am not really able to check under my car. There does not seem to be much oil that leaks on the ground, but when I touched the surface of what I took a picture of, it is very wet. It's on the passenger front side around where the control arm is, I believe. Does anybody have any ideas on what it could potentially be? I'm going to my Indy next week to have new from pads and rotors put on, but I would kind of like to know what to expect to hear when I go in there! Thanks for the help!

I tried posting another picture, but it wouldn't let me post it!

 

Hard to say by just a pic but I can see a couple of the pan bolts are wet. Probably the oil pump seal

 

If that is indeed the problem, what should I expect to pay?

 

Has it had a tb/H2O pump job yet? If not, now is the time. If it is the oil pump seal, all the TB stuff has to come out. If you can't do the work yourself, expect a hefty bill to replace the pump seal. Basically need to pull the water pump, all timing components (tensioner, idler pulley, tensioner pulley), oil pan, oil pump itself, and then replace all the seals and put back together. I have done a tb, not an oil pump, but suspect an oil pump seal job would add a conservative 4 hours or so for an at home guy doing it for the first time to do it properly. Will doing my own tb in the next few weeks, I am for sure doing the crank seal, not sure if I want to dig into the oil pump seal job. Problem is, if I do it now, I don't have to worry about it leaking in 20,000 miles and have to go through all the work again. Then again, it might make it to 200,000 miles, or not.....

All this being said, troubleshoot it first to better determine the source.

 

Thank you for your response. I did the timing belt service at little early, 98,000 miles. I am not able to fix the car myself, as I do not have the tools or knowledge to do so. Here is the question I have now, assuming it is the oil pump, do I just buy the seal, or do I buy another oil pump? Also, since the timing belt stuff is coming off, does it make sense just to replace the timing belt again since it has to be taken off? I know it only has about 30,000 miles on it, but I do not spending a little extra money if it makes sense. Is there anything else that it makes sense to replace if I get the oil pump fixed?

 

You're welcome. In your case, I would not replace the timing belt or any associated components at 30,000 miles, unless the belt has been contaminated with oil, seems like a waste to me. The oil pump does not need to be replaced unless it is out of specification (rotors etc.). The seal at question here actually seals the engine block to the pump housing, this is the junction that can leak. The seal is about $5, and takes a lot of labor to gain access to. The pump is several hundred dollars and is fine in all likelihood. I would have the crank seal replaced at the same time, it installs into the oil pump housing, ($7 part). The only other necessary parts would be about 3 more O rings ($2 each or so). All in all, you will be out about $50 in parts and probably several hundred in labor for this job. This is why I like being able to do these jobs by myself. I have saved $1000s of dollars over the years.

 

I went to the mechanic today, and he verified that I do have a leak coming from under the timing covers. He was not able to say exactly what it was because he was just changing the pads and rotors and did not have time to take of the timing cover such. Therefore I am just assuming it is the oil pump seal. Whenever I go to have it fixed I am going to get have all the other seals and the timing belt replaced as well. What all do I need to be sure to replace? I am okay with spending a little bit more money for preventive measures to make sure I don't have another huge expense in six months.

 

You might want to just monitor the amount of oil leakage that you have. I have had an oil pump leak for about 2 1/2 years. The leak is very minimal with none reaching the garage floor, and I am never down at all when I do my 5000 mile oil change....about every 2 months (car has 208000 miles and I put on 2500/month). Dealer wanted $1600 to repair....ummm...no thanks. For me it has been so minimal that I decided to keep the money and keep an eye on the leak. Good luck.