large amounts of oil from front of engine...

[mbtoloczko]

Got home from a road trip on Saturday. Started my car this morning, and as I was backing out of the garage, I noticed a good size puddle of oil on the ground. Decided not to drive the car. Put the car on jackstands this evening and went looking for the leak. Pulled off the lower dirt shield to get a better look. Bottom of the engine, tranny, and exhaust are all covered with oil. Seems like the oil is coming from near the top-front of the engine. It actually looks like the power steering pump is leaking badly, but the fluild level is good, and the oil on the ground doesn't smell like ATF. And engine oil level is lower than it should be. Any thoughts as to the source of the leak?

[SVXRide]

Mychailo,
Well, the oil pressure sender is slightly to the right of the PS reservoir on the front of the engine - it might be cracked and leaking oil (pressurized!) down the front of the engine.
-Bill

[mbtoloczko]

Hi Bill, Thanks for the suggestion, but it doesn't appear to be a cracked oil pressure sensor. That would have been too easy! :-)

[STORMINORMAN]

Valve cover gaskets, cam seals, crank seals, oil pump, even... These all can LOOK like it is coming from the top front of the engine.

ANYTHING BUT finding cracked metal w/b a ble$$ing!

Gosh, I hope you find it, Bro! Good luck!

[SVXRide]

Mychailo,
Okay, so much for the "easy" solution....
Is the oil filter on tight?
How about the PCV lines? When was the last time you changed the PCV valve?
-Bill

This sounds familiar. I recently went though something like this.

About a week ago I had my oil changed at Jiffy Lube. I had them use a genuine Subaru filter and crush washer, thinking this should avoid any problems with leaks. Everything went smoothly. (I thought!)

The next day I noticed a pool of fluid under the front of the car. It had soaked into the asphalt so I couldn't really tell what it was, but I assumed it was oil. The oil & other fluid levels were fine. Just to be sure I drove back to Jiffy Lube to have them look at the underside. Now, the guy who did the oil change remembers that he had to change the oil drain plug and that the car had a pronounced cam seal leak at the right front! (This was a surprize because it was clean with no leaks about 2 weeks before.)

Anyway, they said it was okay to drive, "just keep checking the oil" and have it looked at by a mechanic. Anyway, I kept noticing the drips of fluid under the car after parking it overnight. The fluid levels were still fine, but power steering level is just a little low.

So I top it up and drive to work & notice when I stop at stoplights a very strong chemical smell & wisps of white smoke coming from the engine compartment. I get to work and check the powering steering fluid again & the reservoir is little low. I could see no obvious leaks but did notice some burned fluid under and behind the power steering pump on the top of the block.

I'm thinking this has to be the famous power steering O ring, so I top up the reservoir & drive to the dealer of an O ring. (By the way, this 5 cent part is now $2.49!). I replaced the O ring as mentioned in the "How to" section. I fill up the reservoir and start up the car.

With the engine running, I decided to look for any leaks & notice that power steering fluid is running out of the underside of the power steering pump. It turns out that the high pressure line out of the pump had come loose (not the return line to the reservoir). I tightened the fitting and the leak stopped.

Now I've driven the car back to work and it seems that the problem is solved. I suspect that a loose fitting on the powering steering pump may have been my problem all along. (The old O ring was actually intact still but hard.) Anyway, to people doing the O ring fix, make sure you check the fittings on the power steering pump for tightness!

Any suggestions for cleaning the burnt fluid from the top of the engine? Can I powerwash the engine??

[mbtoloczko]

Originally Posted by SVXRide

Mychailo,
Okay, so much for the "easy" solution....
Is the oil filter on tight?
How about the PCV lines? When was the last time you changed the PCV valve?
-Bill

On the suspicion that the oil filter was somehow causing an overpressure leak, I changed the oil and filter last night. So, I'll see how that goes.

There definitely seems to be oil coming from the top of the motor. Its actually pooling in one of the recesses for bolt holes in the timing belt cover bolt. I've never touched the PCV lines or valve. (One of my goals for the summer is to replace all the rubber lines and PCV/EGR stuff.)

Perhaps I should keep a closer eye on the PS fluid level too.

[SVXRide]

Mychailo,
Is the underside of the intake where the IRIS valve bolts in wet with oil?
-Bill

Originally Posted by mbtoloczko

On the suspicion that the oil filter was somehow causing an overpressure leak, I changed the oil and filter last night. So, I'll see how that goes.

There definitely seems to be oil coming from the top of the motor. Its actually pooling in one of the recesses for bolt holes in the timing belt cover bolt. I've never touched the PCV lines or valve. (One of my goals for the summer is to replace all the rubber lines and PCV/EGR stuff.)

Perhaps I should keep a closer eye on the PS fluid level too.