Passenger side oil leak

Huskymaniac · #1 12-20-2010, 11:58 AM

So my bone dry engine compartment is suddenly no longer bone dry. I have a little pool of fluid on top of the underside protective engine cover on the passenger side. The fluid is also coating the passenger side suspension components and the lower control arm in particular. I don't see a lot of fluid under the power steering reservoir but I suppose that o-ring could be leaking. It is difficult to see the color of the fluid at this point. It looks a little darker than when my PS fluid was leaking. My dip stick is still popping up (never got around to replacing the o-ring) so I suppose oil could be getting pushed out.

Thoughts?

aust92pearl · #2 12-20-2010, 12:56 PM

you could use a tissue or a napkin to wipe some of it up so you can see the color of it a bit easier

Huskymaniac · #3 12-20-2010, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aust92pearl

you could use a tissue or a napkin to wipe some of it up so you can see the color of it a bit easier

I got a little better look at it and it does look like engine oil. Could the passenger side valve cover gasket be leaking that much? I recently ran some FI cleaner with upper cylinder lube in a full tank of gas. The fuel to air ratio was still running high many weeks after replacing the O2 sensor so I thought maybe one of the injectors was a little clogged. Maybe it cleaned off the valve cover gaskets and exposed a leak?

I looked at the area under where the plastic air intake connects to the intake manifold and that was very clean. I'm less inclined to think this is a PCV issue but maybe the oil is being pushed out somewhere else.

dennyo · #4 12-20-2010, 02:04 PM

Maybe from one of the cam seals. It tends to drip out from under the belt cover onto the shield. Mine did anyway till I replaced them. I suppose it could be the cam cover o-ring too. Clean the area and see if you can locate it. Good luck.

Huskymaniac · #5 12-21-2010, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dennyo

Maybe from one of the cam seals. It tends to drip out from under the belt cover onto the shield. Mine did anyway till I replaced them. I suppose it could be the cam cover o-ring too. Clean the area and see if you can locate it. Good luck.

My mechanic checked it out today and said the leak was from the valve cover. I also had him check the PCV due to the dipstick popping up and that is clogged/stuck too. Apparently the clogged PCV was causing pressure to push oil out of an already leaky valve cover. We are replacing all valve cover gaskets and the PCV next week.

kwren · #6 12-21-2010, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Huskymaniac

We are replacing all valve cover gaskets and the PCV next week.

Good luck doing that!

Keith

Cam · #7 12-21-2010, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Huskymaniac

My mechanic checked it out today and said the leak was from the valve cover. I also had him check the PCV due to the dipstick popping up and that is clogged/stuck too. Apparently the clogged PCV was causing pressure to push oil out of an already leaky valve cover. We are replacing all valve cover gaskets and the PCV next week.

That sounds about right. A full reseal would probably be worth it. Not that much more expensive if he plans on taking the engine out to do the valve cover. Make sure that you at least replace the 3 gaskets on that side and all the washes (there are ten of them).