I seem to have an oil leak originating from the back of the motor (firewall side) somewhere between the intake manifold and the oil pan. It is dripping down the back of the engine. Not a ton of oil, just enough to make a mess. Anyone have any ideas where this could be coming from?

 

anyone?

 

Did you check the oil filter? I had some jerk in a exhaust shop crush my filter and it was dripping a bit from the top of it. Didn't notice till this weekend and I was driving the car like that for 2 weeks

 

wipe it down and try to find the origin of the leak .... hopefully its just a gasket that needs to be replaced ... check the filler cap, take it off and make sure it is on properly ... check around the oil filter .... goodluck

 

Iv'e already done all the easy stuff. No luck. I have wiped it down but it is still tough to see where it is coming from.

 

well we cant see the car, how are we going to find it..

 

I had the same leak, mine came from the back of the vavle cover gasket, right where the cam gear cover and valve cover meet.

Clean that area real good and wedge a paper towel right there. thats how I found mine.

 

Valve cover or head. I have seen a few 4g63s that just like to seap a very small of oil out the back of the head. The back seems to be more common than the front but they are very small amounts and you won't even notice it until you probably change the oil the next time and it will be all over everything where it drips down and slings back. My advice is the check the valve cover first then check the head simply by getting a mirror and a light. You will see oil on the lower lip of the head where it hanges over the block seeping from the inside lip corner.

 

If I had to guesstimate a source. This would be it. But if it was leaking from the head, would I not also be leaking coolant and blowing smoke. I have head studs so I doubt the head lifted at all. I will look closer into this though b/c this does seem to be where it could be coming from. If it is the head. What is the fix and please don't tell me a head gasket b/c that is not what I want to hear.

 

The valve cover does not have a gasket.

 

Best way to clean the oil leak is Brake cleaner.

Spray the area well and blow it off with a blow gun. Then start the car and find where the leak is coming from.

.......and the Valve cover does have a gasket.

 

It might be leaking from the headgasket. If you can't see it, I know there's a dye you can put into your oil system and you can use a neon light to find the source. The dealership will have the dye if you can't find them in a part store.

Thanks,
Tom

 

First you should recheck your headstuds to make sure they didn't loosen over time if they leak wasn't present for a while after the head studs were installed. Pull them all down to 85ft lbs if they are loose but do not over tighten. If the treads were not dry and clean or if you just hand tighten the studs down into the block they will end up moving some.

But honestly I see more leaks than I do blown head gaskets or where they push and mix coolant or oil and all I can guess its due to the metal head gasket moving from the change in force. Synthetic oil will find its way out of anything if it isn't 99.9% perfect.

First do a compression test and write down the results and hold on to them if everything checks out in the normal range then just monitor the situation becuase in most cases that I have seen they are not damaging they are just anoying. For the next few weeks keep a close eye on the oil leak and the oil and coolant levels. I usually recommend to change oil and coolant both so you have a conclusive answer that they are both clean of other fluids for piece of mind. After that for the next few weeks do some compression tests to make sure they are all normal and that will answer your question about having to change the head gasket or not. You probably will not have to change the head gasket or atleast change it right away if you can deal with a small leak and depending on how small that is.

If you have to change the headgasket it isn't too bad just don't machine your head unless it needs it becuase they don't really have much that you can remove and make sure they are both smooth as glass and perfectly flat in all directions or it will leak again.

 

The valve cover does have a gasket and it is reuseable. They like to leak around the ends of each cam on both sides including the CAS sensor if CVT isn't applyed in all the correct places.

 

Thanks GTEVO. I have checked the head studs and resealed the valve cover and it is still weeping down the back of the block. I give up I will just deal with it. I am not used to calling a rubber ring a gasket but OK. When I think of gasket I think of a paper product and gaket sealer.