Is it likely that an 06 could develop an oil pan leak with only 35k original miles on it? Noticed the bolts around the pan are quite wet but no active drips. Gets the same level of wetness after cleaning it all down and driving for a day or two.

Don’t want to break open the OEM sealed pan if it’s not really the problem. Is it likely to happen after 20 years but only 35k miles? I feel dumb doing an oil pan gasket with such low miles so I wanted to see if I am the only one in this boat.

 

pretty unlikely if its all original with those miles. Are you sure its coming from the pan and not leaking down from the block and wetting the bolts? a picture would be helpful, which side of the pan is the oil on?

 

+1 oil pan bolts are common collection points for a leak from above, especially the timing side

 

Thanks for the info so far. I do also think it would be uncommon after only 35k miles but here is my thought process:

I am currently doing some turbo and downpipe mods so I have them both off. My plan was to confirm if any leaks in this area could be addressed while off. Including doing an oil pan gasket if needed while I am regasketing the turbo to oil pan line anyway.

I also plan to change the two oil cooler lines as they both look crusty and wet, including the banjo bolt connections.

After this job is done I plan to open up the timing covers and check around in there, but only once the turbo is back on and I am satisfied with the oil pan gasket condition.

Here are some photos. I also noticed some oil on the exhaust manifold bolts and under the gasket.

By the way things look I don’t see any valve cover leaks, but maybe both a front main and rear main seal based on lower timing cover wetness and wetness around the trans mounting plate. Let me know what you think!

 

 

Everything looks original there, even have the oil temp MR gauge drain plug, OE zip ties on oil cooler lines. Looks like a timing cover leak, its a pita but I'd remove them and have a look. I had a cam seal that leaked down below and wasn't even wet up top. Keep in mind those top exhaust manifold studs need thread sealant as they have crankcase air passages behind them.

 

OE zip ties? Haha, thanks for calling my work OE. I had no idea. I put all of this stuff back the way that I thought it was supposed to be. Previous owner was using another drain plug. Previous owner did do cams and cam gears and also the ARP exhaust manifold studs. Maybe he did not put sealant on the studs. Should I remove the studs and have a look? Which thread sealant is recommended to be used? Once the exhaust manifold, turbo and downpipe is all back together I will tackle the timing cover. Removing these crusty looking pulleys may be a challenge. What should I look for to see if my pulleys need to be/should be replaced? At this point I will not be taking off the oil pan, but just replacing the turbo drain line to oil pan gasket. Does anyone know if this can be put on dry or do I need to apply some RTV in addition to the gasket?

 

Actually it seems that if anything, oil is closer to the bottom studs and not the top ones. Thoughts? Also does anyone know what this white plastic thing is connected to a wire that looks to be looped and electrical taped in my case? It is right above the oil filter housing.

 

Thats a part of the evo 9 positive battery wiring harness. Its oem. I believe that plastic guide is the carrying the signal wire leading to the oil pressure sensor at the back of the block. This is certainly a strange leak. Could it be as simple as a valve cover gasket? It would be leaking down to a stud and these gaskets are a little sensitive to leaks even low mileage.

 

Oh is it really OEM? The wire wrapped in electrical tape too? How come I don’t see it in pictures of the harness such as in this one: https://stmtuned.com/products/oem-mi...143YfIb1aj7wWi

Yeah the leak is strange. Maybe a few things going on at once. The edges of the valve cover looks clean though, so I am not sure where the oil on these studs is coming from.

 

because the one in the pictures is for the evo 8, its only evo 9s have the plastic thing awkwardly wrapped in electrical tape lol its one of the first things i noticed when i got my 9. It’s because Mitsubishi moved the sensor to the oil filter housing on the 9. Gota correct myself there. Only the 8 has it on the back of the block.

as for the leak, closely inspecting the pics it seems the worst of it is coming from the timing side. Lower cover is drenched. I’d pull it and check what’s going on there. Thinking crank main seal but I can’t explain the oil on the exhaust stud..super weird. possible crank case pressure blowing multiple seals? Has the oil ever been accidentally overfilled causing too much crank case pressure?

 

Its extremely likely to have any number of oil leaks on a 20yr old car lol. Gaskets and seals only last so long, and the oil pan gasket is silicone. None of that stuff lasts forever.

 

thats multiple leaks. Everything Everywhere All at Once

 

Aww yeah I sort of thought so. Would you skip the oil pan gasket and just do the cam seal, rear main and front main? I can do all 3 later but the oil pan I have to decide if I want to do now. I really don’t want to ruin a perfectly good OEM seal if it is not needed.

 

I think the oil pan is maybe the easiest and also the one seeing more oil volume. mine has 2 stripped threaded holes I need to address when I swap out my clutch. Im wondering if i can be done with the pan in place. need to check the rear seal also