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Hi, I get very strong oil leak only after driving it. If I start the engine in the morning and let it run for any amount of time it might drip few drops of oil and thats it. But if I take it for a drive and park, I will get puddle within few seconds.
What might cause this type of oil leak. First I thought of oil pan and oil cooler, but it doesn't leak while engine is off.
i might ask the obvious, but how about taking a car to a shop and look underneath.
They can leak on like 20 different locations, when the engine is hot, oil is like water, plus then its under pressure and it will leak. If you have such big leaks, it should be very obvious where its coming from. Bring it hot to mechanic and up on the hoist, and youll see it.
Oil Filter housing comes to mind as an obvious possibility given size. But as G-Can notes, there are plenty of suspects. Search feature is your friend most of us have groused about leaks at some point..
I’m thinking something higher up and that is rpm dependant. You said it barley leaks while idling, but more when higher rpms?
I’d get a rag and start wiping the upper part of the engine… wipe then look at the rag for oil. Wipe then look, wipe n look… If it’s black and crusty, that’s old oil, if it’s wet and looks like fresh oil, then you are getting close to the source. You can also clean the engine at a wash bay, then check for fresh leaks.
…the vacuum pump can leak at higher rpms.
Looking on the ground for leaks is hard because of the belly pan.
) and I was able to find several problem areas. I fired it up and jammed it down the oil dipstick tube. Waited a minute or so and started seeing smoke coming out from around my variable valve timing solenoids. I have a 2008 4.2 and it has 4 of them (2 on the intake and 2 on the exhaust). I think the 3.2 also has 4 of these. The o-rings are a common failure point. They get brittle and oil leaks past them. It pools up in the cavity they live in and leaks somewhat irregularly. I have used this smoke machine on my Jeep sand it has helped find where gaskets are going and need replaced.
May be worth a try and is about the equivalent price of taking your car to a shop to have them look it. You will need to buy a bottle of mineral oil for a few bucks too,
It is normal to have worse leaks after driving. The higher the RPM, the faster the oil pump turns, shoots strong jets of oil inside the engine and creates higher pressures. If oil is leaking to the point that you are having puddles under the car, the most likely culprit would be the oil filter housing at the back of the engine that gets most of the oil pressure. Another point of massive leaks would be the engine caps at the front. With the belly pan removed, where is the puddle located? Front or rear? Did you perform a specific maintenance recently right before this started?
It is normal to have worse leaks after driving. The higher the RPM, the faster the oil pump turns, shoots strong jets of oil inside the engine and creates higher pressures. If oil is leaking to the point that you are having puddles under the car, the most likely culprit would be the oil filter housing at the back of the engine that gets most of the oil pressure. Another point of massive leaks would be the engine caps at the front. With the belly pan removed, where is the puddle located? Front or rear? Did you perform a specific maintenance recently right before this started?
My transmission died, so I took the car to the mechanic, after engine swap, I was too tired to deal with any more repairs. German specific shop, got me used tranny and told me that I did tranny flush wrong and for some reason and it burned most of the packs inside. While doing the tranny swap he told me that he found my oil leak issue. Apparently when I did engine swap I ruined my rear main seal and it was leaking pretty bad. Got it replaced. Drove it for day and same oil leak returned.
Oil leak comes from the front of the engine, above the oil pan but as far I can see from the top its dry around the valve covers. but its wet around the alternator. I touched around the back of the engine where my oil filter housing is, and got clean gloves without grease.
Could you please tell me more about Front engine caps? After driving around for 10 minutes, I park, get small puddle and leak stops till my next drive.
Here is how the engine cap looks like on the passenger's side. On the driver's side there are two of them.
If you have leaks only on the passenger's side, I would check the vacuum pump which is known to leak first. Check out your vacuum pump and report back.
My transmission died, so I took the car to the mechanic, after engine swap, I was too tired to deal with any more repairs. German specific shop, got me used tranny and told me that I did tranny flush wrong and for some reason and it burned most of the packs inside. While doing the tranny swap he told me that he found my oil leak issue. Apparently when I did engine swap I ruined my rear main seal and it was leaking pretty bad. Got it replaced. Drove it for day and same oil leak returned.
Oil leak comes from the front of the engine, above the oil pan but as far I can see from the top its dry around the valve covers. but its wet around the alternator. I touched around the back of the engine where my oil filter housing is, and got clean gloves without grease.
Could you please tell me more about Front engine caps? After driving around for 10 minutes, I park, get small puddle and leak stops till my next drive.
thats your brake vacuum pump. easy and cheap fix, two gaskets from ebay and job done.
Just an update: oil was leaking from vacuum pump as you guys suggested, replaced the gasket and i had one major leak from front main seal which was pretty bad. And surprisingly I have no oil leaks anymore
07-23-2021, 11:05 AM
Strong Oil Leak only after driving
