i have an oil leak but no clue where i need help fast!

[96CosmosM398TI]

i replaced my rear and front , main seals, valve cover gasket and those seals as well, i have spent crazy time doing all of this and i still have this annoying oil leak. it is coming somewhere from the front passenger side of the motor. oil filter housing seems dry, andi already high temp rtv the brand new valve cover gasket as well. normally i would just say f it but it periodically leaks onto my exhaust manifold and it smells like crap for a bit. anyone got any ideas where the hell i should look?

[larryn]

Unless you messed up the gasket installs, just about the only thing above the exhaust manifold that could leak oil, other than what you already mentioned, would be the head gasket. Of course, you could be getting oil on the exhaust from wind blowing it there while driving.

Place a piece of cardboard under the car overnight to see exactly where it's coming from.

[CirrusSR22]

Could it be from where the oil filter housing mates to the block? Mine was leaking from there.

[96CosmosM398TI]

it turns out that my oil cap is letting oil out while driving never heard of this hope another cap will do the trick... any one experience a faulty oil cap before?

[mohaughn]

Are you sure it is the cap or is it just the little rubber sealing ring that you should replace when you replace the filter? A lot of people just replace the filter and never replace the o-rings. If you buy a mahle or mann filter it will come with 3 sealing rings. 1 metal one to go on the drain plug, and if you have the plastic oil filter lid there are two rubber rings, one goes in the groove above the threads on the filter lid, and the other small one goes onto the opposite end of the filter lid that sticks down through the filter.

[larryn]

mohaughn, I think he means the oil fill cap, not the filter housing cover.

There is a rubber seal on it, that I would think gets lubricated enough to not dry out, but I guess it happened to the OP.

[mohaughn]

Ahh.. Ok. Yeah, I've never heard of oil leaking out of the top of the valve cover like that.

[96CosmosM398TI]

no the filter housing and all is dry . it is in fact leaking from the cap, i think i will swap my cap from my M and see if it persist. but after driving for 30 miles to work when i pop the hood you can see the trail of oil that goes from the cap along all those lines on the valve cover and then the oil goes where it wants to. then i clean the oil off the cover and it is fine for a while till the oil builds up again. my worry is that it might not be a faulty cap but a compression leak or something that is causing to much pressure build up. well i hope this is not the case! i just have not heard of faulty oil caps.

[aceyx]

Are you having a weird idle or power issues? Oil level is okay (not too high)?

The oil filler cap should be sucked on tight due to vacuum.

[96CosmosM398TI]

no, idles fine, same amount of power. oil level keeps going down due to leak .

[Cregti]

This just started to my 95ti last week and it is spewing oil all over my valve cover. I thought it was from a spike in oil pressure, but I have no idea how to check this. Or any ideas on how to cure it. The seal on the filler cap looks brittle. Help pls.

[Responsible]

Checked your PCV valve? A plugged one can cause all kinds of weird oil leaks because of overpressure inside the engine.

Pete

[elmonte318]

I had leaks and rough idle as well. PCV valve which is located Drivers aft side of the upper intake manifold was the culprit. It may cause abnormal pressures resulting in oil blow by of orifices that would not when pressures are normal. Check engine light wise, I came up as the ICV, but after replacing the valve, and clearing the codes, they persisted no more. It is a black plastic piece, round with 2 mounting ears held to the manifold from below with 5mm? hex bolts. It is accessable without removing the manifold. You may have to unbolt the dipstick tube depending on tools available. It has a hose that attaches to the valve cover. Check the hose condition as well. The valve cost me $45 at carquest in Merritt Island FL. Good luck