oil leak

[pete315]

I have a small oil leak on my 93 3.2. I just changed valve covers and I double checked them. while car is running, car does not leak a drop of oil nor do I get any smoke. when I turn car off and it sits for 10-15 minutes, I get about 3-4 drops.. it's toward front of engine about 1 inch to the right of dead center. I can see a slow trickle coming from behind or just above oil filter housing. anyone have any ideas where this is leaking from or where to look? thanks

 

[pete315]

well I cleaned the bottom of the engine. both valve cover sides are dry. front main looks good. as far as I can tell, the rear main is not leaking. I notice it leaks when engine is cold. when engine warm, can run all day and not leak. it appears something is expanding when hot and conracting when cold causing the leak. any ideas of what this could be?

 

[The Dude]

The oil filter housing is a small oil cooler. It's made of Aluminum, that will expend and contract. But, really, it's probably your seal there. I had to replace my seal as it started leaking. You only notice it leak when it's cold because it's probably burning off when it is running. The cooler itself is pretty fragile, it can even get bent slightly or moved around by your local 10min oil shop.

 

[pete315]

how do you change that seal? I had a feeling it was coming from somewhere near there. Is it hard to change? any tips appreciated. I want to fix this before I give car to nephew (I'm a good uncle, what can I say).

 

[Ishodu]

I would clean up that Area very well, then make sure its that seal that is leaking. All you need to do to remove it is take off the coolant hoses, also the oil filter and loosen the big nut in there. Problem is that the seals are obsolete. You may find some but make sure its leaking from there before you go though too much trouble.

 

[SHO Type U]

Where is the leak at?

 

[pete315]

thats the problem. I can't really see the leak.with starter and filter there, it's hard to see. I see it drip down the round part of the oil filter housing, down to near the filter, then drips onto the starter, then onto ground. leak appears above oil pan. I can see the head above housing, looks dry. no leaks from the valve covers. I don't think the rear main is leaking cause I don't see an oil trail from rear of engine to the middle where drip starts. all I can think is that it's coming from oil filter housing. I did not know that there was a gasket there. any idea where to get gasket or how to make one.

 

[The Dude]

I didn't have trouble finding the seal, a friend that worked at a repair shop got it for me, he did have to order it though. You'll find one. And yes clean it real good and make sure thats the problem before you tear into it. It would be a shame to put forth all that work for nothing.

 

[Ishodu]

Maybe a dumb question, but have you checked how tight the filter is?

 

[pete315]

that's not a dumb question. that's the first thing I checked. it was tight. I had the car off all day. it's a cool nite in the 60's. with car on ramps, I had friend start car up. started to leak right away from oil filter housing. I'm glad I finally found this leak. thanks for all the info guys, it's been very helpful.

 

[ohfosho]

well start with the cheap...and regular maintenance, just to say that i could be the oil filters seal (they are made in bulk, so i woulent rule out a defective one). give her an oil change, with new filter. then check it all over again

 

[pete315]

I only use Motorcraft filters. I can see it leaking from behind the oil filter housing. filter seal is dry. I'm suprised very few SHO owners have this leak. is this a rare leak I got? hopefully it's an easy fix.

 

[pete315]

The Dude, I sent you an email.

 

[pete315]

I'm having a hard time finding a new gasket on the oil filter/cooler housing- it's obsolete. when I took housing off, I can see where oil was getting past seal until it warmed up and I guess the aluminum expands slightly to close gap. if I can't find a new gasket, I might use RTV on both sides of old gasket( Gasket not ripped, made of rubber). when I tighten bolt, it should make a leak proof seal. what do you guys think? would you do something different? by the way, that bolt to remove the oil filter housing is a 30mm bolt. just in case anyone else is planning on doing the job.

 

[pete315]

I changed the oil cooler gasket. leak all gone. I got the gasket from Josh, worked very well.