Oil leak

[Broo]

Lately, I spotted some oil spots under my pickup and I smell some burning when getting out of the truck.

2006 3.0 2WD automatic.

I don't have a lift, so I checked under the truck (which didn't move today) and saw this :

The transmission pan seems wet along with the exhaust part under it (resonator ?). However, it seems to be my ENGINE oil that dropped, unless it is a coincidence. The dipstick reads half while the truck is not parked level, but the grade is very slight.

I have an appointment with a mechanic next Wednesday, but any idea where that could come from to give me a prior advice ?

 

[Uncle Gump]

An Oil leak will travel down... and blow back.

Hard to tell from that picture...

 

[Dirtman]

I bet its probably a bad seal or gasket.

 

[55trucker]

Take the truck into a manual car wash & give that area a good high pressure cleaning......keep an eye on that area as you're driving.....now wait for the drip to begin appearing from the source again.

 

[adsm08]

That is probably the worst possible picture you could have gotten that still shows the oil.

It is from the opposite direction of where the leak is coming from and all potential sources are either obstructed or out of frame altogether.

Since you have an appointment coming up with a mechanic DO NOT wash the oil off. If it is not a fast leak you may remove all the evidence and not have any new leakage visible for them. What I would do is get some oil dye and add it to the engine oil now, continue to drive normally, and make the shop aware that you did that when you drop it off. The dye should be available at most parts stores.

 

[Broo]

It seems to leak only when under pressure, engine running. I noticed that I lost half the oil in a single month, so the leak isn't that slow.

Squeezing further under the truck I see that the leak comes from the driver side, the starter is all wet with oil too. I suspected the filter and checked, it was tight enough. If the filter's gasket leaks, shouldn't it do so by the built-in funnel which diverts the oil away from the starter ?

 

[adsm08]

It seems to leak only when under pressure, engine running. I noticed that I lost half the oil in a single month, so the leak isn't that slow.

Squeezing further under the truck I see that the leak comes from the driver side, the starter is all wet with oil too. I suspected the filter and checked, it was tight enough. If the filter's gasket leaks, shouldn't it do so by the built-in funnel which diverts the oil away from the starter ?

Yes.

The next most likely suspect in that area would be the valve cover gasket.

I still say get some dye in it ahead of your appointment. That will help the mechanic.

 

[Broo]

Turns out it was the oil filter gasket which had a small defect. Oil splashed to the up right of the filter, which gave the illusion that the oil was coming from somewhere higher on the back of the engine.

Replaced filter, topped off oil and after a few days all seems fine.

 

[cbxer55]

Mine has had a leak which leaves a silver dollar sized spot for years. It's weird, if I move it from one spot to another without getting fully warmed up, no leak. Drive it til it's warm, park it and leave running, no spot. Shut it off, I get the spot. Only leaks til the oil cools down, then stops. It's so small, and has never gotten worse, so I live with it. Definitely isn't the oil filter, I change that frequently enough that it shouldn't be a problem. Except for the one time I didn't realize the old filter left it's o-ring on the block. Started it up and walked away for a few minutes, came back to find almost all the oil on the garage floor. Geez, what a mess. I'll never forget to check the old filter for the o-ring again!