1st Ranger, any go to spots to check for oil leak?

[flyin-lowe]

Background, 2004 3.0 with 115K miles. I bought it about 6 months ago for my soon to be 16 year old son. Truck is in really good shape inside and out and was well cared for. I know of the guy I bought it from and it was kept indoors and no leaks at all. I have kept it parked in my garage since we have had it and no leaks at all of any kind. My son still has his permit so it only gets driven an hour or two a week, when we go somewhere together. The last couple of times we drove it for a decent drive (50 miles or so) something smelled hot when we parked it in the garage. I popped the hood and couldn't really tell if it was burnt fluid or an electrical smell.

Fast forward today I decide to go out and look around since I had the day off. As soon as I look under the truck I see a ton of oil spots. The parking spot he uses is pretty tight and there is only about 12-15 inches front to back of clearance. The oil spots are spread out over close to 30 inches, so it is either dripping from multiple places or running down from one spot. After finding the oil on the floor I pulled it to another spot and let it idle for about 5 minutes while I threw down some oil dry to clean the floor. It set in the new spot for about 15 minutes and not a single drip. I cleaned the floor and pulled it back to it's normal spot and after a couple hours, not a single drip. I took this picture after I swept up the oil dry to show what I am talking about.

Not enough to make a difference on the dipstick. What I am wandering is, is there something that might only leak after the engine get up to operating temp or has time to run for a long time, maybe building up pressure or something? I am getting ready to go to work for the night but as of right now it has not dripped once and it's been a couple hours. Ill put it on the lift this week when I get a minute to look at things, just wandering if there is a common issue I should look for. I can't say that I checked the garage floor every time we come and go, but I do look most of the times we pull in and out. I know for certain these spots have only appeared since the last 2 maybe 3 times we drove the truck. And as I mentioned before he parks within a few inches of the same spot every time due to the size of the garage.

 

[Brain75]

oil filter adapter in quite a number of Fords, including the colognes (2.8,2.9,4.0), don't know about your vulcan (3.0), but somewhere in a thread I thought I saw a guy post part numbers and said it was common as well.


Oil filter adapter is the short metal stub between block and filter - usually with a 90 degree or 60 degree turn to point the filter down.
Mine (2.9) leaks and is on the todo list next oil change (have to remove the filter and loose most of the oil to do it).
They only leak during pressure.

 

[flyin-lowe]

I’m not the most mechanically inclined but know the basics. That sounds like it could cause that type of oil pattern, if it’s leaking out under pressure and then when I parked I dripped from multiple locations…

 

[pjtoledo]

are you sure it's engine oil?

valve cover gaskets and the oil pressure sender can both leak.
they are both above the exhaust manifolds and capable of dripping on them.
the visual inspection with rags, a light, and goggles should reveal the
source.

 

[flyin-lowe]

Yeah it was oil, definitely not tranny fluid or coolant.

 

[pjtoledo]

the oil filter is difficult to access, and tighten properly.

 

[Brain75]

oil level idiot light... I know the taurus has them...(same 3.0 vulcan) in the ranger does the engine have it? (side of the pan if it does)
that would most likely leak all the time, but if it sealed just well enough it might only show when there is crankcase pressure (not very high)

 

[Curious Hound]

On my '93 3.0l, I have had very few oil leaks. Tiny bit around oil pan, especially at the front. My oil pan gasket was pooched out a bit where it dips down around the crank at the front end. I did have a minor main seal leak at the rear. I also had a leak from the oil pressure sender. My oil filter has never leaked. Might have had leak from valve cover gaskets when I first got it. But those got replaced during another repair early on. Never a problem from the oil level sender on the side of the oil pan. The 3.0l is a good engine.

Clean the engine real good so you can start inspection and watching for where the leak originates. From your symptoms, I would start suspecting rear main seal. But cleaning and watching is the best thing to do instead of guessing.

 

[flyin-lowe]

Thanks for all the input. I did an oil and filter change when I bought the truck late last summer.

 

[flyin-lowe]

I was able to put the truck up on a lift today and was hoping for a valve cover gasket as the spot on my floor after it sat for a week was at the back of the motor. It is running from the front of the engine, down the oil pan and dripping at the back of the oil pan. I don't know much about these engines but I am assuming there is some type of seal at the crank shaft. From what I could see it is coming down the front of the engine right behind the harmonic balancer. I tried to take a pic but it was had to get my phone up in there. Is there anything else that would be leaking behind the balancer. Everything was dry above the oil pan gasket. Plus the leak seems to be getting worse. It was a 20 minute drive to my garage with the lift and before I could even get it off the ground there was a spot the size of a quarter or lager. Some once I got it home.

 

[SenorNoob]

Definitely sounds like front main seal...

 

[flyin-lowe]

I will not tackle that myself. Curious what kind of job it is and how many hours of labor it should take a mechanic, assuming no major problems come up. And if there are any real issues that make it tricky or if it pretty straight forward…

 

[pjtoledo]

should be an easy job, depends on how stuck the harmonic balancer is on the crankshaft.
northern Indiana has a good chance of being a problem, southern not so much.
the seal is easily accessible when the balancer is removed.


is the oil over filled? that area is splashed with oil so to high a level makes it worse.
is the PCV clogged? a pressurized crankcase can also cause more leaks.

 

[Brain75]

before you commit to taking it to a mechanic watch a youtube video... it's a little buried so there is stuff to take out (radiator,shroud, fan), but the cost of the 1 new tool you probably don't have (harmonic balancer puller) versus the first 15 minutes of the mechanics time is about equal.

 

[nickname23]

Rear main, oil pan weeping, power steering pump or reservoir.

Check the radiator and don't go just topping it off, just make sure it isn't dry.

These engines run hot but if you know that then drive it appropriately, left me stranded but makes me laugh at how cheap it is to fix with a little work.

Currently dealing with intake air leaks, it's dropping compression on cold start and increasing fuel consumption.