Started up the motor this morning in this freezing weather and noticed a small line of oil being left on the pavement from the garage to where ever I was going.

Jacked the car up, got underneath and had someone start the motor. The oil looks like its coming from the top of the oil filter gasket (side facing the intake manifold) but I'm sure there is no leak from the filter... changed the filter anyways and STILL the same problem.

The oil seems to come from the top of the oil filter (side facing the IM) and runs along the outside perimeter at the base of the oil filter. Can't look far enough up into the back of the motor to pinpoint the leak.

Anyone come across something like this on an H22 before ?

 

did you put clean oil around the gasket of the filter? did you make sure the mating surface was clean? does it only happen when you drive? could be oil sitting on the exhaust

 

Are you sure you're not getting oil leaking from somewhere else, and its dripping onto the top of the filter? From the head maybe?

 

Check to be sure your low oil pressure switch which just happens to be screwed into the block directly above the oil filter is tight. I had that problem once, and wasted alot of oil, and time before I doscovered what it was.

 

I hope its not the head.

Got underneath again today and started it up when the oil was cold (thick). Its dripping from the base of the oil cooler on the block side when I started it up. Still can't verify exactly where because it looks like its coming from the side that faces the intake manifold. The cold oil made it easier to track its origin. It slowly made its way from the top (IM side) of the oil cooler base, around the side of the oil cooler and dripped to the ground.

Removed the center screw holding the oil cooler in place. The screw came off real easy(too easy!). Going to get a new O-ring and reinstall the oil cooler. Hopefully it'll fix the leak.

Thx for the suggestions.


[Modified by Mover, 2:01 PM 2/16/2003]

 

70+ oil changes must have loosened the center bolt. Put a new O-ring and retorqued the center bolt. Problem fixed.