Oil (of some sort) leak?

[Kazza]

Hi guys - got a small oil leak of some sort looks like its coming from the back of the engine, its also looking a bit "wet" around the transmission oil pan seal.

I did have the dreaded coolant crossover pipe leak which I think I have fixed (for now) with some K-Seal that I reluctantly put in as the fix looks to be either too expensive or outwith my capabilities at the moment. I'm not losing coolant anymore and not seeing any wetness arising from coolant, but the oil droplets seem to be coming from a similar area.

 

See pics attached.

 

Any suggestions on where to concentrate efforts?

 

 

[Mr_Reverse]

Looks like valve cover gasket from the little I can see. Nothing particularly bad. You can try tightening the screws a bit. I have found the valve cover screws on the 3.0 and 3.3 tend to back off a bit over time. That might help. For now, keep an eye on the fluid levels and keep them in the operating range until you can budget repairs. 

[Sjackson2]

Hard to tell from those pics, but the most common leaks are valve cover gaskets and oil cooler 

[Kazza]

Thanks guys - yes looks like valve cover (passenger side). I can see, looking in the engine bay, some oil wetness along the join between the valve cover and block.

 

It looks like a lot of work to change the gasket though - the leak seems to be very minor. I'm not losing oil at a meaningful rate. 

 

@Mr_Reverse is it possible to tighten the valve cover screws without taking much of the top part of the engine off?

 

 

[Mr_Reverse]

Not really. You can try the screws you can get to and see if they are loose, but to get them all, the intake plenum needs to come off. When you do that, then you might as well just replace the gaskets and hoses. When the oil cooler starts to leak, that at least is an easy fix. Just take the oil filter off, unscrew the threaded nipple( I think it is a 24mm deep socket I use) pull out the old o-ring from between the block and cooler and install the new one. Screw the nipple back in tight and replace filter. I liked doing those when I was at the dealership, hot paid an hour for a 15 min job. Valve covers were a pita though because of the hassle of pulling the intake plenum. Though I think the 3.5 was easier than the 3.0 and 3.3.