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I've got a leak, what are your guesses where to look?


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http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj181/BWBlackarachnia/camshaft%20sensor%20bank2_zpsfabtwdzw.jpg

 

I replaced the camshaft position sensor bank 2 last night, after a 10 hour shift. Sure, it's actually as easy to replace as I had hoped. But after a shift like that and it being hot out, I just wanted to get to bed ASAP. Any guesses to where I should look for this leak this weekend? The appearance reminds me of the brake fluid.

 

 

Thanks in advance!

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Well since it’s all over the bottom of the bell housing I might lean towards a possible rear main seal.

 

It could also be coming from somewhere higher up like a valve cover or ever further forward like the oil filter housing or oil sending unit and it’s being blown back during driving.

 

Do you get any puddles on the ground after it has sat for a while?

 

Also.. my steering rack leaks a sieve and I have fresh hydraulic oil as far back as my post cats on account of it getting blown all the way back there.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited by onespiritbrain
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Thank you so much for the ideas! There is a quarter size puddle underneath the oil pan. I'm still at work (as a security guard), so as much as I want to start prodding, I don't want to get dirty.

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I'd first head over to your local DIY spray-n-wash bay, be liberal with the tire/engine degreaser, let it soak in a little, then power wash the area. With everything cleaned up, might make it more obvious were the leak is coming from. Otherwise, it's just being soaked up by all the grime that's built up.

 

Sometimes the "cleanest" of the dirty spots is near the source, since dirt sticks a lot better to oily surfaces than it does to actual oil drips. The wiring loom is in the way in your pic, but that grime-less "clean" spot on the back of the block above the oil pan is directly below the bellhousing weep hole, making the RMS a plausible source. Seeing as the bottom of the bellhousing also looks more wet than the rest, I'd say drips are from the weep hole. Next is determining the color of the drips, brown or red.

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In the same boat as you. Mine is minor and the bellhousing area is relatively clean, but I'm leaning toward RMS. I may just have to leave it to the pros as it's labor intensive to repair.

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i would bet its your rear oil pan seal not rear main seal. it is often misdiagnosed as the rear main seal leaking because it is the same spot when your rear main seal leak. most of the time the rear main seal doesnt really leak and the rear oil pan seal is actually dried out and brittle causing it to leak similar to rear main seal.

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Thank you so much for that! The video seems to be filmed by someone with the mind of a squirrel, they're all over the place! :lol: but once he get's to it... I hope to have the motivation this weekend to crawl underneath... I have hair past my waist, and plus if it's hot, those are two things that keep me from playing around with my Pathy if things can wait :blush02:

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i would bet its your rear oil pan seal not rear main seal. it is often misdiagnosed as the rear main seal leaking because it is the same spot when your rear main seal leak. most of the time the rear main seal doesnt really leak and the rear oil pan seal is actually dried out and brittle causing it to leak similar to rear main seal.

 

Good call. Forgot about that lower seal; for some reason, I thought it was inclusive on the RMS assembly. I see now it's a separate part. But either way...if you've gone so far as to pull the transmission down, my money says you'll just change out both while you're in there.

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I had an oil leak and it took a while to fine them all. The first was the valve cover. The phillips head screws don't seem to hold as tight as a real bolt. Almost every time I check them one or two will take a turn.

 

The other source of my oil leak was a cam seal. I didn't find that one until I changed the timing belt and that leak ran all the way down to the bottom of the engine. Never would have guessed or even thought of it.

 

I had a rear main seal leak on an Jeep XJ. Luckily it was a 2 piece replacement so all I had to do was drop the pan.

 

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