Small Oil Leak - Suggestions Please - Pics Included
 

What's up all - So the last week or so I have noticed a tiny spot in my garage every could of days, perhaps the size of a dime and knew something was dripping. The weird thing is, sometimes it does not drip at all, sometimes it does.

Well I finally crawled on he ground and snapped a couple photos. Seems like there is a small leak coming from the pan area. I looked from the top of the engine and there is no evidence of the oil coming from the sides, lines or pulley areas.

Based on the photos, where do you think that the leak is originating from? I assume it is the seal lubricant on the pan breaking down and slowly leaking. Like I said it's barely dripping but I don't want it to cascade into a major issue. Bringing the car in for an oil, tranny and diff change Saturday and will have the guy double check where it is dripping from. For what it's worth, bringing the thing to Valvoline to get the fluids changed, will the also drop the pan and reseal it for me too? Any suggestions or similar experiences? Thanks!

2004 MT 108k

I had 100% the same exact issue. Turned out to be my plug/washer. first oem plug/washer was old and started leaking because I hadnt changed it. The one I got from advanced auto parts afterwards didnt fit and the issue continued. I had to go get the OEM plug/washer again.

The same portion for me was wet too. The plug was wet along with the upper bracket that holds the oil pan. I changed the oil and slapped in the OEM plug/washer, no more leak. Must have just splashed the upper bracket or something on mine. Its funny too because when you look at my pan, the whole half where the plug is is a much darker shade of black. Looks kind of neat.

Have them take a look at the pan to be safe but hey it may be the same issue as mine was. Regardless, let us know though. Maybe I still have an issue I dont know about and I can get it fixed after seeing what your problem was. If we held your picture up side-by-side with mine, its exactly the same.

Thanks for the reply! So yours was the washer for the drain plug? I am just curious because that thing sits lower than the bolts on the pan and oil it's way up somehow? I didn't realize any oil dripping from the drain plug or around. I just cleaned off all the crud from the pan area and I will snap a couple more photos when I get home to try to get a better indication where it's coming from. I will post them up.

Yeah I know go figure right? I told myself it was because the oil was splashing up there from vibrating but you're right that does sound extreme. Regardless though, somehow changing the drain plug fixed the issue. What was strange though is, this was a week ago that I changed it. The day after I changed it, I still had the 1 drop exactly like what is in your picture, but never had it again afterwards. I dont know how the two are related, but it did fix my issue. Havent had a spot in the garage since.

Very interesting indeed! Here are a couple more pictures I took 5 hours after I wiped away some of the crap under there. Noticed no more drops forming (yet) and I did my due diligence and looked once again further up on the block area from underneath and it's not coming from up there. Regardless, it's such a small leak or weep that it would take years sitting there to drain. But nevertheless, it is an RX-8 and problems are prone to snowball.

Anybody else have any ideas where else this thing could be leaking if that's not it?

:shocked:

So sisco, in attempting to trouble-shoot another issue I'm having, I got under my car while it was hot and noticed I still have a small leak! not as much as you're having, but similar spots are wet. I looked around and saw that there was a portion of the seal in the oil pan that had come loose a bit and pullled so its kind of stretchy and does not hug where it needs to seal. I believe this to be the spot where it's coming from. So +1 on seeing if whoever services your oil/vehicle can re-seal it for you.

Best thing with oil leaks is to clean the area up very clean.....and drive the car and get it warm...then get back under the car and see where there is oil. Often the leak is not where the oil seems to accumulate, as it gets blown around by the airflow under the car.

Historically leaky spots are the oil pan RTV seal...that requires pulling, cleaning and resealing the pan.....the OMP seal...that requires a new o-ring and re/re...and the front main eccentric shaft seal...that is a bit more tricky.

Oil leaking from higher up can be from the oil fill gasket on the drivers side....new seal will fix that....from the oil filter..replace and tighten properly on next oil change
....

Oil from the rear lower of the engine is usually from the rear seal.....that requires a re/re of the trnsmission, clutch and flywheel...

Check out the OEM oil cooler lines as well...they are a known leak zone if you live in climates that have salt on the roads

Any leak from in between the plates and housings on the engine require a re-build....so not happy news...but not that common on a NA engine ( bad on a turbo addition)

Happy Leak hunting :)

Yeah.. It's weird because it seems like it is only doing it now when the car has been parked for the night. I think that all the oil returns to the pan and it leaks a little from the pan seal. I talked to the Valvoline people and they will not re-seal it so I will take care of it myself...for now.. Pic attached... should do the trick until I am not lazy and drop the pan and seal it for real.

I did notice a smell of gas in the oil though which poses yet another issue. I know it's fairly normal to have some gas / oil smell but I never really noticed it before. Swapping out coils/plugs tomorrow and wires when they come in on Monday. I think unburnt fuel is getting in the oil.

Hey James - My name too.. OMFG so weird! lol Take a couple pictures of what your pan looks like and post them up. After I seal the edges with the plastic seal shit I will let you know if it stopped it.

So before i changed the plug, it looked like this picture. once I changed the plug, it only had the oil on the top bracket there. My mechanic put it on a lift today after driving it and was quickly able to tell me where it was coming from. In that picture, the top most bolt there in the pic has a bad seal above it. He recommended I get something from autozone called "The right stuff", and re-seal it on my next oil change.

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