Oil leak but cant locate

Post by **slickroger** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 9:36 am

I have been under the car and just took a couple pictures in hope that maybe someone had the same parts covered in oil under there vehicle.

Any Ideas? and what is that part that's drenched, Im going to assume the leak is from just above this but i cant see anything.

Post by **Pwnin O'Brien** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 9:42 am

The thing in the second pic looks like it may be your oil cooler, but I can't be too certain.

Post by **slickroger** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 10:03 am

how often does every one here change there oil filter

Post by **Qxxx4** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 10:28 am

Roger, is this a significant leak or the start of something that could be significant? i.e how is your level?

I change my filter every 5,000kms just like my oil....$7 woopty doo

Post by **Pwnin O'Brien** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 12:08 pm

Yeah, that thing in the second picture is definitely your oil cooler. I would check all of the lines to make sure there is no leaks. I would also recommend washing off that entire area and then driving the vehicle and see if it starts to leak again. With the are clean, you should be able to see exactly where the leak is coming from, if there is a leak. Are you actually dripping oil in your driveway?

Post by **slickroger** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 2:14 pm

Yes I am dripping but its not a significant enough amount to show a drop in oil. Although when I change my oil its always at about 3/4 full on the dipstick, I change my oil between 5000-7000km I thought that was normal is it?
Modified by slickroger at 2:40 PM 10/21/2009

Post by **slickroger** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 11:40 am

Does anyone know the name of the part in the second picture, im trying to find it in the FSM so i can figure out whats connected to it and try to diagnose the source of my leak any help is greatly appreciated.

I washed out under the truck today so I can hopefully see whats going on tomorrow.

Post by **Pwnin O'Brien** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 12:34 pm

slickroger wrote:Does anyone know the name of the part in the second picture, im trying to find it in the FSM so i can figure out whats connected to it and try to diagnose the source of my leak any help is greatly appreciated.

I washed out under the truck today so I can hopefully see whats going on tomorrow.

That is your oil cooler. The FSM doesn't really have much information on the oil cooler except for removal and installation (Page EM-16). You can also look up the part at CourtesyParts (http://www.courtesyparts.com/p....html). Basically the oil enters the cooler from the channels in the back and also exits from the rear channels. Coolant flows into the front of the cooler to cool the oil and then flows back out of the front of the cooler.

Post by **slickroger** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 7:06 pm

Thanks dude you even gave me the f***in page.

Your the reason I don't get frustrated when something stupid happens to my car.

Thanks dude I'll keep you posted

Post by **Pwnin O'Brien** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 7:12 pm

No prob, I've basically memorized the FSM front to back.

I just realized tho that the oil cooler may be on page EM-15 for the 2001 FSM.

Post by **slickroger** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 8:29 pm

in my manual its LC 8 & 9

Post by **korbeano89** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 10:48 pm

i change my oil filter ever time i change my oil, ever 3000 miles

Post by **Pwnin O'Brien** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 4:37 am

slickroger wrote:in my manual its LC 8 & 9

Good call, I didn't even look in LC. I guess I don't have the FSM memorized at all haha

Post by **dkl** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 3:42 am

I think your oil cooler is leaking. I had the same problem with my 2001 pathy until I replaced the two O-rights. Check out the details in this link. I hope I don't get kick out for posting other forum links.

http://www.nicoclub.com/pathfi...51310

DKL

Post by **Pwnin O'Brien** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 6:15 am

dkl wrote:I think your oil cooler is leaking. I had the same problem with my 2001 pathy until I replaced the two O-rights. Check out the details in this link. I hope I don't get kick out for posting other forum links.

http://www.nicoclub.com/pathfi...51310

DKL

The link doesn't work

Post by **Natedogg1701** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 7:01 am

only oil leak ive ever had was my valve cover gaskets, that wasnt a cheap fix tho, the whole upper intake plenum has 2 come off, the fuel injector rails have to come out, a whole s*** ton of wireing harnesses have 2 be unclipped nd moved out of the way, what a b**** of a job.

Post by **W O T** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 7:27 am

Exact problem I had before in the exact spot, it ended up being a torn o-ring and I could have just replaced that but the oil cooler was cheap so I just bought a whole new one once I pinpointed the leak to the cooler before taking it off ever to inspect it

Post by **dkl** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 7:30 am

Somehow http://www.nicoclub.com changed to http://www.nicoclub.com after I submitted the post ?!?!? Here it is again.

http://www.nicoclub.com/pathfi...51310

The Preview, Insert Web Link, Insert Image, etc buttons don't seen to work for me - I tried it on Firefox 3.5.3 and IE 7.

Post by **Pwnin O'Brien** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 7:40 am

dkl wrote:Somehow http://www.nicoclub.com changed to http://www.nicoclub.com after I submitted the post ?!?!? Here it is again.

http://www.nicoclub.com/pathfi...51310

The Preview, Insert Web Link, Insert Image, etc buttons don't seen to work for me - I tried it on Firefox 3.5.3 and IE 7.

Nope, still a no go.

Post by **Pwnin O'Brien** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 7:49 am

Here's the link (remove the dashes in nissanforums)...

http://http://www.n-i-s-s-a-n-....html

The NICO forum has a safety mechanism where it automatically changes the NissanForums address to nicoclub.com. Pretty annoying.

Post by **dkl** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 7:51 am

yup. the system automatically changed all nissanforums to nicoclub.

try entering this manually by getting the broken link URL and replace nicoclub by n i s s a n f o r u m s (without the spaces).

or this link but remove the "_".

http://www.n_issan_for_ums.com...51310

I really hope I don't get in trouble with nicoClub... I'm just trying to help others as they helped me :-)

Post by **slickroger** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 9:43 am

thanks for the link and I believe thats my problem.

W O T wrote:Exact problem I had before in the exact spot, it ended up being a torn o-ring and I could have just replaced that but the oil cooler was cheap so I just bought a whole new one once I pinpointed the leak to the cooler before taking it off ever to inspect it

Was it easy to do and how much did it cost you? Did you have to drain your fluids (OIL & Anit-freeze)?

Post by **W O T** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 10:19 am

Oh yeah really easy man, I really dont know if you HAVE to drain your oil, as its pretty high up on the block over the oil pan, but I dont know if it would come pouring out at you, I did the install when I did an oil change so I drained it. No antifreeze drain at all

You should try tightenning up the main 17mm bolt on the face of the cooler before buying anything, maybe itll tighten up and stop leaking. Kind of hard to manuever in there, I ended up taking my battery out and getting it from uptop

Heres a pic of the assembly, the o-ring is a couple bucks and the gasket is like $16 from Nissan, depending on which needs to be repaired, pretty cheap

Post by **W O T** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 10:23 am

Actually, that picture I just posted, I noticed on the bottom it says to remove the oil AND the coolant, I dont see why though, I got around the coolant lines just fine

Post by **dkl** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 10:45 am

I changed the O-ring while doing the oil change too - although it still has ~1000miles left. Lots of oil did drain out of the oil cooler when I removed the bolt so I think you do need to drain it first.

I replaced the large O-ring (#21304-17F20, $9.98) and just reused the small O-ring.

You may want to clean and inspect the cooler for cracks first before deciding to replace it or just do the O-ring.

Here are the steps from the link I posted - good luck.

Here's exactly what I did...-Drained oil and removed filter (I waited until I needed an oil change to look at the leak).-While oil finished draining, removed center bolt.-removed cooler from block so I could wiggle center bolt out.-removed old seal, cleaned oil filter mount and oil cooler mount.-installed new sealed, reinstalled bolt and tighten.-finished oil change.

I did not unhook the lines or completely remove the oil cooler - there is just enough room to work around it.
Modified by dkl at 5:33 AM 10/24/2009

Post by **slickroger** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 1:49 pm

thanks guys i'm going to look at this on Monday and see whats the deal I just changed my oil so I think im just gonna drain it again.

Post by **kagea** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 1:49 pm

Looks like I have the same problem guys. Thanks for sharing, it's given me the confidence to try it this week.

Post by **alexf20c** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 2:05 pm

oil cooler eh? i know what i'm looking for on my next trip to the pick-a-part.

Post by **KyooX4** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 4:58 pm

Yeah I had this problem about a year ago. It was the O-rings. Once they were replaced the problem was solved.

Post by **slickroger** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 2:29 pm

Thank you guys for your help I finally did this today and it only took me about 1/2 an hour.

The hardest part was getting the center bolt out of the oil cooler to replace the small o-ring other than that it was a complete success

Oil leak but cant locate

Oil leak but cant locate

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (slickroger)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (Pwnin O'Brien)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (slickroger)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (Qxxx4)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (Pwnin O'Brien)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (slickroger)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (slickroger)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (Pwnin O'Brien)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (slickroger)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (Pwnin O'Brien)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (slickroger)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (slickroger)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (Pwnin O'Brien)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (dkl)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (Pwnin O'Brien)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (Natedogg1701)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (Pwnin O'Brien)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (dkl)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (Pwnin O'Brien)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (Pwnin O'Brien)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (dkl)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (slickroger)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (W O T)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (W O T)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (dkl)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (slickroger)

Re: (alexf20c)

Re: Oil leak but cant locate (dkl)

Nissan Forums

Infiniti Forums

Datsun Forums

Technical Forums

Classifieds / Marketplace

Nissan Motorsports

General Forums