2001 QX4 oil leak - need help identifying the part

[BoostMyQX4]

First one is the rear main seal. Clean up the area and see if it is still leaking. High mileage oil may slow down this leak, since high mileage oil contains extra seal conditioners. I would recommend Valvoline MaxLife.

The second one may be oil dripping from a valve cover gasket. Make sure all of the valve cover screws are tight.

Great, i have an oil change coming up in a few weeks, guess ill change to a high mileage.

Thank you TC

[Carlsbad]

I had to do the oil cooler gasket repair on my 2003 when I bought it with 111,000 miles on it. The previous owner had driven it thousands of mile with it leaking and the underside was a mess. The cleanup took 2 hours before I could start the repair. It was a pretty easy repair but here are a couple of suggestions:

1. Clamping off the coolant hoses wasn't as easy as it sounds since the hoses are short. Good time to do a coolant change and avoid the hassle of clamping off the hoses.
2. OEM hose clamps needed replacement. Save yourself a trip and pick them up before you start. I switched to worm drive.
3. O-ring was fully square in the hole indicating it had fully lost it's rebound. The material isn't holding up to the heat. Hope the new oring is better but it looked the same. I now check it every time I change the oil so I can catch the next leak early. Without the mess it isn't a bad job to change.
4. Under the o-ring there was quite a bit of shellac built up where the oil had passed under the oring and the thin film got hot and deposited hydrocarbons on the surface. I cleaned the oring groove thoroughly with very fine scotchbrite (don't use standard scotchbrite).

--Jerry

[cmlcsu]

This post solved my oil leak! Took me 20 minutes and cost under $10. Thanks

[Kellsonm]

Hey there I'm getting ready to do the oil cooler rings in my '01 QX4 and just wanted to check: should I use oil to lubricate the rings before putting them in? Should I use an rtv sealant? Or do they even need anything in them? Thanks!

[AlanAZ]

I didn't need to drain oil and got only a bit of oil draining out when I unbolted the cooler.

Thank you for that. Until your post, I was thinking that I would need to wait months before fixing as I had just done a full synthetic oil change.

should I use oil to lubricate the rings before putting them in?

Yes, I plan to coat both the O-ring and gasket with oil when I install them. It will provide a better seal and ease the installation.