Major Oil Leak

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T

TeeTee

Joined
Jun 29, 2005
Threads
12
Messages
65
2005 LC. 150,000 miles.

I had my oil changed two weeks ago by the dealer. I have been at home the past two weeks and have not driven it all that much. Maybe 100 miles or so. Yesterday, I noticed a burning oil smell while driving. I also noticed longer brake time when coming to a stop. I was only 1/2 mile from home so I pulled into my garage. I had oil leaking badly from the front left of the engine. I could not pinpoint the exact location, so I reached down to see if the filter was loose. It was so oily that I had a hard time turning it. It moved enough that I heard a very slight "squeak" when turning it. I checked the dipstick and I could not get a read. Thinking that the filter was loose and that I tightened it enough, I put some oil in to top off. Actually, A LOT of oil (the oil light never came on). I started the truck and I heard the oil just pouring out onto my garage floor. I jacked it up to see if I could pinpoint the leak. While removing the left front tire, there were two loose lugnuts that I could removed by hand. I could not exactly see where the leak is coming from because the entire bottom of the engine is soaked. The left side of the truck is covered in a mist of oil. It does not appear to be the drain plug.

Long story, simple question. Other than the filter being loose, what else could this be?

Thanks,

-Tim
 
Ok. There are only four places oil can come from without damage, drain plug, fill stick, fill cap and filter. Did they damage the oil pan? Did they damage/loosen the valve covers?
 
Thank you for your comments.....I appreciate your assistance.

I think I can rule out the valve covers...the oil is on the bottom of the engine and I did not notice anything higher up. The fill cap is good, too. I would think the drain pan, if damaged, would have leaked right away, correct? My thoughts go to the filter. Is there an external oil line that could have corroded?
 
replace the filter with a new filter. Not aware of any type of oil cooler OEM/ or exterior oil lines... Others may be more helpful.
 
There is always the possibility that the old filter gasket stuck to the housing instead of the old filter so that when the new filter was screwed on you had 2 gaskets in there. That would make the filter appear to be tight, but could lead to a major leak after one of the gaskets slipped (which will happen eventually with 2 gaskets. It would explain all your symptoms.
 
TeeTee said:
2005 LC. 150,000 miles.

I had my oil changed two weeks ago by the dealer. I have been at home the past two weeks and have not driven it all that much. Maybe 100 miles or so. Yesterday, I noticed a burning oil smell while driving. I also noticed longer brake time when coming to a stop. I was only 1/2 mile from home so I pulled into my garage. I had oil leaking badly from the front left of the engine. I could not pinpoint the exact location, so I reached down to see if the filter was loose. It was so oily that I had a hard time turning it. It moved enough that I heard a very slight "squeak" when turning it. I checked the dipstick and I could not get a read. Thinking that the filter was loose and that I tightened it enough, I put some oil in to top off. Actually, A LOT of oil (the oil light never came on). I started the truck and I heard the oil just pouring out onto my garage floor. I jacked it up to see if I could pinpoint the leak. While removing the left front tire, there were two loose lugnuts that I could removed by hand. I could not exactly see where the leak is coming from because the entire bottom of the engine is soaked. The left side of the truck is covered in a mist of oil. It does not appear to be the drain plug.

Long story, simple question. Other than the filter being loose, what else could this be?

Thanks,

-Tim
Click to expand...

Take lots of pictures - dont clean up anything, and document everything - how much oil did you have to add? Just incase your engine is shot due to lack of oil due to dealer's mistake.

I hope there is no permanent damage, and good luck!
 
Good advice to document your findings with pictures. If you added a couple quarts you may just want to call them and keep pushing ahead. If it was more than that then you might consider having it towed to another dealer and just play dumb until they give you a diagnosis at which point you'd have the dealers findings of the first dealers mistake and I don't think anybody could wiggle out of that.

Sounds like the filter may have been incorrectly installed or loose. While running loose it could have pushed the seal out of place so that even when tightened it continues to leak badly... best guess.
 
Oil filter gasket very likely. But also check the sending unit, oil cooler hose and oil cooler O ring.

Loose lugs did they also do something with wheels?

I've seen some major incompetence & negligence lately.
 
Last edited:
First thought was something pointing towards the oil cooler
 
Call dealer and have them tow it back in. Don't drive it
 
I had AAA tow the truck to the dealer. I let the dealer know not to touch it unless I am present. I am fearful of them trying to dodge any issues that could point back to themselves. The oil cooler line has me concerned that it could be something else, not dealer related.

Thanks to all for your comments. Much appreciated.

Tim
 
Sandroad said:
There is always the possibility that the old filter gasket stuck to the housing instead of the old filter so that when the new filter was screwed on you had 2 gaskets in there. That would make the filter appear to be tight, but could lead to a major leak after one of the gaskets slipped (which will happen eventually with 2 gaskets. It would explain all your symptoms.
Click to expand...

This. This is the problem.
Just because the dealer did the work does not mean it was done correctly.
 
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