Mysterious oil leak on driver side (1 Viewer)

[jlhollowx13]

Hi all, today I drove my lx470 into town to run errands and noticed the smell of burning oil a couple times when I stopped. When I got out of the car I noticed it dripping what I am pretty sure is oil from the drivers side. Its all over the a arm and surrounding area. When I got this rig not too long ago I noticed it appeared to have been leaking around there at one point because there was signs of oil or something else. I finally got a chance to take it to the car wash and sprayed it all down to clean it up and now its dirtier than it was. It seems to be leaking pretty good from wherever its leaking from. I will do an oil change tomorrow and check level, etc but I am putting it out of commission until I get it fixed.

I am going to see if I can find out where its coming from tomorrow but wanted to see if anyone has anything in particular to look at there. I tried taking a peak today but there is alot of stuff in the way when looking from underneath and I couldn't pinpoint it. I appreciate any help. Never had a vehicle leak this bad before, never thought my Lexus would! Has me worried!

 

[ramangain]

Drivers side? Check the dipstick tube area where it mates to the block.

 

[jlhollowx13]

Drivers side? Check the dipstick tube area where it mates to the block.

Yep, drivers side is where the leak is. Ill check that. Also came across a thread about the oil cooler gaskets. Ill make sure its not coming from there but I don't think it is, seems a bit higher up but oil could be blowing around. I think this rig has had a power steering rack replacement at some point if I remember correctly and it sounds like you have to remove the oil cooler when doing that job so maybe the screwed something up and its been getting progressively worse. Anyway, any places I can check will help!

 

[Ayune]

Valve cover leak is also a possibility. It’ll drip down onto the hot header and burn. Get a 10mm socket on an extension and gently tighten up the bolts around the cover, that usually cures the problem. Those bolts tend to loosen up.

 

[jlhollowx13]

Thanks for all the help so far. Got a chance to crawl around and take a closer look. It doesn't appear to be coming from the valve cover. Seems lower down. I'm seeing oil right at the center of the engine at the bottom cross member type piece, then it also is all around the oil filter area (oil filter was tight) and extends to the driver wheel well area. I can't see much with the skid plate on so I will probably remove that and see what is exposed. It seems to be leaking pretty good while its running so if I can't pinpoint it ill let it run and see if I can find the flow. Checked the oil and its at the bottom of the hash marks so definitely losing it pretty good. Ill add another quart before running it of course haha.

 

[jlhollowx13]

Ok, new update. Did as I posted above, couldn't find a distinct location with skid plate off so I started it up and let it run for a few minutes. Got under there after it ran and the only place I saw drips was on the end of the oil filter. Followed it up and it stops halfway up the oil filter. Grab a rag, clean the oil filter and it continues to seep from the side of the oil filter. So somehow I got a pinhole in my oil filter! I seriously hope this is all it is, but seems like a likely culprit! I am going to head back out, change the oil and filter and drive to town tomorrow with it and take it to the car wash and clean it up with the skid plate off to really get in there. Ill monitor it after that and see how it goes. Fingers crossed its actually that simple!

 

[AlpineAccess]

Good research and nice catch. I'd be surprised if it isn't the oil filter based on the description of the oil leak, but I'd go a step further and remove the filter. Make sure the shop removed the previous filters oil gasket. I have seen where someone cranks one on too tight and it bonds to the motor, they remove it and put the new filter and new gasket on and then it blows oil through the two gaskets.

Very rare for it to happen, but don't put it past the high school kid a shop hired to do oil and grease to make a mess of a simple job.

 

[jlhollowx13]

Good research and nice catch. I'd be surprised if it isn't the oil filter based on the description of the oil leak, but I'd go a step further and remove the filter. Make sure the shop removed the previous filters oil gasket. I have seen where someone cranks one on too tight and it bonds to the motor, they remove it and put the new filter and new gasket on and then it blows oil through the two gaskets.

Very rare for it to happen, but don't put it past the high school kid a shop hired to do oil and grease to make a mess of a simple job.

Yes, that is definitely something I always check for. In this case there wasn't an extra gasket. Drained the oil, replaced the filter, started it up and no drips like before. Ill wash it up in town tomorrow and check it again but I'm thinking (and hoping) thats all there was. Not sure how the filter could have taken a blow but I guess anything can happen. I live on a long dirt road too so a rock could have flung up there.

I was getting pretty close to needing an oil change anyway, maybe 500 to 1000 miles early but its also a newer to me rig so it was on the to do list anyway and I was ready and had the stuff. Ill report back after a little road time to confirm the outcome.

 

[jlhollowx13]

So a little update after cleaning it up and driving it. Seems the filter was the source of the bad leak. But it appears there is some seepage coming from directly underneath the pulley that is to the right of the alternator, at the bottom center of the engine. Sort of looks red, has me thinking maybe power steering but i may be mistaken, there isn't much there after cleaning it up at the car wash. Is there any engine seals behind that pulley that could be leaking?

 

[AlpineAccess]

So a little update after cleaning it up and driving it. Seems the filter was the source of the bad leak. But it appears there is some seepage coming from directly underneath the pulley that is to the right of the alternator, at the bottom center of the engine. Sort of looks red, has me thinking maybe power steering but i may be mistaken, there isn't much there after cleaning it up at the car wash. Is there any engine seals behind that pulley that could be leaking?

Not really. If it's red and viscous it's power steering or maybe an ATF hose.

 

[Ayune]

The pulley you describe "at the bottom center of the engine" sounds like the crank pulley. Behind that is a rectangular hole (circled below) that's the drain hole for any oil (black) or coolant (red) that may be leaking from the front of your engine. There is an oil seal behind the crank pulley that can leak, and the water pump is in there too.

 

[OEMGUY0720]

The pulley you describe "at the bottom center of the engine" sounds like the crank pulley. Behind that is a rectangular hole (circled below) that's the drain hole for any oil (black) or coolant (red) that may be leaking from the front of your engine. There is an oil seal behind the crank pulley that can leak, and the water pump is in there too.

View attachment 2566058

This seal aka Front Crankshaft Main Seal. Red was old, blue is new.

Had a similar symptom, got it done while I was at it doing the timing belt, water pump, etc. 3000 miles after its still bone dry up to the engine oil pan. I used die electric grease to lube the outer diameter of the seal to easily slide it and make sure it’s leveled and would create a decent seal.

 

[jlhollowx13]

View attachment 2566075
This seal aka Front Crankshaft Main Seal. Red was old, blue is new.

Had a similar symptom, got it done while I was at it doing the timing belt, water pump, etc. 3000 miles after its still bone dry up to the engine oil pan. I used die electric grease to lube the outer diameter of the seal to easily slide it and make sure it’s leveled and would create a decent seal.

Yep, looks like that's it. I have a timing belt sticker on the air intake box, but the mileage was really worn. It looked like it said 174xxx miles but could have been 194 or something else. Maybe the water pump or the seals weren't done.

I'll monitor fluids here on out and see if I can really pin it down. Right now everything is topped off where it should be so I should be at a good baseline.

 

[jlhollowx13]

Another little update. I was letting it warm up today to run to town and decided to look under there again. It was dripping ever so slightly again but I can't really seem to figure out exactly where from, the fan kinda blows things around when it's running. It looked like it was coming from somewhere above the little tab/shield right below the oil filter, but was coming from up higher on that piece, maybe from the oil pressure unit area. I definitely have a little seepage coming from the hole at the bottom of the timing cover, but I think what I am trying to track down is something else.

I will admit I spilled a little oil on the engine when changing it the other day, but I thought I cleaned everything off pretty well at the carwash. What I was seeing today definitely looked like fresh oil. It seems there are alot of little areas it could be near the oil filter so if I can pinpoint it to for sure be in that area then maybe just replacing all the seals, etc in that area would be best. Just don't want to dive into work that doesn't need to be done as I have a lot on my plate right now.