[Deputy1211]

Changed my oil, filters and plugs today. Noticed when I took off the splash guard a small amount of oil collected (kinda gritty/gooey, not liquid) on the driver's side of the guard.

Then when I drained the oil (plug is good not leaking,filter seemed tight enough) and took the following pics, that there was oil residue around the drain pan where all those small nuts connect it to the engine. No leaks under the car and I couldn't see any dripping. As for performance Its a 3rd gen 2001 with 170,000 miles on it so some days its hard to tell if its sucking wind or just feeling its age. No other major problems with car or engine to date.







Wondering if this is a seal or gasket issue?

IS this something I could attempt to fix on my own?

If not how much time/labor, parts, and expense is inolved?

Worst case how long can I get away with it by keeping up the oil levels? Yeah i know that is not kosher but when you are broke what are you to do. Wouldn't be changing filters and plugs in 29 degree weather on my Friday off if I could afford not to.

Thanks for any info received.

[cfranck1]

I think I would start by changing the oil filter or tightening it a little more. Looks like it's leaking a little.

Then spray the whole area with brake clean and wipe down. Then start driving it and keep a close eye on where its leaking from.


Might want to check all the oil pan bolts to see if they are loose.

[Deputy1211]

Did that. But still think its from around that seal. Anyone with ideas or answers to my questions...

[quicksilvr]

Hate to be captain obvious, but your oil pan gasket is leaking. They do that. Only thing you can do now is make sure all the oil pan bolt are torqued properly.

Usually, it will never get bad enough to need to be replaced. It'll just weep a little and you'll live with it. If it does get bad enough that you are losing a lot of oil, it's kind of a pain. The front diff has to come out in order to drop the oil pan.

But I would be very surprised if it ever gets bad enough to need replacing. It'll just leak a tiny bit for the rest of it's life.

[Deputy1211]

THat does seem to be a plausible explanation. Thanks for the info. I'm thinking of putting some degreaser on that area and washing it off before tightening the bolts and then give it a good 1k miles to see what happens. For me that won't take long as I drive 50 miles each way for work about 14 times a month in addition to around town errands.

[Theslammer21]

i still go with the oil filter. every time you do an oil change the oil drips down there. could just be residual from oil changes. you would be surprised what wind does to fluids under the car when youre driving

[jreynolds74]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned UV die for the oil yet. I just dropped some in and purchased a cheap UV mag light on Amazon. Cheap test. going to run the engine for a little bit and see where the die is coming out.

I'm already in the process of fixing my front diff seals that are leaking and it does seem my oil pan is leaking as well. But before I take the diff completely out I want to know for sure where the oil is coming from.

If it is leaking from the oil pan, this is the perfect opportunity to fix both at the same time.

I can't wait!!!

[RS Dude]

De-grease entire area first before anything.