2003 V8 Oil leaks

[utmba95]

Hi, I'm curious if anybody else had these leaks and has a thought on where they are coming from.

The bottom of the bell housing is fairly wet, and the rear rock guard was pretty oily. Hopefully not the rear main!


The timing belt tensioner is coated in oil. I replaced the front crank and cam seals when I did the timing chain about 20K miles ago. Since there shouldn't be oil inside the timing belt cover, I assume it's coming from higher up?


I do smell a bit of burning oil after long drives. Last time I had an oil leak it was the head cover gaskets, and I smelled burning oil every time I drove it.

 

[Moist]

Hi, I'm curious if anybody else had these leaks and has a thought on where they are coming from.

The bottom of the bell housing is fairly wet, and the rear rock guard was pretty oily. Hopefully not the rear main!
View attachment 410571

The timing belt tensioner is coated in oil. I replaced the front crank and cam seals when I did the timing chain about 20K miles ago. Since there shouldn't be oil inside the timing belt cover, I assume it's coming from higher up?
View attachment 410570

I do smell a bit of burning oil after long drives. Last time I had an oil leak it was the head cover gaskets, and I smelled burning oil every time I drove it.

Is this fresh oil?
Clean it off and then drive for a while and take note of where oil comes from. Also take note of how much it is bleeding out of there.

 

[utmba95]

The oil on the bell housing came back in one test drive. I switched to conventional oil and will monitor it over time. It appears that I was nearly a quart low when I changed the oil. I didn't check the dipstick before, but 5qt came out, and I usually put 6qt in.

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[rdruss]

Valvoline High Mileage synthetic has "seal swell" in it to help keep seals soft and pliable, so does their semi-synthetic in the red container. I too, have an '03 V8 and no engine oil leaks and this is the oil I have used for 6-7 years now, since I've owned it.

 

[utmba95]

Valvoline High Mileage synthetic has "seal swell" in it to help keep seals soft and pliable, so does their semi-synthetic in the red container. I too, have an '03 V8 and no engine oil leaks and this is the oil I have used for 6-7 years now, since I've owned it.

Thanks for the reminder. I will try that. I've been leery of the seal swell before it was needed, but now it's time.