Sudden oil loss.

[sawguy]

Yesterday was going on a short trip (110 miles ). The night before I checked the oil and it was 1/2 qt low so I added some. The next morning I left and stopped 40 mi away at a car wash. Started up after wash and heard a soft knock. Drove to the gas station and it went away. Took off on remaining 70 mile stretch.
Got into town at stoplight and oil pitcher light comes on flickering then solid. When accelerating light went off. Got to destination and noticed whole rear of hatch and bumper were oil soaked. Looked underneath and saw oil dripping from the skid plate. Checked oil and nothing on dipstick. Picked up 6 qts of oil and it took 5 to bring up to full. Drove like a maniac to get home checking oil every 40 miles. Got home and it only lost 1 qt. Still dripping out the skid plate. though.
Any body have an idea what I,m going to find when I drop the skid plate?
I peeked through the wheel well and the filter looked dry on top side anyway.
Forgot 1996 limited 3.4 244,000 mi

 

[Hepar]

Yesterday was going on a short trip (110 miles ). The night before I checked the oil and it was 1/2 qt low so I added some. The next morning I left and stopped 40 mi away at a car wash. Started up after wash and heard a soft knock. Drove to the gas station and it went away. Took off on remaining 70 mile stretch.
Got into town at stoplight and oil pitcher light comes on flickering then solid. When accelerating light went off. Got to destination and noticed whole rear of hatch and bumper were oil soaked. Looked underneath and saw oil dripping from the skid plate. Checked oil and nothing on dipstick. Picked up 6 qts of oil and it took 5 to bring up to full. Drove like a maniac to get home checking oil every 40 miles. Got home and it only lost 1 qt. Still dripping out the skid plate. though.
Any body have an idea what I,m going to find when I drop the skid plate?
I peeked through the wheel well and the filter looked dry on top side anyway.
Forgot 1996 limited 3.4 244,000 mi

Might not be such a bad thing. Losing oil with no exterior signs can be a pretty bad sign. Not really worth guessing too much until you get a closer look at it. Have you changed your oil/filter recently? I've seen people not seat their filter on correctly which causes it to leak from there. But it sounds like your leak is a bit more than what I would guess would come out of that. Dripping oil of that amount means there's a pretty good sized leak somewhere.

 

[sawguy]

Oil was changed around 4000 mi ago. The dripping seems to be mostly toward the front of the skid plate.
It's been cold here so waiting for a warmer day to crawl underneath.

 

[mtbtim]

Oil was changed around 4000 mi ago. The dripping seems to be mostly toward the front of the skid plate.
It's been cold here so waiting for a warmer day to crawl underneath.

Well, I hope you have a second vehicle. I wouldn't be driving it until you figure it out.

[MENTION=56396]Hepar[/MENTION] brought up a good point but I'm thinking more along the lines that the oil filter wasn't tightened properly and has now come loose. If it wasn't installed correctly from the beginning, you'd have noticed an oil leak right away and not 4000 miles later. Reach in from the driver side wheel well and see if the oil filter is on tight. No need to drop the pan to check that.

With gravity in mind, if the filer was leaking, you wouldn't see signs of an oil leak on the top of sides. You'd see it on the bottom.

 

[Hepar]

If it wasn't installed correctly from the beginning, you'd have noticed an oil leak right away and not 4000 miles later. Reach in from the driver side wheel well and see if the oil filter is on tight.

For sure. Which is why I wanted to see when the last time he changed the oil. 4000 is definitely too many miles for an improperly seated filter to show signs.

 

[sawguy]

I'm dropping the skids tomorrow, supposed to have 50 deg day before snowstorm. I'll post what I find. I'm hoping for a loose filter. Do rear and front main seals blow out or just seep and drip?

 

[LittleCaesar]

If it a 22 year old seal, it could have given up the ghost. But it could be the oil cooler orings, oil pan FIPG, etc.

If the filter was improperly put on or not tightened, the problem would have made itself known long before now.

 

[kolelt]

Make sure who ever changed the oil didn’t double o ring the oil filter. In other words. When they removed the old one. The old oil filter seal didn’t stay to the block. If so. That could be a bad thing. Also check your oil drain plug.

 

[pluton]

I agree with the others so far.
First suspect: Oil filter. Happened to me with a bad K&N oil filter a few years ago
Oil cooler...maybe.
Front and rear main seals can spring leaks, but usually they start slow...just a few drops.
[Edited to eliminate bad info.]

 

[sawguy]

Make sure who ever changed the oil didn’t double o ring the oil filter. In other words. When they removed the old one. The old oil filter seal didn’t stay to the block. If so. That could be a bad thing. Also check your oil drain plug.

I change my own and the old o ring was not on the flange. I didn't realize there were oil cooler lines. This gives me more hope.

 

[thecole1098]

Those rubber lines contain coolant, not oil. If it was leaking oil in that area it would be the oil cooler o ring where it attaches to the block or the o ring for the union bolt.

 

[BamaDrewski]

I would look at your oil cooler lines! As these trucks age, those lines are often overlooked. It is fairly easy to see/check if you look through the driver's side front wheel well. It is on the driver's side of the engine. I changed my lines and the oil cooler gasket a year or so ago. It is a PITA but worth it for preventative maintenance.

 

[sawguy]

I didn't get the skids off today but had a sec to shine a light in the engine compartment. Above the crank pulley was oil soaked but it looked as if it came from behind the timing belt cover and ran down. Maybe tomorrow.

 

[thegipper]

Could be the front main seal (whats behind the crank pulley) or one (or both) of the cam seals.

I'd pull the top plastic timing belt cover and see what's going on.

 

[pluton]

Those rubber lines contain coolant, not oil. If it was leaking oil in that area it would be the oil cooler o ring where it attaches to the block or the o ring for the union bolt.

This is correct. I'll change my post to make that clear.