Noticed leak on garage floor...
 

It's on the passenger side, inset of the wheelwell. Wonder where it could be coming from.

engine oil or tranny oil?

could be oil pressure sensor (if engine oil)

and axle seal (if tranny oil)

When my water pump went out I had an antifreeze leak coming from about that spot, and I don't think a broken water pump is too rare.

Call me unedumacated, but how do I spot the difference between the two? Not sure what color trans oil on a Maxima is like. The oil I see is really dark. I just changed (synth) engine oil less than 1k miles ago, but could possibly still become dark due to the cleaning agents clearing the gunk in the internals.

Windshield Washer Fluid :D

I would be that lucky!

Power Steering Fluid?

could be power steering resivor return hose, I just replaced mine.

You pretty much need to find out what kind of fluid it is before you can try fixing it. Where precisely is the leak dripping from? A good way to see if it's engine oil is to drain it to see what it looks like. If it is the same consistency and color, then it's engine oil. Another option is to get a black light and some florescent engine oil dye at the parts store and put that in. If the drips glow under the light then it's engine oil. However I have an engine oil leak in about the same area that I'm almost certain is the rear timing chain o rings, and I changed my oil over 1000 miles ago; it's still pretty clean, so I wouldn't think yours would get very dirty in the short time you mentioned unless your engine was filthy.

Oil Leak
 

Dan1l and all the Maxima owners out there,

The oil leak described by Dan1L is pretty common in Maximas when they reach the 100,000 Miles and over. I have a Maxima GLE 1998. What you will notice is that you have oil coming from all over in the engine compartment. This is a serious problem not just becase you have oil all over but because that oil will ruin the bushings on the transverse link; very important part in your front suspension. If that is the case the damage is more significant $$$$$. This already happened to my Maxima. It is something you can do yourself but its time consuming and requires some skills. In adittion the car needs to be safely jacked all the way up so you can easily access the areas under the engine.
Because it already happened to my car my hones advise is to take your car to a mechanic you trust. Not the dealer they will charge an arm and a leg. The good news is you dont have to remove the TCC (timing chain cover). This is what I'd have your mechanic do:
1- Valve cover gasket
2- Oils switch
3- Oil pan gasket
4- Aluminium Oil Pan Gasket (This is where the oil leak is coming from. This is particularly sensitive procedure cause it is aluminium and and has many bolts. it has to be disasembled following a particular pattern. It has to be left overnight in some sort od solution to remove all the pieces of the old gasket. You cannot scrape it; remember it is aluminium. In other words it is a very involved task.)
5- In adittion to the gaskests it is highly recomended to replace the the front and rear seals. Very likely your engine leak is coming from one of these as well.
6- While you disasemble all that you may want to replace the knock sensor and the spark plugs. Might as well do it there so you dont have to pay extra for that job alone.

Here is another tip, dont take your car to the dealer becausue they will charge you for each and every separate job....It will be a fortune. If you take your car to a good knowlegable honest mechanic he will tell you that beacause he will have to pull the lower aluminium oil pan most of the seals and gaskets have to be replace anyways. the whole repair should not be more than 10 hours. I want this advise to be usefull for all of you out there so The Nissan Dealer wont take advantage of the loyal Maxima owners. Lastly for those of you in the Westminister, CA area I can recomend the guy who fixed My maxima for me. Very knowledgable and honest; he only kept the car for two days so he made sure there were not any oil leaks after replacing all the parts I mentioned above. You can contact him at 714-799-3010 Mike's repairs.

Good luck and I hope my information helps.

Nissandro

You could smell it on your hand and dab a little on some white paper. That should give you a more accurate indicator. The dealer can put IR dye into a reservoir and trace with a black light.

have same problem but mine is because of my gaskets.

Engine, rear seal. Dark oil (on the black side).

My service tech. at www.zwhizz.com has been telling me this for months.
The garage floor and the wife keep reminding me too. I can smell it after hard driving :D

Unfortunately this is supposed to cost plenty to repair (as in hundreds).
I've been saving up and have considered combining the repair with
a knock sensor and coolant temp replacement. I'm not an expert, just sharing.

New development (related?)
 

Not sure what's happening, but when running, there's a loud-ish, hollow sound coming from the belt area. It's close the leak origin, but I wonder if it's either the water pump, or a pulley bearing mugging up due to some exposure to heavy rains and flooded roads here in NorCal

That noise could be an A/C bearing going out. I have that same sound.

Also, for your leak. If it is a smaller leak(one that is not just dumping oil out), there is actually a second plug for oil. Yeah, weird, im not sure what its for, but i had oil leaking from there and replaced ALL but my rear main seal only to find out it was this little plug.

To find it: Look at your crank shaft pulley, and follow the smaller belt(not the one going to your A/C) to your power stearing pump. Its in this area. Look just to the lower right of your power stearing pump pulley, there should be a gap where you can see further into the engine bay(maybe 2-3in further, not far). Reach your fingers into this gap, and feel for a screw. Its on the back side of the timing chain case. You should be able to get in a posistion to see it, but it may be difficult. If you decide to pull the plug out, you WILL loose some oil, but not much. Just top it back off with your favorit oil after sealing the plug with silicone or the like.

Hope that helps man, if you need pics, shoot me a PM and ill post one.

Thanks for the advice, man. Regarding the A/C bearing -- I take it that this runs constantly even with A/C off because it's driven by the belt, right? I do not have the A/C on but the sound is coarse and hollow.

Guys,

If the leak is on the passenger side inset of the wheel, it's on the opposite side of the engine from the rear seal. Rear main leak is very rare from all I've read and heard.

I would check very carefully before you pay a mechanic to replace the rear main. You will be super ticked if it still leaks after you drop $1000 on a job where the parts cost less than $50.

I will be ticked if that turns out to be the cause of my leak. I am in the middle of changing the 2 o rings on the back of the timing chain cover along with the guide and tensioner for the chain. It’s a big production. If it still leaks after I am finished I’ll look at that plug. I think I know the one you are talking about and mine is covered in oil, but that could just be because of the o rings.

Are you talking about the bolt in the bottom right part of the red circle on NISSANMAXIMA91's picture at http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...ain-cover.html ?


Does anyone have a clue what that “plug” is for?

i noticed i have this exact same leak this morning. but as far as i can tell its coolant. i just had both front cv axles replaced, but now i have this leak. if anyone has any ideas i d be thankful. i just pray its not headgasket. thanks in advance

sure its not atf from a bad axle seal? Seems likely due to recent cv replacements

Yeah I have a manual. And he forgot to replace the seal on the drivers side so I had that one replaced. This liquid looks different and its from a different spot on the other side of the car. the radiator is still full at least