I found an oil puddle under my car ... not on the ground, but the plastic shield under the car's front lip is catching it. I traced it back to the area under the coil packs. Please bear with me I don't know what all these parts are called, but there's fresh oil under coil pack #1 & #2 (LtoR) and also under a brass cylinder type thing. Here are two pics (they're huge, so I'll post a link instead of making this thread giant). Do you guys think this could be why I'm 1-2 qts low between changes?
http://i.b5z.net/i/u/1530927/i/IMG_0544.JPG
http://i.b5z.net/i/u/1530927/i/IMG_0543.JPG

 

 

OK I'll bite... what do you suspect the problem is?

 

valve cover and seals

http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...overs-pic.html

 

do you do your own oil changes? i found some oil on top of my front valve cover, but it was all from accidentally missing the oil fill

 

Thanks Storm. I'll do a maxima.org search on valve cover & seals. Sounds like I'll have to get my credit card out too.

 

No, I don't. I'm adding 1-2 qts between the 3000 mile oil change that my garage does. The oil that I found at the bottom of the car is fresh.

 

i gave you a link as well

 

Sorry, I just found that a moment ago - and I posted a reply on that thread. my bad.

 

x2

On top, like that, would be the culprit.

 

Probably still the reason, they (garage) aren't as clean as they need to be.

 

Is this oil leak, constant?

Is it leaving a puddle wherever you park?

 

The oil leak is constant, yes. I've been adding 1-2 qts between changes for months now.

 

And you really can't tell a area that it is coming from on the motor? Not just the coil packs.

 

Correct. I know very little about this stuff and I'm just trying to educate myself. I'm sorry if I'm frustrating anyone, but this is so new to me. I loaned my Haynes manual to a friend. Gonna get it back and see what's involved. I wouldn't expect you to believe that what I've showed you proves there's an oil leak there... but its the first time I've ever found any evidence whatsoever of a potential external leak.

 

I cleaned around the coil packs and I'll keep an eye on this. If there is in fact a leak, I'll see fresh oil there. Maybe my mechanic did simply spill some.

 

Spark plug tube seals. My in-laws needed this done not too long ago. Had to buy a valve cover assembly.