I have a leak on the passenger's side of the car. It seems pretty serious. Where should I start looking?

 

That's where the filter is. see if maybe an old gasket was left over after the last replacing. oil pan is on that side too. try replacing the washer on the plug or maybe the seal around the oil pan.

 

do what was recommeded above and also check your oil press sensor, its located right above the filter and maybe also causing a leak. Goodluck.

 

Other possibilities:

Rear valve cover
Front crankshaft seal

 

Thanks guys. The filter, sensor, and the valve cover don't sound to bad. Hopefully it is one of those. I will check it out when I get home.

 

what is the part number for the washer on the plug?

 

No idea. but I'm sure almost any washer from home depot would do. I would say only replace it if it's obviously worn, missing altogether, or if you see oil leaking from the plug.
According to Chilton you're supposed to replace the washer at every oil change. But I've never done it and I doubt many of the Jiffy Lube type places do either.

 

Finally someone else points this out! I had a leak that was dripping onto my passengers side control arm and leaving puddles everywhere. It looked like it was the oil pan... it wasnt.. same with the oil sending unit. Replaced both and it still leaked. It was coming up from above the axle and power steering pump. I stuck my hand behind the rear valve cover and bingo!

I changed that gasket this weekend... what a PITA! YOu have to remove the entire intake.. I went entirely blind without knowing theres 2 bolts from the manifold and EGR that are totally hidden... from start to finish it took about 3 hours.

Appartenly our stock rear valve cover leaks from where the cam journals are at... from the factory they put a little bit of silicone that heated up and turned into a hard gook which didnt seal a thing.

 

I have a leak that drips onto my control arm, too. So bad it is that I just had to replace the control arm becasue the bushing had worn due the hot oil dripping on it. I really have to get this fixed, soon. My front valve cover is leaking pretty badly so I'll just jump the gun and do the rear. While it is out I can rid the intake of any possible carbon. I also check the oil pressure switch for leakage. Any other tips/tricks/ things to watch out for when removing the intake?

 

The IM is bolted to two brackets at the rear, and to the egr tube. The easiest way to loosen the bracket bolts is with a long 12 mm closed end wrench. Once they are loose, use a short 12 mm wrench or a 1/4" drive socket and small ratchet to remove the bolts. Remove the IACV assembly before attacking the egr bolts. After all the bolts are removed, tilt the front of the IM way up and back and you can get at the coolant hose at the back of the IM near the egr tube.

 

did you replace the copper crush washer the last time you changed your oil. thoes are supposed to be changed every oil change. walk into a nissan dealership and ask for like 5 so you dont have to come back as often. i'm a tech so i get them for free. you might as well. since they are like 50 cents each. they might throw in a free drain plug

 

Great! This is really helpful. Do you think I should replace the IM gasket and the TB gasket? Or is it safe to reuse the old ones? Thank you for the info.

 

I've heard of this before but never done it. I think it's time to replace the washer so, I'll go ahead and get some of those.

 

I have a leak in power steering pump that also drips onto the control arm. I was sure my engine oil was leaking until a took a closer look. Check your PS fluid level...

 

what are the copper crush washers? I put something on that sounds like this last time I changed my oil....I was just calling it a drain plug gasket. In the past I have used flat washers.....the one that i am using now is round rather than flat...and its smaller than the flat washer.

 

i have a leak on my passenger side too, its above the filter, and its not the oil pressure switch. dam must be rear valve cover