I thought everything was fine and dandy but a week ago or so, I noticed small oil puddles in my garage. I was soooo nervous that it was the oil drain back hose (that would be a pain in the a. to get to!). I looked from above and looked/felt around under the charger, nothing. So I drove 'mod max' up on to ramps to look under him. Well, it appears it is coming from the two bolts that you remove from the oil pan and replace with longer bolts (to hold the oil feed line). The heads were full of oil and I saw oil nowhere else. When I wiped the oil away and checked a few days later, same thing. Now that I think of it, I didn't put any thread sealant of any kind on those two bolts. So, my questions are:

Do you agree with me that the source of the leak is from the two oil pan bolts?

Has this happened to anyone else?

What do I do to remedy the oil leak? Is it just a matter of removing the bolts and applying thread sealant as I put them back in?

Can I pull those bolts out now or do I need to wait until my next oil change? (When the oil is drained first)


Thanks a million guys.

 

You will get less of a mess if you fix it with no oil in the engine. Just my suggestion.

 

I doubt its coming from those bolts, they don't require sealant. It may be the lower oil pan needs to be resealed. It's not a big deal, there's no gasket just sealant. When I installed my charger I had a leak prob with the T fitting for the oil press line. It was getting oil on everything. You should check that first, just follow the oil trail and se if it leads to the T-fitting or the oil press sending unit.

Hope this helps.

-Jeff

 

I highly doubt it is coming from their either. I would examine a little more closely. And remedy the situation ASAP... (I should be one to talk :/ ) Oil Pressure sending unit itself is known to go bad. So maybe after you tampered with it taking it out, it has crapped on you. Replace it, 5 dollar part, and troubleshoot.

 

Hey ptato,

I had a similar oil leak problem just after the installation of the SC. My check oil warning light went off, did yours? Anyway, I found out later that the source of the oil leak was a clamp that was overtighten on the oil return line(I think that's what it's call, the black hose, not the ss braided one)which caused the clamp to cut into the hose creating a leak. I had oil residue all over the SC side of the engine bay. So I would check out your hoses and see if any of the clamps are overtighten.

 

I had a similar problem with my early production V1 kit but I think that this problem has been fixed. If the nipple on the oil return plate is the same size as that on the SC, it won't leak from here.

Every so often I get a small leak from the oil supply line under the car. This is the braided line that feeds oil to the SC. It's leaking now as a matter of fact...I just haven't gotten around to tightening that coupling yet.

Jim

 

Wow, you guys seem to be in unanimous agreement that it isn't the two oil pan bolts. I don't know what to say. I really thought I studied the situation well. I used a clean, white cloth and went everywhere around the two bolts and got nothing. Like I said the bolts had oil 'pooled' up on their heads. So you guys really think it's from somewhere else, huh? And it's just flowing to the bolts and collecting on them? They are a low point so it's possible. I just didn't see any other place where it could be coming from. No cuma, I haven't gotten any warning lights. I also am pretty sure it is not from the drainback hose. There is no oil on the side of the engine near the belts. It is solely from below. Well, I guess I'll have to look one more time per your guys advice. Thanks for answering everyone.

 

O.k., I think you guys are right. I also noticed some oil on the oil pressure sending unit. Not a lot but, when you pull back the rubber boot, there is oil in there. Is this not normal? I don't see any from the actual "T" connection. I wrapped white paper around things for a day and only the area around the sending unit/oil filter leaked any oil on to the paper. It must have been running down to the bolts and collecting because they didn't get any oil that day (due to the paper blocking the flow). I guess. ? So Del, are you saying to replace the sending unit? Is it really only $5? Can I do it now or do I need to wait for the oil to be drained? Do I need to purchase from a dealer? This is really pi$$ing me off...

Thanks again guys.


Also guys, please visit this thread, I need even more help now.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?threadid=105679

 

Dude

If you have a tough time finding the oil leak origin, get some oil leak detection dye and put it in your oil. There's some made by Procraft. Unfortunately, you need a black light to see it. It shows up as bright orange and you can see the leak immediately... just a suggestion if you really can't find the origin.

Nigel