xhifer

I have a leak that I cannot seem to figure out on my 98 z28 a4. The whole bottom of the oil pan/transmission and random areas of the motor WAS filled with gunky oil when I first bought the car. I cleaned it up with brake cleaner and drove it for over 100 miles and I only see oil coming from one specific spot. Is there suppose to be oil within that one bolt? The bolt with oil on it and the bolt on the right side are both stripped and I cannot tighten them. I get about 10-15 drips over night.

The seal between the tranny and motor is not leaking, it comes from the bolt and slides to the middle.


Does this look like a oil leak I should be concerned about? Do I need to fix it ASAP?


Here's a pic of the dried oil before I cleaned it. WHERE the F is it coming from? Oil pan gasket f'd up?? It doesn't seem to leak anymore after I cleaned it all off..




Thanks

wrencher

iTrader: (2)

Your stripped bolts are the 'long' oil pan bolts.
So yes that can be the cause of your leak.

xhifer

Cool. Best way to fix that? It's kind of weird how there's oil everywhere though even though it just drips some oil overnight.

sjsingle1

iTrader: (1)

mine does the same.......except even worse........could be rear seal.......rear cover gasket........oil pan gasket.....OPSU......valley cover gasket.......whew........could be ANY freakin thing......i will be dropping my motor and replacing EVERY freakin gasket soon

xhifer

Yes it sucks! Let me know when you figure it out! I'll let you know if I find out before you.

flippincamaro

iTrader: (23)

mine was rear main seal,

xhifer

Did yours make a mess like in the pics ?

WKF

iTrader: (1)

Mine was doing the exact samething it looks like. I looked everywhere for the leak. A few weeks later while changing out my intake I saw that the angle sensor behind the intake next to the oil pressure sensor had a bad o-ring on it (halfway down the shaft) and wasn't sealing. The oil had been running down the back of the block over & around the Trans..... down the oil filter.... you get the picture. It was never leaking anymore than roughly what you describe. Ever since I pulled that sensor, changed the O-ring on it & bolted it back down to spec, the leak is gone. I swore up & down that it was going to be a rear main or something.

xhifer

Good info. I'm going to take off my intake manifold and check it all out.

trey1010

iTrader: (3)

Be careful with those two bolts they aren't supposed to be tightened very much or they will break! ( ask me how i know) I thought my rear main was leaking when it was dripping from the same spot and I replaced it. Ended up being my oil pressure sending unit.

xhifer

Yea. The previous owner defintely broke or stripped those bolts already. Well, I reached behind the intake manifold and found the PVC tube cut completely in half. Looks like a rat nibbled on it. Or the PCV valve got stuck and blew up the tube? I guess that's where the oil came from and scattered everywhere. So the pcv lines do contain oil right? Lol

samson_420

iTrader: (1)

Hopefully it's a easy enough fix. But, as mentioned above just about can and does leak.