Anybody have a pic of the backside of an M62 (4.4i) motor?

[footsurg]

I have a persistant but very slow oil leak coming from the back of my 2002 4.4i motor. I checked and torqued all the bolts on both valve covers and can verify that the slow leak is not coming from the valve cover seals. The oil drips are travelling down the metal tube that comes down from the back of the motor and bolts onto the side of the oil pan. The drips end up on the engine side of the stainless steel stiffening plate. The leak is NOT coming from the oil pan itself. I can actually see the drips running down that metal tube that comes from somewhere on the back of the motor and physically bolts onto the side of the oil pan. There is an insulating heat shield around this metal tube as it passes next to the exhaust on its way down to bolting onto the oil pan. This oil leak is most likely coming from wherever this metal tube originates on the backside of the motor. Problem is I cannot see back there to see where this tube originates. If anyone has any ideas I would love to hear them. If anyone has a picture of an M62 4.4i motor that has been pulled and shows the backside of the engine, that would be GREATLY appreciated. Or even better an M62 engine diagram would be excellent. I have searched the web top to bottom and can find no pics or diagrams showing the backside of this motor.

[ncx]

Don't have a rear-view pic, sorry. Have you checked the oil separator lines? That is a very common source of leaks that run down the rear of the motor. Good luck finding the leak.

[alpac]

Originally Posted by ncx

Don't have a rear-view pic, sorry. Have you checked the oil separator lines? That is a very common source of leaks that run down the rear of the motor. Good luck finding the leak.

NCX is right on. If you already checked your valve covers seals, which is a common source of leakage for the 4.4, then chances are that this leak is coming from the oil separator lines.

[footsurg]

NCX.....thanks a lot for posting that picture if the oil seperator lines. Alpac.....thanks for your input as well. If the oil seperator lines (which I am assuming are the hoses with the arrows pointing to them in the pic) are indeed the source of the leak, how do I get to them to fix the leak? Does it usually take replacing the lines? Or can you just tighten them up? Do you use a mirror and some acrobatic wrist action to do this? Any input on the procedure to fix this would be greatly appreciated!

[ncx]

Assuming that we are focused on the right problem...

Tightening the hoses won't work, they need to be replaced. The hot oil mist moist over time ruins the hoses and they split. The parts are cheap but it takes a little while. (Real OEM link)

See the split below - this is from a 4.4 but is common place of failure. Obviously you should also check the clamps too while you are back there.



With the engine cover off you will see the vent hoses near the rear. You should be able to get some light back there and quickly determine if one of them has failed. It's a hard spot to work in but not a tremendously difficult DIY. Good luck.

[footsurg]

Originally Posted by ncx

Assuming that we are focused on the right problem...

Tightening the hoses won't work, they need to be replaced. The hot oil mist moist over time ruins the hoses and they split. The parts are cheap but it takes a little while. (Real OEM link)

See the split below - this is from a 4.4 but is common place of failure. Obviously you should also check the clamps too while you are back there.



With the engine cover off you will see the vent hoses near the rear. You should be able to get some light back there and quickly determine if one of them has failed. It's a hard spot to work in but not a tremendously difficult DIY. Good luck.

Wow! You don't know how much that diagram on RealOEM helped. Where I am seeing the oil dripping is on #14 which is the oil return pipe. The oil is running down the side of the oil return pipe and ending up on the back side of the stiffening plate. Is it usually just the vent hoses that need replacing? And if it is leaking oil from the vent hoses where do you usually end up seeing the leaked oil accumulate? Since I am seeing my oil running down the oil return pipe, it seems like my leak might be at the oil return hoses which are #9 and #12 on the RealOEM diagram. Have ou ever seen or heard of the leak being because of the oil return hoses? Or is it generally the Vent hoses that leak?

[ncx]

Originally Posted by footsurg

Wow! You don't know how much that diagram on RealOEM helped. Where I am seeing the oil dripping is on #14 which is the oil return pipe. The oil is running down the side of the oil return pipe and ending up on the back side of the stiffening plate. Is it usually just the vent hoses that need replacing? And if it is leaking oil from the vent hoses where do you usually end up seeing the leaked oil accumulate? Since I am seeing my oil running down the oil return pipe, it seems like my leak might be at the oil return hoses which are #9 and #12 on the RealOEM diagram. Have ou ever seen or heard of the leak being because of the oil return hoses? Or is it generally the Vent hoses that leak?

There are quite a few threads on here about leaks on the vent hoses and the separator itself. Not sure about the return hoses but they don't look too hard to replace. I'd say 75% of the complaints on here were vent hoses. In my case the oil didn't accumulate much up top, it ran down various places and the moving air spread it around making it hard to pinpoint the source.

[footsurg]

NCX......thanks again for the assistance. Between that diagram and your pictures I am 100% sure that I will be able to track down my leak and fix it. At least its not my valve cover gasket or head gasket. Whichever hose it is, I am sure fixing it will be a LOT easier than any head or valve cover gasket job! After looking at the construction of the oil seperator and vent hoses, if either one of the vent hoses were leaking, it seems that oil would run straight down onto oil return hose #9 which would funnel it straight down the oil return pipe #14, which would replicate the leak that I am experiencing exactly. So I bet it is just one or both of those vent hoses. Tonight I will pull the cover, get back there with a bright light and see whats up. If I see any oil accumulation around where those vent hoses clamp to the oil seperator, then I will simply replace both hoses and 4 clamps. Again....I thank you for your time. I think it really helped. I will take pictures and let you know what the problem is when I find it.

[ncx]

Glad to help.
Definitely let us know what you find out. Whatever you find will be helpful to the next guy who runs into this same issue. Good luck!