oil leak

[juppalgae]

hello,

there is a few drops of oil leaking from the middle/ front of the car. any idea where it's leaking from? could it be from where the drain plugs are?

thanks

[Roadkill]

Be aware that in order to allow us to help you, we need to know what year and what engine you have.

[juppalgae]

2002 3.0

[JCL]

And aaa (your location) means .....?

Can you tell what type of oil it is? Engine oil will be dark, transmission fluid (which is used in the automatic transmission and the power steering system) may be red, and will be a lighter oil.

If you have had the car serviced recently, it is common that oil from the drain plug can pool above the belly pan, and result in drips over the next little while.

If none of that helps, try putting a clean sheet of newspaper under the vehicle overnight, so that you can see precisely where it is coming from the next morning.

[motordavid]

And, did you have or do, a recent oil change? Often some drain oil collects up under, on the horizontal covers, and drips for days after the oil change.
If no recent oil change and the drain plug is not leaking, try step A, as posted above...

[juppalgae]

my mechanic says the engine oil pan needs to be replaced... there is a leak from where the drain plug is.

what is the part number for the engine oil pan?

[JCL]

Do you trust your mechanic?

Does it require an oil pan, or a new drain plug with an insert to correct any thread damage?

Who had the oil plug out most recently? You, your mechanic, or a different mechanic?

[bfrederick521]

I have the same problem! Thought it was the oil drain plug also, dropped the belly pan gave everything under there a good cleaning and watched and watched. THought it might have been the crush washer on the drain plug when I changed the oil last so I had one in the tool box and replaced that as well. NO Oil! After a few days I check again and the oil pan itself seems ok and the belly pan is still oily or light residue but not nearly like before an the drain plug is clean and dry.

Dropped the plastic tray in the front! Ah, right where the compressor bolts up there is a tab on the oil pan gasket! Seems to have a drop of oil there. My indy seems to think it is the oil pan gasket. If you don't let them at your drain plug with a pneumatic tool at the quickie lube and torque it should not be the plug or the pan. Probably the gasket.

Mine is an 8.02 3.0i

[juppalgae]

yeah i trust my mechanic.

he showed me that there was a thread damage inside of the oil pan. is replacing the entire pan the only option here?

[JCL]

Originally Posted by juppalgae

yeah i trust my mechanic.

he showed me that there was a thread damage inside of the oil pan. is replacing the entire pan the only option here?

If your mechanic is the one who has been changing the oil, and the threads for the oil drain plug are damaged, it sounds like that mechanic you trust could have some responsibility for the repair. Threads get damaged by crossthreading, and by over torquing the plug.

And you don't necessarily need a new oil pan, there are thread inserts that can be used to repair the threads in many cases.