Unidentified oil leak

[Jimbob]

Well Big blue is crying black tears...

Every morning there is a roughly 10cm round pool of oil underneath that appears to have dripped off the bell housing bolts.

Cannot see where its coming from underneath
Stripped down the top end to oil cooler level,

There are what I would call grimy bits around oil filler, edges of cam covers, the odd cam bolt, Plug wells all dry
Nothing I can see that would account for the amount we are losing.

Anyone any ideas how / what to check next?
I'm REALLY hoping we are not talking rear crank seal......

[Jimbob]

I put my finger through the bung. Again seemed grimy not oily
Oil cooler bits all seemed fine

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

half moon at the rear of camcover sprung a leak ? 

[Jimbob]

Half moons were what I was hoping for. But nothing seems oily enough as far as I can see or reach

Covers aren't in the best shape. But not too bad either

[Jimbob]

Had another good poke today before putting it back together.  Im convinced its not coming from the top.
I did find a coolant leak - the Aux coolant pump under the coolant tank is dripping.
I'd suggest oil filter area, managed a little nip of the oil cooler pipe and changed the oil filter and will see what happens overnight.
I think next is to degrease everything and monitor.

[TheBoy]

I've been chasing similar on MV6.

Crank seals done, upper and lower sumps resealed without gaskets, cam covers done, just can't locate it.

[Tick Tock]

Oil leaks on the V6 are part and parcel of the package, but with good maintenance can be made easier to live with.

The most obvious are cam cover seals, which are made worse by lack of cleaning of the breather system. Worst case scenario is rear crankshaft seal dripping, again possibly due to lack of maintenance. It's a major box-off jobbie to sort out.

Oil cooler failure can cause loss of oil into the cooling system - best not mention anymore about that.

Another location where engine oil can appear is the front lower area of the engine block. This can be either front crankshaft seal, or the oil pressure switch. I recently changed my cambelt, and the vee at the bottom was clean, but there is still a discernible trace of oil sitting on the front edge and dribbling down onto the plastic under engine cover. Maybe switch needs reseating.

Apart from that, can't think of any other susceptible areas.

[TheBoy]

Apart from that, can't think of any other susceptible areas.

Oil pump. Looks an arse of a job.  I'm sort of suspecting thats where mine is. But I'll definately need a grown up to help me sort that one...

[VXL V6]

Apart from that, can't think of any other susceptible areas.

Oil pump. Looks an arse of a job.  I'm sort of suspecting thats where mine is. But I'll definately need a grown up to help me sort that one...

The other source of oil on the sump lip is from weeping cam seals (usually the exhaust cams) you'll not be able to spot this easily unless your changing the cambelt and remove the metal back plate.

[TheBoy]

Apart from that, can't think of any other susceptible areas.

Oil pump. Looks an arse of a job.  I'm sort of suspecting thats where mine is. But I'll definately need a grown up to help me sort that one...

The other source of oil on the sump lip is from weeping cam seals (usually the exhaust cams) you'll not be able to spot this easily unless your changing the cambelt and remove the metal back plate.

In my case, Mr DTM has been in there more times than he probably cares to remember, seeing as HGs are service items on 1998 3.0l...

[Jimbob]

Well a few days ago I gave the bottom a good scrub with gunk to make oil trails spottable,

Well the front crank seal is certainly weeping, but not enough to cause this, Nothing else at the front appears to be an issue, and oil certainly isnt being spread backwards.
Looking up at crank sensor and oil filter, nothing weeping around there at all, same looking up at the other side.

Only oil I can see, starts about half way up the bell housing seal on both sides, seeps into bellhousing, then mainly out of the inspection hatch before dripping off the bottom bolts.
Still leaves a small puddle every stop.

[Doctor Gollum]

Rear crank seal

[Jimbob]

Rear crank seal
[/quot

Rear crank seal

That's my fear. 

Not quite sure what I can realistically do about that.

[GastronomicKleptomaniac]

How much does serek charge to change rear crank srals? Its one job I dont fancy doing on jack and stands!

[Jimbob]

How much does serek charge to change rear crank srals? Its one job I dont fancy doing on jack and stands!

Interesting thought. I'd do front and rear while at it