Ballpark advice needed based off oil leak pictures

[Renn1Mississippi]

Hey everyone. I am not looking for an over the computer total solution, but I was wondering if some of these pictures I post may stick out to explain some oil leaking issues I am experiencing.

 

I have a 2001 Boxster.  After squeezing under the car it looks like the area where the oil drain plug is located, as well as the entire drivers side (the side that has the filter housing) is dry. I gained access to the engine compartment and took these pictures where I could see oil leaking down. Please look at each and tell me what you think. I have read about a couple of these parts cracking etc..

 

 

Any insight you can give before I take it to the repair shop would be helpful. Thanks.

 

Edited April 6, 2015 by Adam Tortorella

[amegarth]

Adam

I can't tell from your pictures but a common leak is the Air Oil Separator on the passenger side.

[Renn1Mississippi]

Maybe this image will help a little more?

 

1) Number "1" is a thick hose that  connects to the intake? It has oil leaking from underneath it quite a bit

 

2) "2" is very hard to show. It is underneath the arrow. It is a hard line, feels like metal, and it looks like a lot of oil is coming from it. It is mounted directing on top of the engine below the intake connector.

 

3) Seems to be some sort of oil send or something based off my internet research

 

4) The 4th one is not in this picture but looks like the oil return tube

 

To also go along with the number "2", if you look at the back of this picture where the hydraulic reservoir cap is.  Just down and to the right of that cap there is oil leaking. From that area and the area I described in # 2, there is quite a bit of oil sitting on the top of the engine.

 

Edited April 6, 2015 by Adam Tortorella

[RFM]

It seems that the engine is "sweating" this is not uncommon, it occurs after many years of use. I would suggest to clean the engine properly in first place, this not only makes it easier to detect the leak it is much cleaner to work on it also. Two advantages in one move.

[Renn1Mississippi]

I cannot fit underneath the car for obvious reasons of it being so low to the ground, but I put my cell phone underneath with a flash and took this picture. As you can see the oil pan is dry but the transmission side is soaked.

 

I will say again that there is a good amount of oil sitting on top of the engine just under the intake tubes...so I cannot get a good picture of that without taking those apart. I am just not sure if the source is above the engine or also between the oil/transmission...

 

Any more ideas based off this pic? I do have a call in to make an appointment with the repair shop. But, if it is something I can handle myself then I would rather do so. Or I would at least like to have an idea of what I am getting myself into as far as a repair bill etc...

 

Edited April 6, 2015 by Adam Tortorella

[flyingpenguin]

Adam,

As RFM suggested a good cleaning will aid on many fronts. You or your mechanic, or anyone else for that matter, will have a hard time identifying the several leaks as the air turbulence will deposit a mist throughout the engine bay, making it difficult to trace its origin. Gravity also plays a role in spreading any escaping oil. A good engine degreaser applied from the top to a warm engine and a hose down should clean things up quite a bit. An air gun / compressed air is needed to get moisture (including dissolved oil) out of the crevices on top of the block. A second cleaning / drying may be needed after the first round to get is squeaky clean so you can start you quest for elusive oil leaks. A short, hard run should get the oil weeping and allow you to identify the leaks. Good luck.

[atom]

Thanks guys. (It's Adam. I jacked with my setting to not have Facebook...so I had to make a new name)

 

I am taking it in tomorrow. I totally understand the difficulty in identifying the culprit with oil splashed everywhere. I will update once the true cause/causes are found. Since it is not a daily driver, the mechanic will most likely take his time.

 

But I do appreciate the responses.

 

Adam

[kbrandsma]

Most likely a bad oil filler tube. Sometimes a cracked oil filler tube can be caused by a bad AOS, so you should check both!

[atom]

Update:

 

In case anyone cares, or has a similar looking issue, the problem was an oil tube under the intake. I just received a call from the mechanic that it has a long crack in it.

 

Adam

[mcmike27]

^{Adam, glad it wasn't anything too terrible.  Our 986 Boxster had a similar issue the oil filler tube after 17 became brittle and had a hairline split and it needed to be replaced.}