Ok. I hope people respond to this b/c this is starting to become a nerve racking problem. Allright then, here we go. Pretty much ever since i've owned the car, going on 3 years, i've had a small oil leak from some unknown spot. The place where I get my oil changed has always said it was a small leak from the rear main seal. My mechanic said it wasnt and i brushed it off. NOW, we come to about 3 months ago and (I always put newspaper undercar to see what appears in the morning) and low and behold there are TWO different locations of an oil leak. One i've located and its a SMALL slow leak that only shows its form in a sludgy solid on the paper. I look above the leak and see a small drip coming from a black "apparatus" i suppose . It is located like right after the header pipe, i suppose, when you're going towards the back of the car ( right before the trans pan i believe). The BIGGER leak is found at the front of the paper and has been fresh everyday for the past month or so. It isnt a huge amount but its starting to worry me that there is always something new when I pull out in the morning. I'm thinking that this leak may be coming from the front intake b/c I know i have a leak there. My question is how is oil leaking when the car is off overnight and producing a new puddle everyday (I check my oil almost everyday and its usually pretty full so i'm at a loss). Ok, thats enough about the oil leak. Next up: about 2 weeks ago i changed out the plugs on my car b/c i had a compression test run (which came back w/ excellent results). Pretty much ever since then, my idle has gotten really crappy and the car seems to be alittle sluggish. Now, i may not have noticed the rough idle before this but it has gotten quite noticeable when i'm sitting at a light and I dont know what could have brought this about. Please anyone give me advice and feel free to ask anymore questions if you want. I need help so someone hook me up, so thanx in advance.

 

The only thing about trying to find a leak that way, is that sometimes the "stream" of oil running down whatever splits, so that one leak can make two puddles. To fully remove the rear main seal from your list of suspects, you can remove the flywheel cover and do your best to wipe the surfaces up to it clean and even dust it with something like talc to help visibility. Then look at it later. Another big culprit is the rear of the valve covers; especially if you have cork gaskets (though some people swear by cork over rubber any day). So be sure to check those out. Sometimes it can just be a loose oil filter or a little chunk of something stuck between the seal and the block. Make sure that's clean when you screw on a new oil filter. Check the oil pressure switch and gauge sender for leaks as well. And look around on top of the intake, particularly around the bolt heads.

 

I looked at the intake bolts last night and the one in the front were definately leaking but i also saw some greenish liquid sitting near the bolts too...antifreeze maybe

 

Come on, i know you people out there know more than what just the one post told me. Some one has to have more advice on this...

 

Yeah, that greenish liquid is antifreeze. Is it coming out of the thermostat housing? Mygasket is leaking right there too, but it's enough to justify having to drain/replace the anitifreeze again (just installed a new radiator).