Oil Leak, but from where?

[Jon_Purdy]

Hello everyone. A crappy day got worse after I got home and saw an oil leak. I changed the oil last Sunday. I'm ashamed to admit that it was a quart low. The filter and drain plug are secure so where could the leak be coming from? What should I be looking at and in what order?

Thanks in advance.

 

[LikeabossTM]

Hello everyone. A crappy day got worse after I got home and saw an oil leak. I changed the oil last Sunday. I'm ashamed to admit that it was a quart low. The filter and drain plug are secure so where could the leak be coming from? What should I be looking at and in what order?

Thanks in advance.

Did it leak before you changed the oil? Are you sure that you removed the old filter gasket along with the filter? It could be leaking there if it's double-gasketed by mistake.

 

[stkjock]

get under it and look to see where it seems to be from? could give the community an idea of where to suggest

 

[Jon_Purdy]

It appears to be mostly on the left side of the oil pan. Also, it only appears to leak if the engine is running.

 

[rocky61201]

Hard to say without a more detailed description or pics, but FWIW I just replaced the gasket that goes between the oil filter adapter block and the engine block. If you need to replace make sure you use a ford gasket and don't over torque the bolts. Even if you drain the radiator first it won't matter, get ready for a nice bath of coolant when you change it.

 

[retfr8flyr]

I think likeaboss nailed it, the most likely cause is the old gasket stayed in the filter housing and you installed the new one on top of it. If it didn't leak before you changed the oil this should be the problem.

 

[1950StangJump$]

If the old filter gasket was left on, and the new filter went on with another gasket, it would be more than dripping . . . it would lose quarts of oil in very little time.

At least that was my experience when I changed the oil the first time on my wife's brand new Jeep Cherokee a few years back. Oil spewed everywhere. Lost 2.5 quarts in about 20 seconds,

 

[RocketcarX]

If the old filter gasket was left on, and the new filter went on with another gasket, it would be more than dripping . . . it would lose quarts of oil in very little time.

At least that was my experience when I changed the oil the first time on my wife's brand new Jeep Cherokee a few years back. Oil spewed everywhere. Lost 2.5 quarts in about 20 seconds,

Not always, the threads are fine so its easy to get the filter super tight. I vote for double gasket

 

[Iceman62]

OP; Get under there and take some pics...post them so we have a visual. Otherwise it's anyone's guess...

 

[nawagner]

If the old filter gasket was left on, and the new filter went on with another gasket, it would be more than dripping . . . it would lose quarts of oil in very little time.

At least that was my experience when I changed the oil the first time on my wife's brand new Jeep Cherokee a few years back. Oil spewed everywhere. Lost 2.5 quarts in about 20 seconds,

That is the same thing that happened to me on my 2001 Mustang because... See below. Ohh, and ever since that time I always, always check before installing the new filter.

Not always, the threads are fine so its easy to get the filter super tight. I vote for double gasket

Also agree with this. I don't wrench the filter on as tight as it will go. I hand tighten then half a turn more with a filter wrench. It only needs to be tight enough not to leak, not to hold the engine in the car!

 

[Jon_Purdy]

This big dummy didn't tighten the filter enough. Here I was trying to be careful and not over-tighten it and I ended up not tightening it enough.

 

[stkjock]

well at least it was a simple fix

 

[nawagner]

And it was tight enough to not dump it all at once!

 

[Iceman62]

Glad it was an easy fix...PO had my Bullitt serviced before I picked it up, drove 400-miles fm MN to NE & noticed drips on the garage floor/filter. Servicing Ford dealer didn't tighten enough...glad she didn't let loose on ride home/interstate. Let my guard down for a sec b/c I was mesmerized by my new-to-me toy...never again.