Leaking oil out of the left side of my Engine???

[Luvtohunt]

Just started leaking oil out of the left hand side of my engine (opposite side of the oil filter) Its an 88 with the the straight six engine. Its a bad leak, doesn't appear to be coming from the valve cover or oil pan. Any idea? Would really appreciate any help.

 

Thank you.

[Luvtohunt]

Anyone? Any idea at all?

[Akula69]

Little more info is needed:

 

Firstly, is it still running, and if so is it running fairly normal (i.e. - no rods thru the side of the block).

 

Secondly, can you see any joint or seam it might be coming from. You say not the valve cover or oil pan, but could it be streaming back down the side of the engine from the front main seal? Could it be leaking from the head gasket? Is there coolant in the oil?

 

Third, you indicate it's a bad leak. How bad is "bad"...a stream that flows or just drips?

[pingpong]

I was thinking that it might be a bad valve seal leaking out from in between the head and intake :dunno: Not many p[laces for oil to leak on the left side

[BLHTAZ]

I was thinking that it might be a bad valve seal leaking out from in between the head and intake :dunno: Not many p[laces for oil to leak on the left side

My thought too. There is just nothing on that side of the engine that could produce a significant leak other than that, the head gasket or a hole in the block.

[Luvtohunt]

Little more info is needed:

 

Firstly, is it still running, and if so is it running fairly normal (i.e. - no rods thru the side of the block).

 

Secondly, can you see any joint or seam it might be coming from. You say not the valve cover or oil pan, but could it be streaming back down the side of the engine from the front main seal? Could it be leaking from the head gasket? Is there coolant in the oil?

 

Third, you indicate it's a bad leak. How bad is "bad"...a stream that flows or just drips?

 

Its dripping, but quite a bit, it seems to be running fine.

 

Now I'm worried, when I hear "hole in the block"...

[Akula69]

Little more info is needed:

 

Firstly, is it still running, and if so is it running fairly normal (i.e. - no rods thru the side of the block).

 

Secondly, can you see any joint or seam it might be coming from. You say not the valve cover or oil pan, but could it be streaming back down the side of the engine from the front main seal? Could it be leaking from the head gasket? Is there coolant in the oil?

 

Third, you indicate it's a bad leak. How bad is "bad"...a stream that flows or just drips?

 

Its dripping, but quite a bit, it seems to be running fine.

 

Now I'm worried, when I hear "hole in the block"...

 

Well, if it was a hole in the block it probably would not be running well... :eek: ;)

 

I'm starting to agree with the others - maybe a bad valve seal. I believe that can be checked with a compression test...but there may be better ways...lets let a couple of the experts here weigh in first.

[redneck23ms]

i don't think it would be a valve seal. if a valve seal was leaking that bad to be dripping out of the intake. first of all there would be a very bad vaccum leak at the intake and it would also be smoking like a freight train.

[deziped]

Maybe its blow-by. Only oil leak I'v had on left side was from oil coming out breather tube where it & hose joined together. It would drip there and collect on the shield under the injectors & then eventually run down the side of manifold & engine. But that was good cause it meant less got blown all the way back to the air filter. :D

[Randy in Maine]

Clean and dry that area so clean you could eat off it.

 

If the oil is "dirty" even better.

 

Then start it up and watch closely with a paper towel and a good flashlight. I would bet money it is the VC gasket.

[Luvtohunt]

Clean and dry that area so clean you could eat off it.

 

If the oil is "dirty" even better.

 

Then start it up and watch closely with a paper towel and a good flashlight. I would bet money it is the VC gasket.

 

Is there a picture of this? I'm not the most astute at this. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thanks again.

[aemsee]

 

Its dripping, but quite a bit, it seems to be running fine.

 

Now I'm worried, when I hear "hole in the block"...

 

 

Where is the drip coming from? Can you see it drip off the engine, or are you just seeing it on the ground on the left side? If the CCV hole is plugged, the engine will push oil out the air inlet tube and it will drip out of the bottom of the air filter housing.

[Luvtohunt]

 

Its dripping, but quite a bit, it seems to be running fine.

 

Now I'm worried, when I hear "hole in the block"...

 

 

Where is the drip coming from? Can you see it drip off the engine, or are you just seeing it on the ground on the left side? If the CCV hole is plugged, the engine will push oil out the air inlet tube and it will drip out of the bottom of the air filter housing.

 

Hi,

I only see it on the ground, I can't tell where is coming from, it is dripping on the left side of the engine, but, I can't see any place on the engine where it is dripping from. What and where is the CCV hole?

 

Thank you very much for your help.

[Luvtohunt]

 

Its dripping, but quite a bit, it seems to be running fine.

 

Now I'm worried, when I hear "hole in the block"...

 

 

Where is the drip coming from? Can you see it drip off the engine, or are you just seeing it on the ground on the left side? If the CCV hole is plugged, the engine will push oil out the air inlet tube and it will drip out of the bottom of the air filter housing.

 

 

Think you are right, my air filter is full of oil. Any idea how to fix this?

[Akula69]

On the back end of the valve cover (closested to firewall) there is a small fitting on the cover with a line line going to the Air box - that is the crankcase breather - it's probably clogged and needs to be cleaned out.

[BLHTAZ]

I replied in your new thread with pictures about cleaning this system. :cheers:

[mcvader]

Hi, new here. I hate to bring up an old thread but I just want to confirm:

 

i don't think it would be a valve seal. if a valve seal was leaking that bad to be dripping out of the intake

 

Which intake are you talking about here? I'm having the same problem, and every single source I've researched about this yields the same answer. Clean the CCV lines, maybe 1 out of 5 incidents are issues with valve seals.