Oil leak at Rear of Engine

[mr_maxime]

I cleaned the rear of my engine so that I could try to find where the mess was coming from. I took several pictures and uploaded them to imgur. Only 2 sources I know are the O-ring under the AC idler and the front crankshaft seal, but neither of them seem likely considering what appears to be a random assortment of oily spots.

https://imgur.com/a/3uimI

[sdg3205]

that O-ring under the LH idler pulley can be fussy. Some RTV can help.

I fought a particularly offensive oil leak that originated from the oil gauge pressure sender. It took quite a bit of work to stop that leak, but a little oil + wind = oil everywhere. My rear main seal still leaks a tiny bit but otherwise some teflon tape on both the adapter nut and pressure sender solved the oil leak in that location.

[bfloyd]

Be extremely careful when putting that cover back on behind the idler pulley. The threads in the timing chain cover can strip out very easily if you get too carried away with a wrench. Ask my how I know.

[mr_maxime]

Checked again today. Same locations wet, but area under the cover was fairly dry. Oil pressure sender and sensor are both pretty dry. I figured if the front crankshaft seal was leaking, there would be more oil under the pulley like when it was leaking earlier this year.

20161124_140014_zpstcgivdad.jpg

It has to be getting on the belt from somewhere though case there's a steam of oil splatter in line with the belt at every pulley. Oil level is still good, but the damn splatter everywhere is driving me crazy.

[David T]

The common sources are the oil pressure sender light on the rear/left side, the cam cover "O" ring, and the timing cover crank seal. Make sure the oil level is not above the full mark in the morning BEFORE you start the motor. If you use the wrong filter it may not seal well and leak also. The pressure sender by the oil filter can also leak. The drain plug can leak too if the threads get damaged or you don't use a new seal.

[mr_maxime]

I replaced the o-ring under the cover. Oil was still leaking though and after a lot of wiping every trace of oil, running until it got warm, I finally think I got the damn source