Leaking Oil Under Front Diff/steering Rack - Help Pls.

[pixel8r]

Hi,

Just noticed this morning that the stagea is leaking oil under the front on the left hand side. Not sure where its coming from but hopefully can get some help with where to look/what to do.

I've attached some pics - hopefully someone can help.

You can see by the small spot on the pavement that its not a huge leak and I cant see any difference in fluid levels anywhere - but the fact that it covers quite a large area under the car worries me a bit.

Looking from front right across to left hand side... (excuse my cat - always trying to help)

Looking from front left across to right hand side...

Cheers.

EDIT: Incidentally I do have minor steering issues (no idea whats causing it) - dont know if its related. For example if I go over a bump when turning sometimes it will clunk a little - particularly the front left - and it can be felt through the steering wheel (also just generally on bumpy roads - which are everywhere in SA). This was the real issue I wanted to check out but in having a look I discovered the above...

Edited October 21, 2006 by pixel8r

[STAGE-A]

sorry mate, pretty much impossible to say where its coming from ... id suggest cleaning it up as best you can and get it on a hoist.

I had a similar prob, turned out to be nothing serious and was jus a leaking transmission hose .. good luck mate

[pixel8r]

I was hoping that someone could point me in the right direction. Its not coming from the engine so the only thing under that where the leak is would be either steering rack or diff - in my uneducated opinion...

just after a "what should I check?" suggestion I guess. I'm not great with mechanical stuff.

Edited October 21, 2006 by pixel8r

[fergo308]

doesn't look like diff oil from those pics. I'd expect it to be power steering or sump without getting a better look at it.

Justin...

[pixel8r]

ok, i've had a closer look all around from underneath and from what I can make out - it seems that the oil here is just spillage from when the turbo was installed (say 2-3 months ago). Could this be possible? I couldn't see anything else it could be coming from.

On the steering side of things, I noticed if I turn the steering wheel side to side when the car is stationary and not running, there is a clunking sound from the steering rack around the middle of the car. Is this normal?

Everything seems to be ok, no "wet" fluid anywhere at all.

Also the front left radius rod bush appears to be starting to crack, and the right one appears to be fine. How badly cracked does it need to be before it needs replacing?

[STAGE-A]

no wet fluid? then how has it spilled on the floor? ... if its since ya turbo check ya oil feed line going to the turbo and make sure that s not leaking.

Still reckon the best thing to do is clean it as best you can and then see where it comes from after ... looks like its covered too large an area to tell from those pics.

I agree it also looks like trans fluid or nice clean oil, when was your last oil change? did you spill oil then? is it due for a change (meaning its dirty and therefor not oil leaking)

[pixel8r]

no wet fluid? then how has it spilled on the floor? ... if its since ya turbo check ya oil feed line going to the turbo and make sure that s not leaking.

Still reckon the best thing to do is clean it as best you can and then see where it comes from after ... looks like its covered too large an area to tell from those pics.

I agree it also looks like trans fluid or nice clean oil, when was your last oil change? did you spill oil then? is it due for a change (meaning its dirty and therefor not oil leaking)

nah i meant no wet fluid on the steering rack anywhere. The only wet oil i could see was on the oil hose to the turbo but its a brand new good quality hose and from what I can see there are no cracks in it. Its dry and clean at the top end, and just a bit of wet oil on it (on top as well) about half way down and its been dripping from that. Doesn't look like there's anything above it so thats why I thought it might be just spillage? Although I would've thought that would disappear in a few days...??

Last oil change was when the turbo was done which was in August sometime so not long ago.

Will keep an eye on the oil level - seems ok at the moment...

[mcnamg]

i had an oil leak or so i thought i cleaned the car with degreaser and then ran it for a while to get it nice and hot to see if the oil leak came back and it didnt leak again

it turned out that when the guys complied my car they spilt oil from the oil line from the turbo when taking out the exhaust to replace the cat.

could be leaking oil from something not tightened up when you had the work done or spilt oil dripping down the engine when it gets hot.

as suggested above best bet is to clean it up and then go for a drive get the eninge nice and warm where the oil is nice and thin and see where it comes from

[GoldZilla]

as suggested above best bet is to clean it up and then go for a drive get the eninge nice and warm where the oil is nice and thin and see where it comes from

Yep, this is the best thing to do - degrease it and then take it for a nice run.

If you do get a leak, have a look at what colour the oil is. If it's brownish, then it's probably engine oil (not sure if diff oil is the same colour, or if the diff shares oil with the engine, I haven't had enough of a look underneath the car). If the oil is reddish, then it's ATF/power steering fluid (which is the same fluid anyway). Once you determine what kind of oil it is, then it will narrow down the number of places you'll have to look for the leak.

[Silverback]

I had a problem with my CV Boot, with a horrible mess everywhere. Dont know if thats something you could check. Also, I had a problem with the oil cooler seal leaking. Got that fixed and its perfect now.

It seems that because the Stags sit around for a while before auction/transport the seals etc start to perish. Once I racked up a few thousand k's (around 12k now) its seemed to be good as gold now.

[DaveB]

I had a problem with my CV Boot, with a horrible mess everywhere. Dont know if thats something you could check. Also, I had a problem with the oil cooler seal leaking. Got that fixed and its perfect now.

It seems that because the Stags sit around for a while before auction/transport the seals etc start to perish. Once I racked up a few thousand k's (around 12k now) its seemed to be good as gold now.

Digging up an old topic... but I have a problem which appears similar to Silverback's: my Stagea (S2) is being held up on the numbers check for rego' (after compliance) because (as I've been told by the compliancer) there's a bad oil leak, which is enough to visibly drip onto the floor and they will fail it.

I don't have any more details other than the engine was pretty oily underneath for the day that I had it to look it over before it went off to compliance, and the leak is coming from the passenger side of the engine. Although he mentioned that it was the oil cooler that was leaking, and I'm pretty sure that's part of the oil filter assembly, which is on the driver's side? I'm hoping he didn't leave the oil line to the turbo off when he changed the cat's...

So yeah, if anyone can help with what this might be or what might be involved cost-wise in replacement parts... please feel free At this stage I'm going to go pick up the car as it's apparrently still driveable (with trade plates) from the compliancer on Sat. so I will post some pic's. He said he suspected it was an engine out job (!) so I will definitely be fixing this myself. Plan to do the 100,000K service at the same time, to get me some room to get at it.

Edited February 27, 2008 by DaveB

[DaveB]

Digging up an old topic... but I have a problem which appears similar to Silverback's: my Stagea (S2) is being held up on the numbers check for rego' (after compliance) because (as I've been told by the compliancer) there's a bad oil leak, which is enough to visibly drip onto the floor and they will fail it.

...

I have pic's (poor ones ) This is the problem that is preventing my car from being registered:

(showing front diff' from above with oil sitting on it; the blue thing is the oil filter).

Also, while hunting around down there, I found a spare connector (looks like a sender?) Does anybody know where this should be connected?

Looking from the driver's side of the engine bay, from above... the grooves are part of the oil cooler. The 'sender' screws into the base of the oil cooler assembly; at the front (I believe the rear one, which has wires connected to it, is the oil pressure sender).

Thanks for any help, the compliance workshop wouldn't send the car for its final numbers check for rego' because they said it would fail on account of this oil leak.

Regards,

DaveB

[ステージア]

I've got that disconnected sender as well and wondered the same.....without the oil leaks

[Whooby]

I could be way off, but would that be a signal wire for the torque split gauge?

Just my guess.

[pixel8r]

Are you sure thats a leak? when was the oil filter last changed?

I'm not sure if I'm looking at your pic right but with the location of the oil filter being where it is, when its changed its near impossible to do it without leaking and spilling oil everywhere. So yeah not sure if you've already tried but clean it up and see if it gets oil back there again or if it stays "clean".

[DaveB]

Are you sure thats a leak? when was the oil filter last changed?

I'm not sure if I'm looking at your pic right but with the location of the oil filter being where it is, when its changed its near impossible to do it without leaking and spilling oil everywhere. So yeah not sure if you've already tried but clean it up and see if it gets oil back there again or if it stays "clean".

Thanks for that, yeah that was my suspicion when I saw it; there still seems to be oil coming from there somewhere though because it's still dripping when parked (which is all it's doing at the moment, because the compliancer said it would fail vehicle inspection due to the oil leak).

I have ordered an oil cooler gasket & o-ring seal from nissan, I will replace them next Saturday (out of stock atm).

Steve did you end up finding the source of your leak?

Cheers,

DaveB

[DaveB]

...a close-up of that unused sender, looks like an oil pressure sender maybe??? Has "OC" stamped on the side...