Best way to hunt down an oil leak? Options

[caribou17]

Well i did an oil change on the car today its the first I've done on the Celica because i just got it not to long ago, Anyways, Theres a lot of oil underneath, I had the car parked in the same spot for 9 days while i was away and i just got back a few days ago and there was NO oil on the ground at all,,,Should i try and clean it up underneath and then try and see where its coming from? ( i also have to use someone else's lift for the car so i kind of want to know what i should be looking for etc)

[Special_Edy]

Well i did an oil change on the car today its the first I've done on the Celica because i just got it not to long ago, Anyways, Theres a lot of oil underneath, I had the car parked in the same spot for 9 days while i was away and i just got back a few days ago and there was NO oil on the ground at all,,,Should i try and clean it up underneath and then try and see where its coming from? ( i also have to use someone else's lift for the car so i kind of want to know what i should be looking for etc)

So it wasnt leaking oil before you changed the oil and oil filter earlier today. And it started dripping oil( define "alot of oil") after it was parked immediately following the oil change.



It sounds to me like you left one of 3 things off, loose or damaged-

The spin-on oil filter- it needs to be as tight as you can turn it by hand( an extra 1/4 turn with the wrench is best). Make sure to smear some oil around the rubber seal. Whenever possible you want to fill the oil filter with new oil before you screw it on, because you want to reduce the amount of time upon startup that the filter is filling and the engine is running without oil. It should be located on the front of the block next to the exhaust.

The Oil Filler Cap- Oh yes if you leave this loose it will vibrate off the engine and oil will spray everywhere.

The Oil Drain Plug- The drain plug needs to be torqued down or it will usually start leaking. It should screw in by hand until it bottoms out, then you need to torque it down with a wrench. I dont remember the exact torque spec but I tighten mine hard with only 1 to 2 fingers on the wrench/ratchet. Using less than 5 fingers limits the amount of force you apply. If yours is damaged you can buy a new drain plug for a couple dollars at the parts store.

To gain access to the leak you will of course need to remove the plastic liner under the passenger side engine compartment. Next I would drive the car to a self service carwash(the kind you feed quarters) and pressure wash the engine compartment. Make sure to always leave the engine running if you wash it or it may not start again. Dont directly spray electrical components, wiring, hoses or gaskets on the engine with high pressure water. You want to be especially careful around the distributor and spark plugs. Make sure to blast the underside too to remove all the grime. Finally you would rinse it real good with water. Now that its clean any leak will be much easier to detect with the engine relatively clean. It will also make the engine easier/cleaner to work on.


Anyways.....
Good luck with it and let us know how it goes. So long as the oil light doesnt come on with the engine running then no worries.

[caribou17]

Well i did an oil change on the car today its the first I've done on the Celica because i just got it not to long ago, Anyways, Theres a lot of oil underneath, I had the car parked in the same spot for 9 days while i was away and i just got back a few days ago and there was NO oil on the ground at all,,,Should i try and clean it up underneath and then try and see where its coming from? ( i also have to use someone else's lift for the car so i kind of want to know what i should be looking for etc)

So it wasnt leaking oil before you changed the oil and oil filter earlier today. And it started dripping oil( define "alot of oil") after it was parked immediately following the oil change.



It sounds to me like you left one of 3 things off, loose or damaged-

The spin-on oil filter- it needs to be as tight as you can turn it by hand( an extra 1/4 turn with the wrench is best). Make sure to smear some oil around the rubber seal. Whenever possible you want to fill the oil filter with new oil before you screw it on, because you want to reduce the amount of time upon startup that the filter is filling and the engine is running without oil. It should be located on the front of the block next to the exhaust.

The Oil Filler Cap- Oh yes if you leave this loose it will vibrate off the engine and oil will spray everywhere.



The Oil Drain Plug- The drain plug needs to be torqued down or it will usually start leaking. It should screw in by hand until it bottoms out, then you need to torque it down with a wrench. I dont remember the exact torque spec but I tighten mine hard with only 1 to 2 fingers on the wrench/ratchet. Using less than 5 fingers limits the amount of force you apply. If yours is damaged you can buy a new drain plug for a couple dollars at the parts store.

To gain access to the leak you will of course need to remove the plastic liner under the passenger side engine compartment. Next I would drive the car to a self service carwash(the kind you feed quarters) and pressure wash the engine compartment. Make sure to always leave the engine running if you wash it or it may not start again. Dont directly spray electrical components, wiring, hoses or gaskets on the engine with high pressure water. You want to be especially careful around the distributor and spark plugs. Make sure to blast the underside too to remove all the grime. Finally you would rinse it real good with water. Now that its clean any leak will be much easier to detect with the engine relatively clean. It will also make the engine easier/cleaner to work on.


Anyways.....
Good luck with it and let us know how it goes. So long as the oil light doesnt come on with the engine running then no worries.

Sorry i should've said that is WAS leaking BEFORE the oil change. By the looks of it, it has been leaking for awhile,,,I see around these 2 hoses running along near the frame under the car there is a great amount of oil around those 2 hoses,,,Another thing i should add is that, Its all Underneath, from my engine bay above you wouldn't notice it at all.

EDIT: Thanks for the reply btw!

This post has been edited by caribou17: Jul 16, 2012 - 11:57 PM