Help find source of engine oil leak, please
 

Since last summer, over the course of 2 engine oil changes, I've noticed there was what appeared to be a case of oil consumption. Over the span of 5000 miles between oil changes, the dipstick would be down to the Low marker both times. The oil is always topped off close to High. This is about 2 quarts.
I thought it was most likely oil consumption since there were no signs of oil stains in the driveway. The dealership did a compression test and said the engine is "running fine." I know that's not thorough enough of a test, but whatever. Tonight I decided to put the car up on ramps and take off the engine undercover panel. At first I saw the oil pan and the surrounding area covered in engine oil grime. There was even a wet spot of oil on the undercover panel. I wiped the oil pan down.
At first I thought my problem wasn't oil consumption anymore and was just a simple issue of an oil leak from the pan, but upon looking further up the engine bay I found more leaking oil. A couple of the photos distinctly shows 2 oil droplets hovering off some engine part I'm unsure of what it is. Also to note is that the black harness in photos #2, #3, and #4 is soiled in engine oil grime, as well, so the leak is definitely coming from above it. If anyone can help me diagnose where the leak is coming from, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.


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Go back to the dealer and tell them to check

I can't see the pics at work, but the first thing I do when leak hunting is clean the **** out of everything I can see so it's easier to track down the leaky spot.

I don't want to go the dealership if I can help it. Too many times they don't do the job properly, and boldly tell me they fixed or did something when I know they clearly didn't do ****.

After a lot of google searching, I found some miracle products that aren't snake oil: "Bar's leak 1040" and "ATP AT-205." These 2 products do the same thing to lubricate the seals on various parts of the engine whether its te rear main seal, oil pan, etc. Pour it in with your motor oil and let it work during 5 hours of driving time. A lot of positive reviews that's saved a lot of people hundreds to thousands of dollars.

I'm gonna clean up the oiled up area with engine degreaser, get an oil change and try the bar's leak product. I'll post results in 2-4 weeks.

I would be very wary of products like that. If it works at all, it may just mask a problem while it's small and manageable, only to have it reappear when it's big and expensive.

The product is revered by certified mechanics that have been in the field for decades, like Scotty Kilmer on YouTube. It's meant to recondition and lubricate seals that have dried up, which causes leaks. It won't fix huge leaks on seals that are really rotted up

If it were my car, I would track down the leak before I put anything but oil in the car. It may not be something that stuff can fix. Is there anything on Bob is the oil guy on either additive? That's the only place I go for oil and additive info, and their opinion is usually don't put anything in the oil but oil.

If you don't trust the dealer you are using now, go find one you can trust. Your warranty is with Nissan, not the dealer.

If your seals need reconditioning, let Nissan do it. As others have pointed out, the additives will do little, if any, good and may mask the problem long enough for big-time damage to occur.

Don't use some product to plug the leak. Get the leak fixed properly. I don't care what shadetree mechanics use it.

If it's under warranty, take it to a dealer. You aren't bound to any specific one. There's no reason you should be troubleshooting a leaking VQ.

As far as this comment:
This is incorrect. The L to H textured area on the dipstick represents one quart. That textured area is 25mm long. H is supposed to represent a "full" oil fill while the textured area is considered an "OK" oil level. Lower than L- you guessed it, that's considered "low" engine oil.

Nissan considers the engine to be "OK" with 6mm or less oil consumed every 1k miles as per their oil consumption TSB for the VQ37. At 5000 miles, this would be equivalent to a 30mm drop.

That 30mm is more than what you've consumed. Your engine, based on your personal accounts, may not meet the oil consumption TSB requirements for a short block replacement.

Regardless, you need to get that oil leak diagnosed by Nissan. It makes zero sense to start spending money out of your pocket for a potentially expensive repair that is covered by your warranty.

I say about 2 quarts because the first of the two oil changes that was done, I noticed there was quite a noticeable amount less than what usually comes out. I was curious enough to take the pool of oil and pour it into each empty quart bottle that was used for the oil change and it barely filled up 3 bottles. Normally 5.5 bottles are used for an oil change.

I've degreased as much of the oil grime that I could get to with Engine Degreaser and Purple Power. Sucks the driveway is dirty now.

As with the multiple dealers I've taken my car to, I now been taking it to the dealer that is has the best reviews locally but even then their service is shady. Since this is my only car, I rather not deal with setting up an appointment, leaving the car there for an unknown amount of time while they fiddle around with my car doing whatever, taking the bus home, and crossing my fingers they'll actually do something. So far it's been more successful and time efficient to just do it myself. I only go to the dealer when the problem of my power to do myself, such as in the case that I may need a new short block. My basic 3 year warranty just expired last month, and I have 2 years left of the powertrain warranty. If the leak is still present ::crosses fingers:: after a couple months, then I'll use a UV Leak Detector fluid, which is what mechanics use to pinpoint a leak.

This video is what I'm talking about, also from the same Scotty Kilmer that I mentioned prior. He has a plethora of great videos to learn how to wrench on your car:

Take it to the dealer before you start pouring some additive you found on the internet in it. You're going about this all wrong.

Why can't you tell the dealer, hey, my car is DRIPPING oil? That's a completely different problem. And you can't test for it really, just have to look for oil

Let me give you 2 of the most recent examples why I don't want to deal with them, and this just from last month. I went in thinking I had a oil consumption issue. They did an compression test and said it's fine. Topped it up with new oil on top of the old oil that's been sitting in there for 5000 miles already and obviously black (wtf?). Couldn't even just take of the underpanel to inspect the engine which would've shown oil grime everywhere. Also, went in to get my USB port replaced cause it was faulty. iPhone keeps connecting and disconnecting every second. They said they'd order the part from Nissan. Fast forward 3 weeks later after a "backorder" and they say the part is in and to bring in the car. I go to pick it up 6 hours later and the guy said it's been replaced and that the cable I used was faulty and shorted out the USB port. Right there is another red flag. I specifically left a brand new genuine Apple USB cable in the console for them to test it out and they said it was faulty, my f0kin @ss. Also, they didn't even replace the USB port. I know because the vinyl wrap that's sortve loose on the knee support pads was left unfazed from how I left it.
Not only are dealerships a stealership, I see them now more than ever as a shitlership.
/rant

I'll go back to the dealer if I still have a leak in a couple/few months. I'll diagnosis it myself with the UV leak detector. Then, take my car to them with documentations on a silver platter basically saying "Hey I have a leak. Here's photographs to prove it. Don't ******** me. Get it done and actually do it." That's how I see things actually getting done. Long story short, I hate dealerships. I also used to work for 2 other dealerships in the past.

Then go to another dealer? The car is under warranty. Use it.