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.

No other dealers in NY? I'd drive 100 miles for a good dealership

As for the other dealerships I went to that I thought they would take care of me...
One left scratches, dents, paintchips, and creases in the interior and side skirt while it was being worked on.
Another one bottomed out my front bumper so hard that there was a huge gash on the right side, probably when one of the idiot "techs" decided to drive down the shop exit ramp. Had to go through an ordeal for them to repaint my bumper. Even with that, I went to pick it up from the body shop and install it myself cause I just didn't want any of those retards touching the car.

Maybe ask around in your local forum to see who is recommended?

I appreciate you guys giving attention to my thread but I'm pretty firm with dealerships as a last resort.

I've been going to the recommended/popular/best dealership in the city. I'm not going to put them up on blast in case they happen to fall upon this thread, but to give you an idea they are sponsored on this forum.

Then don't. Fire your dealer. If there truly is a problem (it appears that there is), you shouldn't have to prove anything to them. Find another dealer. You shouldn't have to worry about whether or not the work was done. Find another dealer.

Did I mention that you should ditch the current dealer and find a new one?

But unverified oil additives from the internet are ok? Because it's been posted on the internet it's obviously going to solve your problem. You're most certainly free to solve the problem however you see fit, but are you prepared to have a future legitimate warranty claim denied because you tried to DIY this? If the oil additive gums up the VVEL system, which is very finicky and relies on oil to operate, are you ok footing the bill for repair since it's a direct result of your action?

No one should have to deal with this ********. Maybe it's just how it is with them here in nyc. IIRC, I've already had my car at 4 different dealerships. I just don't see them giving proper service around here unless you have a GTR. Loaners are scarce. Even though this current one is nice enough offer one. It is only after you wait car-less for 1-3 days for diagnosis to be completed. If they find that they have to keep the car for longer, then they'll offer a loaner if available.
Nissan just doesn't give the customer service that luxury brands do. My mother brings in her Lexus to her dealer for simple stuff like an oil change and she tells me how nice they treat her and just hands her the keys to a loaner until the service is done. In and out in 15-20 minutes.

It does sound stupid but at this point with their record history with me, I'll take my chances with the internet. I don't do anything unless it's really documented everywhere and hundreds/thousands of people use it, even with simple mods. For example, I'm sure you balanced the weights between keeping the warranty or going TT. You trust GTM enough and their work to do so. Things get a lot more complicated and hairier boosting a N/A, especially one that is known to have weak rods.

Dude, fix your car as you see fit. If you look through this thread, no one person has agreed with your proposed plan of action. If that doesn't matter to you, go ahead with your Plan A. Just remember, $5 fixes usually aren't worth the $5.

:iagree: and if THAT dealership damaged your car as your stated, why didn't you file a complaint? Why didn't you call corporate? Why didn't you :stirthepot:?


The additives usually work for 5k-20k miles... Then the problems start to occur

And if you want to fix it properly, take the motor out, see where the oil is coming from, replace the seal

If you pour that sh** into your motor the dealer will say "you caused the problem when you put that into your motor" and get out of having to fix your car.

op is determined to make this as difficult as possible on himself

who am I to interfere

The Lord helps them that helps themselves. If you refuse to stand up for yourself, no one else is going to do it for you. yadda yadda, blah blah blah.

If you can't/won't spend the time/effort to find a good dealer then contact Nissan USA about your problem. Should be easy to find a phone number; look in the Owner's Manual or search the Web. They should be able to build a fire under someone's a$$.

OP, how much oil was on your undertray? If you are leaking about 2qts between oil changes you'll know just by looking at the undertray. From the pics, it looks like there is some oil on the A/C compressor. I'm thinking when the dealer was pouring in oil they spilled a little, since the oil cap is right above that area. I'm still thinking you have oil consumption problems.

*looked at picture again.. could be a leak from the valve cover as well...

Wow!! This guy just refuses to listen! Hell, I'd drive 10 hours to a dealer to get my car fixed under warranty before I ever put some bullsh*t additive in my engine.

there was a small amount on the undertray but there were large amounts of oil buildup everywhere on the lower half of the engine which shows that its been sitting there for a while. i'm not gonna rule out oil consumption completely, but at this point it's at least confirmed a leak.

after cleaning up what i could, n inspecting it during the day, my educated guess is that it could be a faulty seal on the headgasket. there's oil coming all the way down from there.

On the driver's side?

Yeah. Also, so long as you are under drivetrain warranty, that includes all gaskets and seals.

Its covered -- let them deal with it.

It seems like much more of the grime was found on the driver's side but there was some grime on the passenger side, as well, when I looked up past the oil pan