In the middle of tracing an oil leak, have a few questions.

[ecalder]

Hi guys, hope you're all doing ok...

I'm back to work on my car. I had been reading about the bolts in the oil pan and got worried. I just bought the car a couple of months ago with no paperwork so I thought I'd check it out. Also I was leaking oil, not a ton, about 6-8 quarter sized puddles a day. I thought I could try and track them down and stop them, basically give my car an oil seal overhaul.

Well first I'm happy to say that there were no bolts or other surprises in the lower oil pan when I dropped it. All of the bolts in the upper oil pan were tight enough to where I could not turn them by hand too so I think I'm ok there.

As I dismantled the car I ran across a few things that I'm unsure about. Bear in mind I am new to working on cars. I think I've mentioned in a previous post that prior to december I had never even changed my oil before :eek:

First of all, is oil leaking from the upper oil pan a common issue? Since I didn't find any loose bolts I'm questioning whether I need to drop the upper pan too. I already bought the gasket, I guess now would be as good a time as ever, but it seems a bit complicated to I'd like to get your advice as to whether it might be worth it. When I looked closely from the passenger side I could see a putty like substance (hardened) at the seam between the upper and lower oil pan, you can see it in this picture right around where all of that oil is pooled on the upper oilpan. I know for a fact the timing cover is leaking oil, so that oil might be from there, but it seems like it might be coming from the seam too. Any ideas what this is? I'm sure I'll ruin this "seal" if I remove the upper oil pan...


Next, I've read that oil leaks are common from the oil filter housing, so I took out the alternator (that was a total pain in the butt by the way!) and removed the housing. This is what I found:



Notice in the first picture there is a dry(er) accumulation of old oil above the filter housing, right under the upper to lower timing cover seal. Is it possible that this sprayed from the oil filter housing upwards or is it more likely that I have a leak in the seal between the timing covers? If I do have a leak in that seal is there anything I can do other than replace the seal? The second picture (which is sideways) shows the entire area, from the timing cover seal to the bottom of the oil filter housing, and the third just shows HOW MUCH crap had accumulated down there. From all of your experience, do you think this is in fact a problem with the seal on the oil filter housing or is all of this crap coming from the timing cover seal?

Finally, the last picture shows the "o" ring on the oil filter housing.

Maybe I'm crazy but I thought "o" rings should extend a little past the metal that it is sealing, in other words, the rubber of the seal is completely flush with the metal housing to where it looks like it would not be a great seal. Is this normal? I remember recently changing the coolant pipe that attaches to the block and the "o" ring there definitely made it a snug fit.

I want to clean the oil filter housing and the dipstick guide and the hole where it enters the upper oil pan. Can I just spray all of these things down with brake cleaner to get all of the grime off? Or engine degreaser? I'm scared of the wrong stuff getting into s place where I won't be able to get it out.

OH! And one more thing. Before I embarked upon this journey of stopping my oil leaks I decided to test my power steering screech theory. Every time I start my engine on a cold day I get a 20-30 second loud screech coming from the engine compartment. So I decided to remove the belt to the power steering and then start the car assuming the screeeeeeech would be gone, but it wasn't! What's next? The alternator? Maybe all of the oil spilling out from the oil filter housing is lubing the belt? Any ideas?

This car is completly awesome by the way! And working on cars is great too! Woohoo:D! Thanks for all of your advice again. I'd be lost without your guidance...