Oil leak

D

Denise Burchette

True Classic
I've got oil pouring from the right side of the engine and making a puddle at the rear wheel. I had taken it to a shop to have the oil changed and it started leaking shortly after that, so I took it back and the guy showed me it was coming from above the oil filter. Is it possible the oil sender is leaking? What are everyone's thoughts?
 
I'd say the seal on the oil filter?

Maybe they didn't screw it on tight, or the seal itself is damaged

[oops, I didn't see that you took it back to the same place. I would think he would have checked for the above problems]
 
That doesn't sound like the typical drip

Denise Burchette said:
I've got oil pouring from the right side of the engine and making a puddle at the rear wheel.
Click to expand...

That doesn't sound like the typical drip from a leaky sender. The senders usually weep and annoy the heck out of you long term, they don't throw down with a "fix me now" puddle.

I think a sudden leak after an oil change would indicate the shop did something wrong. Screwing up the seal on the filter is a possibility. I guess if the sender was hit with a stray wrench or arm it might leak more oil than usual.
 
Oil Filter

I'd bet on the oil filter too. My engine is out of the car and I have a clear view of what is above the oil filter. The filter is located between spark plug 1 and 2 the oil sensor is just infront of spark plug number 3. Directly above the oil filter is the blanking plate for the mechanical fuel pump, the oil dip stick holder and the distributor. I believe all of these are too high for oil to leak from them.
Something is wrong with that filter.
 
A little clarification...

The car has been driven for at least 1000 miles since the oil change. Right after the oil change, there were drips on the garage floor so I thought it was just residual oil from the oil being changed, but when it continued for a couple days I took it back and went into the pit with the mechanic to see what was going on. I just knew it was from the oil filter too, but it was dry. The sender does seem too much in the middle of the block to be leaking to the extreme right. I'll make room in the shop and try to pinpoint it a bit better. Dang, that makes all three of my Fiats DOA right before the Dixie Fiatfest.:wall:
 
Run the engine, take a look

That area isn't hidden, at least not all that much if it's making a puddle.
I see oil filter seal and pressure switch sensor as choice, maybe a bearing seal as another potential candidate. Take a look-see, let us know.
 
Which brand/model oil filter?

When I buy filters for my X now, I tell them it's a mid-80's Yugo. The 1st time I went in they tried to convince me that it was the same filter as the 124 Spider. NO.........

I remember wayyyyyy back when, when I had my '69 124 Spider. A service station (that's what we called em then. lol) did an oil change and installed a filter that was too long. My car still had the splatter shield between the unibody frames and the top of the filter. The vibration rubbed a hole in the top of the filter after a few miles. No damage done but a piss off none the less.
 
AcDelco PF13

Which is the same as my Spiders. Interesting Mike. I'm making a Fiat order any way, it won't hurt to add an oil filter in the mix. I'll be under Blue today and let you guys know what I find.
 
Just to be safe, I've ordered a new sender. By the look of the pic and talking to Matt, it's a good possibility it is the sender. Looks like I'll be using a lot of brake cleaner to get rid of all this oil
oil+leak+003.JPG
 
You may want to take a look at the dipstick seal. I've had these get hard and shrink. They can then get loose and not seal or blow out of the dip stick tube resulting in a leak like you are seeing.
 
the dipstick seal is nice and clean. I was soooo excited to have a Fiat with no oil leaks. It just had that pesky brake fluid leak on my shoe. It was clean as a pin until I got the oil changed, now it's like all my other Fiats.
 
This is possible but...

The oil sure appears to be coming from further up. If you pull back the brown rubber boot on the oil sender, and it's full of oil, it's a safe bet it has let go. What commonly happens is the molded seal between the spade terminal and the plastic lets go. Another easy test is to just squeeze the boot, it's probably full of oil.

Could be coincidence, could be a strap wrench handle smacked it. It's a $10 part, so it probably doesn't matter.

While you're in there Denise, remove the filter and check the sealing gasket (make sure there is only one, sometimes the previous filter leaves behind its gasaket) for debris. A possibility, but it sure looks like it's coming from further up.
 
It's the sender!

Thanks for all the guidance, fellas. I removed the sender, cleaned it up and blew through the end with the hole....yuck! Oil started seeping out from around the plastic part. I found a Bosch oil filter I had ordered a while back, so I'll make double sure there aren't any more problems and change the oil and filter while I'm under there.
 
You better get that thing fixed up for Fiatfest.My wife has a conflict and won't be coming with the orange X.So....the X factor could be minus 2!! :nana:
 
Will I never see the car I bought and owned for 2 weeks? I'm working on 4 Craig...why don't you come over early Friday and give me a hand?:clap:
 
Nice work! Glad to hear it's resolved.

The oil filter for any year Volvo 240/740 series is also a perfect match, and short in height, too.
 
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