Hello,
I'm new to this forum and am looking for answers to help identify what the parts are on my Mom's Transit that are leaking oil. My Mom is older and on limited income so I'm trying to help since she keeps getting charged an arm and a leg for even simple things on her truck. Anyway, I believe I have identified where the oil is leaking but I do not know what the piece is called and I'm not sure if there is a seal between what looks like a plastic piece connected to a metal piece or if it is sold as one complete part.
I'm attaching a few pictures to see if anyone can help me identify what the part is called and if it is something that is easy to change for someone who "does not work on vehicles". The red circle is where I believe the oil is leaking from between the metal piece and the plastic where the little plastic post comes down.
Any help would be appreciated!
Sincerely,
Julie

 

I'm not sure, but if you take these pictures to the dealers parts department they should be able to show you a blow up of the parts in that area and give you pricing on the piece which can can then install on your own. Oh bring your vin number just to make look up a little easier.

 

@Alwayscold..

What I'm seeing in the images you've posted is there is an oil build up around the oil filter.. and not up where your arrow is. Unless the part you're pointing at is defective.. but has anyone checked the filter?.. mainly the rubber seal.. and what oil filter is that?.. doesn't look anything like ours.. and if it isn't factory spec/standard.. you could be looking at a misalignments or worse. Has the van been taken to the dealership for oil changes or down the street to joe blows.. because either or hasn't been doing a very good job.

 

I believe that is the oil filter housing, with the hoses being the in and out hoses for coolant that preheats and cools the oil. There is a TSB (technical service bulletin) called TSB-12-1-3 which is not completely publicly available, but if you do some internet searching, you should turn up something. It looks like the housing can warp or distort and either cause a leak at the filter O-ring (which a prior poster also suspected) or the housing can have a bad seal onto the engine block. Not sure if the housing itself needs to be replaced or if new o-rings or gaskets can help.

Good luck tracking it down. In a quick search I also found a case of a Transit Connect engine putting out excessive oil pressure because the pressure relief valve inside the engine was not working. The excess pressure blew out the oil filter O-ring.

What year is your mom's Transit Connect? I assume it is out of warranty?

George

 

Looks like you are pointing to the oil cooler gasket. But it could be leaking somewhere else and getting the rest of the area covered in oil around it. If it was me I would crawl under there with a car wash hose and clean it thoroughly and let it dry, then check it the next time it starts to see if I could tell for sure where it is leaking.

The gaskets I see offered for sale are reasonably cheap, but since you are "someone who does not work on vehicles" this isn't something you are going to want to try to fix. You should find a qualified service center that you trust to diagnose and repair the oil leak issue. It is possible that the oil cooler or oil filter adapter has cracked and is leaking in which case it could need gaskets and a replacement part. Someone who really knows what they are looking at needs to figure out #1 exactly where it is leaking oil and #2 why it is leaking and which parts are needed to repair it.

The quickie oil change places are notorious for over tightening oil filters and oil drain plugs. On an oil filter, it should be hand tight. Yours specs to 3/4 of a turn after gasket contacts.
Some of those places actually use a power tool to install the oil filter. This can damage the filter and crack the oil filter adapter which is the metal part in your picture.

The bottom line is that you need to have a qualified mechanic diagnose and repair this issue soon.