98 oil leak
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98 oil leak
First off I want to thank this forum for all the help I received over the years. I did the ball joint replacement, the blend door fix, the demonic dome light with the help of this forum. I've had my 98 3.0 2wd since new. I have an oil leak that is driving me crazy. I know it is very hard to detect location but maybe others have had a similar leak. The drip is coming off the bottom of the starter. The oil filter is right above but I can't see a problem there. Valve cover looks OK. Other than the oil pan gasket or rear seal, is there anything else in that location. I would hate to get into those jobs if I don't have to. TIA.
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Thanks for the reply. I have a fram oil filter on it now. The leak has been there for awhile but just a minor every now and then drip. I am headed out now to get a new filter. Any recommendations? The current leak is enough to require about a quart of oil per month.
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From: SW Va
BTW welcome to FTE.
Well Motocraft at Wallyworld, for $3 & change, is about as good a bang for the filter buck as you can come by imo & it's designd for your our engines.
Be sure to check the new filters sealing ring and housing base crimp quality & the vehicles filter sealing surface for cracks, scratches, dimples, debris, like old filter gasket material, or maybe you've wiped it with a paper towell & some remained.
Anyway make sure the vehicle & filter sealing surfaces are squeeky clean & smooth, the new filters gasket is lubed with fresh oil & ONLY tighten it hand tight.
Don't use a filter wrench to lug it down, lest you distort the filters gasket, or damage it or the filter mounting bracket.
While you have the filter off, look for signs of a leak in other areas around the filter mounting bracket.
Let us know what you find.
Well Motocraft at Wallyworld, for $3 & change, is about as good a bang for the filter buck as you can come by imo & it's designd for your our engines.
Be sure to check the new filters sealing ring and housing base crimp quality & the vehicles filter sealing surface for cracks, scratches, dimples, debris, like old filter gasket material, or maybe you've wiped it with a paper towell & some remained.
Anyway make sure the vehicle & filter sealing surfaces are squeeky clean & smooth, the new filters gasket is lubed with fresh oil & ONLY tighten it hand tight.
Don't use a filter wrench to lug it down, lest you distort the filters gasket, or damage it or the filter mounting bracket.
While you have the filter off, look for signs of a leak in other areas around the filter mounting bracket.
Let us know what you find.
Last edited by pawpaw; Jan 1, 2008 at 01:02 PM.
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Replaced the filter. Looks to me like the old one was torqued too tight. The gasket looked to be almost non-existant. It was there however. I cleaned the surface and tightened hand tight. It's hard to say if other areas were leaking since there was quite a bit of oil spattered around. I went for a drive and there didn't seem to be much dripping when I got back. It could be some of the old stuff still working it's way down or leaking somewhere else. I'm going to drive it this week and clean everything down next weekend. I'll probably be running out to the garage every half hour tonight to look for drips. LOL Thanks for your suggestions.
I also did your recommended back flush of the heater core. I read that on another thread. I flushed the cooling system yesterday and wasn't getting much heat. You could now bake a cake on the floor it's so warm.
Thanks for all your help.
I also did your recommended back flush of the heater core. I read that on another thread. I flushed the cooling system yesterday and wasn't getting much heat. You could now bake a cake on the floor it's so warm.
Thanks for all your help.
