1994 Toyota Paseo Unknown Oil Leak

BIGDOUGLAS

MEMBER
1994 TOYOTA PASEO
1.5L
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
210,000 MILES

I have an unusual oil leak situation and I and my mechanic don't know where the oil lost is coming from. My mechanic (certified) installed the engine. He checked the engine seals prior to installation and said they were good. After about a week of driving (1600 miles) I noticed large oil spots on the ground in my parking spot. I checked the oil and had to put in a quart. My parking spot is not level, but has about a 10 degree decline angle. I always back into my parking spot, therefore, the front of my car is up and the rear is down. So I took the car back to my mechanic, left it overnight and my mechanic could not find any oil leak, but said he tightened the oil pan bolts. But still when I back my car into my parking spot, the next morning I see small oil spots (about 3-inches in diameter) on the cardboard. So just for kicks, instead of backing into my parking spot, I drive into it, and to my surprise, no oil spots on the cardboard any more. Needless to say, I always drive into my parking spot now, but both I and my mechanic is puzzled? What do you think?

3 Replies

MHPAUTOS

MECHANIC
31,937 POSTS

The oil leak will leave a tell tail stain on the engine, with the engine washed down and clean, after a day or so of driving and parking the car in the position that shows the leak, there will be a stain somewhere showing the leak, it should not be that hard to locate.

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Saturday, June 21st, 2014 AT 9:16 PM

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,916 POSTS

It's almost certain the leakage is still occurring but the oil is pooling on the engine or in the cross member instead of running onto the ground. There's a couple of ways to identify the cause of the leak. One is to add a small bottle of dark purple dye, then search a day later with a black light. The dye will show up as a bright yellow stain that you can follow back to the source.

The second way only works if the leak is from a non-pressurized point like a valve cover gasket or rusty oil pan. That is to use a smoke machine to inject a white, non-toxic smoke at 2 psi into the dip stick tube. You watch for where the smoke sneaks out. That smoke won't push through the oil in any passages that normally carry pressurized oil so it won't work for those leaks.

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Saturday, June 21st, 2014 AT 9:19 PM

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