Oil Leak

[Dgoude]

My 99 ES300 is leaking oil from somewhere and I can find it so I'm looking for help in where to look. I've checked the pan plug and I've checked around the spark plugs but I can't find it. It's not leaking much at all, maybe a few drips every day. But when I stop and idle for more than 30 seconds I can smell it really heavy in the car. So it's burning off somewhere.

I am a novice at best in car repairs. I've done rotors, brakes, and replaced my spark plugs. So please help me figure out where to look to see what the culprit on the oil leak is.

Thanks in advance!

[sk1951]

My 99 ES300 is leaking oil from somewhere and I can find it so I'm looking for help in where to look. I've checked the pan plug and I've checked around the spark plugs but I can't find it. It's not leaking much at all, maybe a few drips every day. But when I stop and idle for more than 30 seconds I can smell it really heavy in the car. So it's burning off somewhere.

I am a novice at best in car repairs. I've done rotors, brakes, and replaced my spark plugs. So please help me figure out where to look to see what the culprit on the oil leak is.

Thanks in advance!

Find a clean spot or put something under the car to locate the exact place it is driping from.

[George_Jetson]

The rear valve cover is a very common area for leaks, the amount of tilt these engines have makes leaks very common in this area. I suggest buy a can of brake cleaner and spraying the bottom of the engine. brake cleanner will wash off all the oil and make it much easier to see where the leak is coming from.

[camlex]

Rear Main Seal??

[homemechanic]

It's probably not the main seals. If so, you will see a significant leak and more than a few drops a day.

I had this problem w/my Mustang before. Smell it if you idle for a while and drive off. Can't figure out for more than a year. It turns out it was not an oil leak. It was a leaking heater core in front of the airbag computer. The coolant shorted out the airbag computer once, and I didn't see any coolant while replacing the computer. The computer was shorted out again 2 months later. At that point the leak was bad enough that I found a puddle of coolant there.

I would pull out your cabin air filter and look/smell for coolant.

It's often hard to smell very very minor oil burning from the inside of the car because fresh air goes in from the windshield guard.

[pberku]

You can add a UV dye leak detector to the engine oil. Its available at most auto parts stores and costs less than $5.00. Using a UV lightbulb, or UV flashlight, you can than easily find the source of your oil leak by shining the UV light in the engine bay area. The source of your oil leak will immediately become evident. Its easier to spot the leak in the dark.

Just make sure that you purchase a UV dye that is specifically designed to locate oil leaks, and not coolant leaks for example.

Phil