2011 Pathfinder LE V6 oil leak

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boomer632
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Joined: Tue Oct 22, 2013 5:21 am

2011 Pathfinder LE V6 oil leak

Postby boomer632 » Fri Mar 27, 2015 5:21 am

Noticed oil on bottom of motor when I was changing oil last week. Traced it back to somewhere near the front drivers side of the motor somewhere between the front corner of the valve cover and whatever mounts to the engine in that area. The valve cover bolts were tight and some dried up oil was found on the front left corner of the drivers side valve cover bolt. I don't think the VC gasket is leaking. Any thoughts on where the oil is coming from? Its definitely engine oil. I really haven't had a chance to dig into it yet. What components are mounted to the left front of motor that would leak engine oil?

Thanks in advance..


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smj999smj
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Location: Prospect, VA

Postby smj999smj » Sat Mar 28, 2015 5:27 pm

The valve timing actuator sits just in front of the valve covers, which does control an oil passage, but leaking is not something I've ran into with them before.

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jhg120
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Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2014 1:28 pm
Location: Raleigh, NC

Postby jhg120 » Thu Apr 02, 2015 1:13 pm

Just in case you're still looking. I change my own oil, just finished, and the next day noticed oil on the garage floor dripping from in between the oil pan and the oil filter.

I checked the filter, nice and snug and no sign of leaks. Oil pan was ruled out. I concluded that the little channel, or ramp used to run oil from the filter to your collection pan spilled over the sides, and took a day to finally work it's way down and drip. I cleaned that up, no further drips.

May be worth a while to check. I was able to get some shop rags in there and really scrub, and a ton of dried oil and junk came out. But now it's at least clean.


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