Oil drip / leak ?

The Gas and Diesel Engines - VQ40De, VK56DE, YD25DDTi, V9X, Transmission, Transfer Case, Oil, Differentials, Axles, Exhaust...

Moderator: volvite

User avatar
dawgn86
Posts: 377
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2011 7:01 am
Location: Athens, GA.

Oil drip / leak ?

Postby dawgn86 » Tue Jan 01, 2013 6:03 pm

Happy New Year folks!

not the way I wanted to start the New Year off..but was checking the wife's PF this evening and noticed some oil on the skid plates. After taking every thing off, it looks like the oil dripped from the area either where the oil filter seats onto the cooler or behind the cooler. I loosened up the oil filter up a bit; it was pretty snug, wiped it all down and ran the engine for about ten minutes. It dripped a few drops, but I cant tell exactly where from. I think from behind the cooler. Nothing is dripping down from the main engine block area..

any ideas on this? are these coolers known to leak and are they hard to replace if needed? I couldnt really get behind to see as I could only use the garage lights and a flashlight. My PF is a 2006 / V6 / auto / 2wd. It has 109k.

Thanks


User avatar
dawgn86
Posts: 377
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2011 7:01 am
Location: Athens, GA.

Postby dawgn86 » Tue Jan 01, 2013 7:37 pm

Googled this problem; looks like it is an o ring seal where oil cooler bolts to block..looks like about an $8 part..hope that will fix it

User avatar
eieio
Sponsored Member
Posts: 1841
Joined: Fri Jul 17, 2009 6:42 am
Location: Prescott, Az.

Postby eieio » Sun Jan 06, 2013 8:07 am

dawgn86 wrote:Googled this problem; looks like it is an o ring seal where oil cooler bolts to block..looks like about an $8 part..hope that will fix it
that seems to be the only fairly common leak in that area
is that what it turned out to be?

User avatar
dawgn86
Posts: 377
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2011 7:01 am
Location: Athens, GA.

Postby dawgn86 » Sun Jan 06, 2013 8:28 am

Eieio

Bought the o ring and gasket for it Friday at my Nissan dealer for $12.00.

Going to get on it early this afternoon.

Looks like it's not too bad of a job:

take off oil filter and let what oil you can drain out. Unscrew the 22mm bolt which hold it to the block. Pull it back some, leaving the cooler lines attached, replace the gasket and the o ring on the bolt. Torque it to 36lbs, put oil filter back on and keep fingers crossed.

User avatar
dawgn86
Posts: 377
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2011 7:01 am
Location: Athens, GA.

Postby dawgn86 » Sun Jan 06, 2013 1:45 pm

well..looks like it was the oil cooler gasket. Took my skid plates off, removed the oil filter and bolt holding the cooler on. Plenty of slack in the lines to move around, get the old gasket out and replace it. Mine only had the one gasket. Replaced everything, warmed up the engine and drove it around a bit...so far, no leaks!

Image

User avatar
smj999smj
Site Admin
Posts: 6059
Joined: Sun Jan 22, 2012 11:13 pm
Location: Prospect, VA

Postby smj999smj » Sun Jan 06, 2013 8:54 pm

Those cooler "O" rings started being an issue on the R50 Pathfinders with the 3.5L. THere are three different sizes depending on the year and model of Nissan and they are now available on the aftermarket by Dorman products (if a Nissan dealer isn't nearby). On the plus side and as mentioned, it's not that bad of a job to replace them.

User avatar
dawgn86
Posts: 377
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2011 7:01 am
Location: Athens, GA.

Postby dawgn86 » Tue Jan 08, 2013 11:56 am

throwing in one more comment...this leak didnt start until I switched to Mobile 1 5w-30 full synthetic...I have always used dino 10w-30

think there could be a relation to this?

User avatar
smj999smj
Site Admin
Posts: 6059
Joined: Sun Jan 22, 2012 11:13 pm
Location: Prospect, VA

Postby smj999smj » Tue Jan 08, 2013 1:41 pm

Impossible to say; it might be coincidental.

05pathyse
Posts: 128
Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2011 6:01 am

Postby 05pathyse » Wed Jan 09, 2013 6:56 pm

With a high mileage motor using fully synthetic oil will start to clean out all the gunk and could cause leaks from gaskets. i would recommend a sythentic blend if it has always had regular oil.

User avatar
dawgn86
Posts: 377
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2011 7:01 am
Location: Athens, GA.

Postby dawgn86 » Thu Jan 10, 2013 9:12 am

Good point 05

I will look around at my next oil change and see what is out there as far as synthetic blends.


Return to “R51 Engine, Driveline and Powertrain”