Small oil leak.

chabsey

My car (Micra) is leaving small puddles of oil when left in the driveway overnight. Obviously this might mean any number of things, but I thought I'd post here to see if anyone has an idea of what it most likely is the cause, as in, Micra's might be prone to a certain type of oil leakage.

I'm hoping it's something fairly simple, and while I know little about how a car works, I'm going to have a go at fixing it. Assuming of course it's only something like a sump leak or oil pan leak.

Anyway, if anyone has any tips/ideas on fixing/identifying this type of problem please pass on them on! It's a 2002 car by the way.

Thanks.

Mr Magnolia

Could it be something as simple as a new washer required on your sump bolt. Dry round the area with a rag and find out where the leak is coming from.

crosstownk

Was there any work done to the engine recently?

Also put some soil or similar down on the driveway to stop staining.

andrew_ireland

Dip the engine and make sure you haven't overfilled- the excess oil will have to get out somewhere!

Gurgle

chabsey wrote:

Anyway, if anyone has any tips/ideas on fixing/identifying this type of problem please pass on them on! It's a 2002 car by the way.

Its probably coming from the engine.

chabsey

Gurgle wrote:

Its probably coming from the engine.

Not sure if you're being sarcastic there! I would assume there's few other places it could be coming from, assuming you're being serious, coming from the engine, does that sound bad?

Mr Magnolia

We're not going to be able to tell without more detail. Go and check or take it to a garage

crosstownk

It could be from the gearbox - or it could possibly be brakefluid. Best thing is to pop your head underneath and try to locate it.

chabsey

Sparks400 wrote:

We're not going to be able to tell without more detail. Go and check or take it to a garage

Had a look under the car (hard to do without any jack) but from what I can tell it first appeared to be coming from the Auto transmission area (presumably ATF so), however, a second check has lead me to believe it's around the oil sump area.

I've parked the car on level ground and will check in the morning. I'm also going to invest in a trolley jack to get a better look at the problem.

Assuming it's an oil sump issue, and again assuming it's a washer or something similar, where do I go to buy a replacement washer? And is it one size fits all or will I have to go to a Nissan dealer?

Thanks for all replies.

Paul (MN)

drive over a large piece of cardboard (you have to have lots of cardboard in your garage!) and it'll be obvious to spot.

Mr Magnolia

chabsey wrote:

Assuming it's an oil sump issue, and again assuming it's a washer or something similar, where do I go to buy a replacement washer? And is it one size fits all or will I have to go to a Nissan dealer?

If it's just the sump bolt washer you'll get one in any motor factors. If you're not competent enough to change the oil, take it (the car) to where you last got it serviced, tell them to replace it, they should have done it when they changed the oil last time. - This is all assuming that it is the sump bolt washer. If in doubt go to the garage.
Oh, and grab a couple of different sizes if the guy in the motor factors isn't sure what size it is, they're for buttons any way.
Good luck!

AMurphy

chabsey wrote:

...appeared to be coming from the Auto transmission area (presumably ATF so), however, a second check has lead me to believe it's around the oil sump area.

.......

Thanks for all replies.

Now your're thinking.
I'll assume yo have followed the advice to place a sheet of cardboard on the ground and try link that to a place in the engine;

Oil may come from the engine, gearbox, brakes, Power steering, Clutch, or any combination thereof. depending on the car.

Assumng you did the cardboard bit, is the oil thick or thin, black/burned or of a color other than burned black.

If from the area between the engien and gearbox, it could be either the ATF or the engine oil, but probably the ATF. If burned black, probably engine oul. if light/red and thin probably ATF.
many things leak on Auto Trans, such as external valve bodies, lines to the ATF coolers, pump seals, etc.

Anyway, if only a few drops per night, just check all the engien oils, PS, Clutch, brakes, etc and monitor for loss.

I only loose a cup of PS fluid per week.

Gurgle

chabsey wrote:

assuming you're being serious, coming from the engine, does that sound bad?

It was somewhere between cynical and serious.
Theres all kinds of things in the car with various oily fluids, but there just wasn't enough information to really guess.

puddles are bad
if its anything other than engine oil, e.g. power steering, clutch or brake fluid then the reservoir will show a difference within a couple of days.

Even if the oil is dripping off the drain plug, it is as likely to be coming out somewhere above that, trickling down the block and dripping from the lowest point. If the oil hasn't been changed recently theres no reason for the drain plug to start leaking. Road grime is an excellent sealant.

So:
what colour is it?
does it smell?
did you top up engine oil recently?
did you top up anything else recently?
any warning lights coming on?
do the brakes feel spongy?
how old is the car?
whats the mileage?
has the engine ever been reconditioned?
any major work done in the last 6 months?

esskay

The biggest problem with looking for an oil leak is the oil will naturally run to the lowest point before dripping off, so where you see the oil coming from may not be where the leak is, the only way to be 100% sure is to bring it in to clean the engine/gearbox and track the oil back to where it's coming from (too much work for anyone bar a mechanic). The mechanic is the best bet imho

chabsey

Gurgle wrote:

So:
what colour is it?
does it smell?
did you top up engine oil recently?
did you top up anything else recently?
any warning lights coming on?
do the brakes feel spongy?
how old is the car?
whats the mileage?
has the engine ever been reconditioned?
any major work done in the last 6 months?

Color
Black, but not deep deep black.

Smell?
Not really, can't smell anything off it.

Did you top up engine oil recently?

Topped up oil since noticing the problem. Checked oil this morning, it's at a good level

did you top up anything else recently?

Nope, only have the car 4 months, it's second hand. Passed the NCT literally two days before i got it.


any warning lights coming on?

Nothing yet, hoping to sort whatever it is before they do come on.


do the brakes feel spongy?

No, nothing noticeable from the brakes.


how old is the car?

2002, only 23K on the clock though.


whats the mileage?

As above.


has the engine ever been reconditioned?

Not to my knowledge, actually no, am sure it hasn't.


any major work done in the last 6 months?

Nothing of note. It was rarely used before I bought it. Got it from a family member so know it's exact history. Was regularly serviced too.


Checked this morning, the sump had two drips hanging from it which I wiped. Oil puddle has since lessened in a big way, although it's still dripping.

Without being able to get under the car properly, from what I can see the oil appears to be in quite a few locations, sump area, transmission area, and along the bar thing that seperates the two areas. There's a general coating of oil over quite a few areas which makes isolating the leak really hard.


I will probably end up bringing it into the garage, but that will annoy me as I was really hoping to fix or at least identify this myself. i know very little about cars and hate that feeling of just handing it over to a garage who could come back with:

'The isolator rods were disconnected from the Andersson Elevator, so your oil pinchers were pinching thinly causing a supperating gimlet; €2000 please!'


I'd prefer to be able to drop it off saying it needs a new 'whatever' or the 'whatever' is leaking. I hate not knowing!

Anan1

chabsey wrote:

'The isolator rods were disconnected from the Andersson Elevator, so your oil pinchers were pinching thinly causing a supperating gimlet; €2000 please!'


I'd prefer to be able to drop it off saying it needs a new 'whatever' or the 'whatever' is leaking. I hate not knowing!

LOL

AMurphy

esskay wrote:

The biggest problem with looking for an oil leak is the oil will naturally run to the lowest point before dripping off, so where you see the oil coming from may not be where the leak is, .....

There is a simpler way, get a bottle of "Tracer Fluid". It glows when exposed to UV light.
So add a bottle to the engine, or AT, not both. Then check the drips for "glow in the dark" capability.

Gurgle

chabsey wrote:

Black, but not deep deep black.
Not really, can't smell anything off it.
Topped up oil since noticing the problem. Checked oil this morning, it's at a good level.

did you top up anything else recently?

Nope, only have the car 4 months, it's second hand. Passed the NCT literally two days before i got it.


any warning lights coming on?

Nothing yet, hoping to sort whatever it is before they do come on.

No, nothing noticeable from the brakes.

OK, from what you said I'm 99% certain its engine oil, not contaminated with water or anything (goes sludgy & grey), so its most likely just a simple leak from a badly fitted oil filter or drain plug.
If its black-ish after topping up, its well-used oil diluted with new oil.
Id say drain it, replace the seal on the drain plug and put a new oil filter in. It could do with this anyway and if theres no leak afterwards then problem solved.

If there is a leak afterwards, its getting out elsewhere.

chabsey

Gurgle wrote:

OK, from what you said I'm 99% certain its engine oil, not contaminated with water or anything (goes sludgy & grey), so its most likely just a simple leak from a badly fitted oil filter or drain plug.
If its black-ish after topping up, its well-used oil diluted with new oil.
Id say drain it, replace the seal on the drain plug and put a new oil filter in. It could do with this anyway and if theres no leak afterwards then problem solved.

If there is a leak afterwards, its getting out elsewhere.

Think I will try this, hopefully will solve the problem.

From looking under the car, the oil seems to be spread over a relatively large area, so I think it's probably the oil filter leaking. At least I hope it is as I can probably fix that myself.

Cheers.