Possible oil leak.

[RamFan]

A somewhat nice day finally presented itself yesterday so I was able to change the oil on my Charger, almost exactly at the 6k mile mark too! However, when I got the splash shield off I noticed something a bit disheartening, this is the second time I've seen this. Both times were with a Purolator Classic so I'm not sure if this is a problem with the filter or with the engine. I've used the classic about 5 times on this car and other cars and never had an issue other than these two times (which aren't consecutive btw) so I'm leaning toward the engine but still am not completely sold.

There is no oil anywhere on the underside, not on the pan or anywhere on the block. The only place I could find something that was somewhat unusual was a bit of what I'd call seepage on the front of the oil pan where the pan meets the block. There was a bit of dry oil residue, maybe in a spot only 2 or 3 inches across. So dry and and such a light amount of residue that I have a hard time believing it could leak so much that it showed on the filter as much as the above picture shows. The below picture shows where that seepage was found (barely), it is right beneath the green connector, you can kind of see the filter from this picture as well.

So here is the question. Could the filter somehow leak? Or is it the oil pan gasket?

 

[hisilver]

Where the gasket on the filter meets the engine, I'd look at the surface and see if it is smooth or otherwise.

 

[Sayjac]

Has it been particularly cold? Reason I ask is, a year or two back during a cold snap, cold for here, I developed a slow drip coming from the filter area. Figured it was from the cold and contraction, tightened the filter a tad more, drip gone.

I installed in the filter summer time, fairly warm, and normally tighten ~3/4 turn after gasket contact, but when it got cold it needed a bit more.

Just a thought.

 

[RamFan]

Originally Posted By: sayjac
Has it been particularly cold? Reason I ask is, a year or two back during a cold snap, cold for here, I developed a slow drip coming from the filter area. Figured it was from the cold and contraction, tightened the filter a tad more, drip gone.

I installed in the filter summer time, fairly warm, and normally tighten ~3/4 turn after gasket contact, but when it got cold it needed a bit more.

Just a thought.


Hmm interesting, I think the last time it did it was in my Spring change so it had just gone through a winter. It hasn't been unusually cold but usual winter here is 20-40* so yes, it is cold. I was hoping I wouldn't have to change it until the 6 month mark which would've been March 15th but I put on more miles than usual so had to change it in the cold this time.

 

[mongo161]

IMO....It just may be excess splash of dirty rain or melting snow.

IMO...the roadways contain excess fluids that have leaked from other vehicles.....add some water, salt, snow...you may have this as a problem an not the oil filter.

Don't forget....the Purolator Classic is all white while other filters may have color to the canister.

 

[Doog]

looks like a filter leak at the gasket to me. I have had one or two over the years.

 

[oldhp]

How much do you oil the gasket before installing filter?
Oil is like blood, alittle looks like alot.
Did you try tighting it before you took off just to see if it was loose?

 

[RamFan]

Originally Posted By: oldhp
How much do you oil the gasket before installing filter?
Oil is like blood, alittle looks like alot.
Did you try tighting it before you took off just to see if it was loose?


I use enough oil to create an even layer around the gasket. No I did not, however removing the filter proved to take tge same amount of force as usual.

 

[LeakySeals]

Swap filters with another brand to get an answer on filter selection. You won't lose much oil if you swap it cold. Let us know.

 

[Topo]

Could it possibly be the oil sending unit leaking, many times they will start to leak before the pull a code on your dash. I have seen this with my older Chrysler Car.