New oil leak

[Anemone]

Hi.
06 pontiac vibe.
I had a p0171 lean bank 1 code and replaced the intake manifold gasket and throttle body gasket. So that gave me some more umph I was missing and helped steady the rpms while running. However, I recently noticed a new (small drops) oil leak on the driveway. Passenger side, looks like above oil pan, some is on lip of oil pan seam (very little definitely fresh oil appearance), but there's more above it and none dripping down to buttom of pan, just off oil pan lip. Above the pan to the front and driver side, near center line of the body, there's a thick spray of globs thay appear to be sprayed from below. There is some spray to the side of the area as well (towards passenger side of car). Just curious what is located in this area and any ideas what might cause that kind of leak? I've done many repairs on it, but I look up how to's. I don't know a lot about everything I'm looking at in this area. I will post pictures soon if needed.

[andrewclaus]

The passenger side leak, if at the rear of the engine, is likely (hopefully) the timing chain tensioner and that's an easy repair. There are some threads on that. I'm not sure about the other area--photos could help. It may be a valve cover gasket. I have no experience with that on this engine.

A clean engine would help pinpoint the source(s). Chemical degreasers are available, but I'm not a fan of those, since my garage and yard have no way to contain them. I have a lot of rags, brushes, and spare time, though.

[tpollauf]

Ane .....Welcome to GenVibe (2 months late). Anyways give us a bit more info on this Vibe. When did you purchase it? current Mileage, climate it has been driven in? Current location (update profile for us). Lots of times once you tear into a repair, you accidentally create NEW problems. Although an oil leak has limited external components, maybe something got "bumped" or loosened when you were wrenching under the hood. If this Vibe is new to you, then maybe the prior owner simply "cleaned things up" to make it more sellable, and then an existing "slow oil leak" could reoccur to the new owner. Just one theory on this issue. Otherwise what Andrew suggested is where I'd start. Good luck and keep us posted

[joatmon]

I'm not sure what locations you're describing, but agree with andrewclaus, helps to clean it all up and then it should be easier to see where its coming from. Keep checking the oil level in the meantime

The valve cover gasket is easy enough, you need a gasket and a little bit of sealant (for where the timing chain cover meets the head) The last time i did one, when I took off the plastic engine cover, instead of just the acorn nut, it unscrewed the long stud, which I left attached to the engine cover. That stud is also one of the bolts that attaches the valve cover to the head, and when I put it back together I spent a crazy amount of time trying to find the one bolt that I somehow lost, before finally realizing it was still on the engine cover.


The oil pan is also easy enough, but a bit tedious. On my 03, there was no gasket, just some sealant, which took time to scrape off the block and the pan. Also, the first time, I bought an oil pan gasket, which deformed horribly when I torqued the pan bolts, so I scrapped it, and just went with a high temp RTV, that worked fine. Just keep in mind (standard disclaimer) that when working under the car, you must ensure whatever you lift the car with is completely stable, or you could die.

[Anemone]

Hi. Thank you for the replies.
Finally got some pictures of the problem.
I purchased in 2018 at about 125,000 mi. It is close to 150,000 now. It's driven in dry, paved roads/highways, four-season weather; it's my main (only) vehicle.
Next I will clean it up and see what appears after, but would love any input on location and thoughts about what might be going on.

Passenger side oil pan where the fresh oil is, but light.


The higher up splattering






From the front looking under—a spot I noticed.


If oil looks smeared, I just wiped that spot.

[andrewclaus]

Looks like a torn CV boot causing the "splatter" in last few photos. The oil pan is hard to tell from below.

[Anemone]

I will look into that. Thank you.
I'm thinking of just redoing the oil pan sealant since I think it looks like the fresh oil is leaking there, it's definitely an old seal, and I don't see fresh oil in any surrounding areas (other than the splatter issue).
Your suggestion with the cv boot helped clarify possibly two separate things going on.
I had a shop look at my car thinking I might have a cv issue (had the driver front axle replaced a few years ago). They didn't say anything about that, but I think the leak started up soon after the inspection.

Oil pan question-
My manual says to support the engine from above to remove the front crossbody support fasteners to access the oil pan bolts, is that necessary? I saw a video and they didn't mention doing that. They just removed the crossbody support.

[andrewclaus]

The rear engine mount is supported by the front crossmember. If you need to move that, the engine should be supported. That can be done with the car jack and a block of wood on the transmission.

[tpollauf]

Your undercarriage looks very clean for a 20+ year old car Must not use salt/brine on the roads in your area much. This should then make it fairly easy to perform the task. I see where you sought out another post showing how simple this job can be. Good luck and let us know how things go. Pics are always welcomed too!

[joatmon]

Oil pan question-
My manual says to support the engine from above to remove the front crossbody support fasteners to access the oil pan bolts, is that necessary? I saw a video and they didn't mention doing that. They just removed the crossbody support.

Been 16 years since I did one, so memory fades, but looking through some of my old posts it seems I didn't need to remove the cross member or jack the engine. I guess you could try without doing those things, and if it doesn't work, you can still do them when you get to the point where you find out that you do.

[stone340]

Hi.
06 pontiac vibe.
I had a p0171 lean bank 1 code and replaced the intake manifold gasket and throttle body gasket. So that gave me some more umph I was missing and helped steady the rpms while running. However, I recently noticed a new (small drops) oil leak on the driveway. Passenger side, looks like above oil pan, some is on lip of oil pan seam (very little definitely fresh oil appearance), but there's more above it and none dripping down to buttom of pan, just off oil pan lip. Above the pan to the front and driver side, near center line of the body, there's a thick spray of globs thay appear to be sprayed from below. There is some spray to the side of the area as well (towards passenger side of car). Just curious what is located in this area and any ideas what might cause that kind of leak? I've done many repairs on it, but I look up how to's. I don't know a lot about everything I'm looking at in this area. I will post pictures soon if needed. Made me think about how airflow upgrades, like a 6.7 Cummins intake manifold upgrade, can impact things more than expected.

Could be the timing chain tensioner or valve cover gasket starting to seep—both are common on the 1ZZ-FE. The tensioner’s on the passenger side and can spray a bit when it leaks. Posting pics will definitely help narrow it down.

[kordell]

Hi.
06 pontiac vibe.
I had a p0171 lean bank 1 code and replaced the intake manifold gasket and throttle body gasket. So that gave me some more umph I was missing and helped steady the rpms while running. However, I recently noticed a new (small drops) oil leak on the driveway. Passenger side, looks like above oil pan, some is on lip of oil pan seam (very little definitely fresh oil appearance), but there's more above it and none dripping down to buttom of pan, just off oil pan lip. Above the pan to the front and driver side, near center line of the body, there's a thick spray of globs thay appear to be sprayed from below. There is some spray to the side of the area as well (towards passenger side of car). Just curious what is located in this area and any ideas what might cause that kind of leak? I've done many repairs on it, but I look up how to's. I don't know a lot about everything I'm looking at in this area. I will post pictures soon if needed.

If it’s actually being sprayed around rather than just slowly running down the pan, I’d look higher up first. Clean the whole area really well, drive it for a short distance, then look for the first wet spot. On these Vibes I’d also make sure it’s actually engine oil and not ATF, especially around the axle/transmission area.