GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Hi Folks, hope you can help me out or point me in the right direction. I have noticed that the Insulator under the hood is soaked with oil deposits. However, I don't see any oil leakage on the ground or around the engine compartment. Do I have an oil ghost?I do remember some years ago. GM Dealer forgot to put the oil cap back on after an oil change and I did notice some smoke when driving and oil did spill on the insulator then but they did clean it up. But this has me baffled.

Where is the oil,on the belt side or closer to the oil filler hole.(hey,I said Hole )

come to think of it.. I have the same problem, the oil is on the belt side. I'm sure it's being slung off the serpentine belt onto the hood, but I have no clue where it's coming from.I'm not overly worried, the dipstick is just above half before I take it in for an oil change anyway.

The water pump is also on the belt end and has been known to seep coolant which could be slung on the underside of the hood.

It's on the front closer to the radiator and with some deposits close to the serpentine belt

Humm, has the matrix forum posed a similar problem.....Thanks for the response.

Oh well, these are one of those things that bother me when I don't know the root cause...

which thread on the matrix board are you looking at?gimme a link

I was looking at the engine & transmission but didn't find anything listed

Please post what you find the issue was, I am very curious... Either way I would get it fixed, no oil loss is good not to mention it saturating the hood insulator. At first I thought the oil cap was gone but that is not the case...

Quote, originally posted by ToolGuy »Please post what you find the issue was, I am very curious... Either way I would get if fixed, no oil loss is good not to mention it saturating the hood insulator. At first I thought the oil cap was gone but that is not the case... Where is yours,towards the oil cap,or the belt?

Above A/C compressor? In line with the axis of the bushing on the shaft?A/C has mineral oil in with refrigerant. Seal goes, and slings oil with centrifugal force. Line of oil on insulator - and everywhere else if you look close.Compressor needs new seal. $$

GenVibers, this issue has finally been resolved and you would not believe that Toyota found the issue when I took it to them for an oil change today (12/27/09). Was at the 7500 mile interval for the synthetic and GM was closed today. It turns out that the gasket on the engine cover was leaking and it was replaced. Cannot believe that in over a year since taking to 2 dealers that no one at GM could figure out this issue...They also indicated that the timing belt need replacing (could not use the XRS one from Toyota, seems the GM one is bigger(wider)), so will have to order and when replacing, replace the tensioner for the belt also. My '03 GT got 115K and had the belt replaced at 60K, so guess not bad for replacement now.So if any folks have this leak, check the top engine gasket also.. Thanks to all and happy holidays from sunny south fl.

There is no timing belt on the vibes, its a chain. I think you meant serpentine belt.

borquezmike, you're correct. It's the belt, thanks for catching..