Need help diagnosing an oil leak please

[jgilber0]

I have motor oil running down my alternator main wire and I can’t figure out the source. Has anybody seen this before?

It runs down the wire and drips onto the top of the oil pan in the area of the oil level sensor. It is enough oil to make a big mess in my drip pan and on my driveway.

My valve cover gasket appears to be dry, the substance is not red and I’m nearly certain it’s motor oil, not power steering fluid. There are not any obvious signs of a leak, but clearly it’s coming from somewhere.

Has anyone else encountered this kind of leak and fixed it successfully? I appreciate your help!

[LateFan]

Is it for sure running down, and not the oil sensor seal? Is that black corrugated tube wet?

I would clean it all off with brake cleaner, make sure it’s dry and the oil is topped up, then drive it and check where the highest wet area is. (Caution here - if you take it out on the freeway, it willl blow all over everything and tell you nothing)

There are also some dyes you put in your oil so leaks show up with a UV lamp.

[jgilber0]

Yes! That’s the crazy part. It’s running down the inside of the black corrugated tube. I can see it dripping out of the bottom.

That particular wire goes into a metal tray that’s bolted underneath the intake manifold. It comes out of the tray with oil on it and the oil is following the wire down to the alternator where it drips onto the top of the oil pan.

I’m wondering if it coming from the top of my bitch tube. Everything else on the backside of the block is mostly dry, including the valve cover.

I like the idea of the UV dye, and I will do that. Stay tuned for further updates. Thank you LateFan.

Any other ideas, anyone?

[jgilber0]

Dye, UV light, and UV glasses on order from Amazon. Hoping this reveals something about the source. Thank you again LateFan.

[ADEN]

If it is in the wires it must be coming from the bitch tube (upper side) lol you can get your hands there and check for oil, oil breather hose (from valve cover to throttle body) or through the tps wires (from throttle body).

Remove the afm with airbox 2 10mm nuts and boot clamp and check for oil if there is oil then your throttle body is filled with oil and dripping on the wire harness.

[jgilber0]

ADEN Thank you! I’ll check those. Breather hose is new, but maybe it popped off. I’ll look at the TPS wires too. That’s an interesting thought.

i spent an hour today cleaning up the bottom of the engine with some Engine Brite and water. It was a big greasy mess. Hoping the dye will reveal something useful.

[jgilber0]

Found more evidence here on an old thread. Turns out that a leaking oil pressure sender unit can push oil up the wiring harness! Thank you to Jordan for giving me the clue I needed to find it. I have a new sender on order and I’ll post back after I install it.

[jgilber0]

Pulled the oil pressure sender wire tonight and it was completely full of motor oil. Mystery solved. I’ll replace the sender tomorrow, clean out the boot and connector, and reassemble everything. Hoping that is the last of my oil leaks for a while.

[jgilber0]

Done and my drip pan is bone dry once again. Problem solved.