Bad oil leak?. Look at picture.

[Jafxod]

Next summer... s52 swap :D

Get some decent looking wheels and tails first.

[Ceeker]

don't knock the m20 engine. lets see after 20 year of abuse on your body, you're bladder or prostate or ass isn't going to leak or malfunction.... oh wait...I guess you can always take viagra or use depends. lol

[SacE30]

Get some decent looking wheels and tails first.

Dont worry how my e30 looks lol. I dont have money for that right now

[SacE30]

don't knock the m20 engine. lets see after 20 year of abuse on your body, you're bladder or prostate or ass isn't going to leak or malfunction.... oh wait...I guess you can always take viagra or use depends. lol

HAhaaha, nah man, since i got my e30 i been planing to do a swap lol

[paperplane94]

You said the plug was tight, but is it too tight?

Check for stripped threads.

Afterwards clean the engine with purple power de-greaser (home depot) and see where its REALLY spilling out.

[7pilot]

Your motor(s) is not leaking oil.
Your engine is leaking oil.
Looks like the drain plug is leaking. The clean aluminum around the plug is a clue that the leak is there as there is no oily dirt around the plug.
You also have oil leakage at the oil filter flange area.

If this engine has not been rebuilt, has been using conventional oil, and you switched to synthetic, then it is no surprise that it is bleeding oil.
If the above is the case, then the oil will also be leaking out of the age/heat hardened front and rear main seals as well.


m

[jlevie]

i was going to degrease and pressure wash , but i didnt know if that would harm the engine or not. thanks

A pressure washer isn't "engine friendly". It can damage plastic and/or wiring or force water into places where you don't want water to get.

When faced with a dirty engine and/or engine bay the process I use is:

1) Start with a hot engine and get front of the car up on jack stands. Several
large pieces of cardboard under the engine area will soak up the grunge and
help prevent stains.

2) Using a putty knife, screw driver, etc., scrape off any heavy
deposits. Most of that will be on the lower part of the engine and you'll have
to get to it from underneath.

3) Spray a mixture of Gunk and diesel or kerosense on using a garden sprayer.

4) Scrub every thing you can reach using plastic bristle brushes on painted
surfaces and wire brushes on bare metal. Work heavily caked areas again with
the scrapers. Spray on more solvent mixture as needed.

5) Re-fill the sprayer with any concentrated detergent (Simple Green, pressure
washer detergent, etc) and spray everything down.

6) Using a garden hose set for a gentle spray, or better yet a plant watering
wand, wash down the engine and engine bay. You want to avoid any high pressure
spray as that may force water into places that you don't want it.

7) Spray on more detergent and go over everything with the brushes, then
repeat (6).

8) Leave the hood open and allow the engine bay to dry for at least 8 hours
before starting the engine.

Notes: Having the engine hot will make oil and grease easier to wash off and
the residual heat will help dry out any water that reaches electrical
parts. You won't get the cosmoline/oil stains off the valve cover on an m20/30
engine as they are baked on. The best way to clean up the valve cover is to
have it bead blasted or hot tanked, but you can get most of it off with paint
remover (with the cover off the engine).

[SacE30]

Cool, thanks for the help

[oxymoron]

wurth degreaser works really good, just spray it on and wipe with a rag

[nicky51]

Reply

Just my 2 cents or maybe just a penny.. I had an oil leak that started on my m20 as well. Started as a little puddle the size of a quarter and progressively got so bad that iit was leaking down enough that when i drove it was dripping back on the exhaust and of course smoking... Well as i would definitely agree with cleaning your engine up enough where you can spot much easier.. Thats what i did and lo and behold i had a cut on my oil filter which when i turned the car on, it bled like crazy.. Easy fix for me but i never expected that. It was a little hidden on the inside.. That was my experience anyways... Good luck..

[SacE30]

Just my 2 cents or maybe just a penny.. I had an oil leak that started on my m20 as well. Started as a little puddle the size of a quarter and progressively got so bad that iit was leaking down enough that when i drove it was dripping back on the exhaust and of course smoking... Well as i would definitely agree with cleaning your engine up enough where you can spot much easier.. Thats what i did and lo and behold i had a cut on my oil filter which when i turned the car on, it bled like crazy.. Easy fix for me but i never expected that. It was a little hidden on the inside.. That was my experience anyways... Good luck..

Yeah theres so much shit i need to clean on the engine, and You said you changed the oil filter and it stopped??

[rodpaine]

Yeah i did, its tight on there

Tight on the old, original worn gasket? An all too frequent problem. Clean the whole area as others have suggested, so you can see where the leak is actually coming from. It could be coming from the right front corner of the head gasket, which is a common problem on the M20. It runs down the block and blows back on to the rear of the pan... I've had two head gaskets on my M20, ( one by BMW, one by indie garage) all supposed to fix this problem, which they didn't! All they did was slow it down.
FWIW,
-Rod

[nicky51]

reply

Yes it went away after i installed a new filter.. Like i said, mine had a cut on the housing itself....

[paperplane94]

Your motor(s) is not leaking oil.
Your engine is leaking oil.
Looks like the drain plug is leaking. The clean aluminum around the plug is a clue that the leak is there as there is no oily dirt around the plug.
You also have oil leakage at the oil filter flange area.

If this engine has not been rebuilt, has been using conventional oil, and you switched to synthetic, then it is no surprise that it is bleeding oil.
If the above is the case, then the oil will also be leaking out of the age/heat hardened front and rear main seals as well.


m

Good point.