Need help diagnosing oil leak-NOT THE OIL PAN GASKET

[e30runner]

All right so recently my car has started getting a drop or so of oil overnight. I had already changed my oil pan gasket and double checked to make sure it wasnt leaking, which it isnt. One day I parked on the driveway for maybe two minutes before I could get in the house to open the garage and after I pulled the car in I noticed a puddle of oil. So here are all of the details:

-drop overnight parked on a flat surface
-puddle of oil in a matter of minutes if parked on driveway/uphill
-oil pan gasket replaced and dry
-LEAK FROM FRONT OF ENGINE, NOT REAR

what could it be?

[K1CKBAC]

Could be oil cooler lines, cam shaft seal, and rocker arm shaft seals. Worse case is head gasket. Others should chime in if I'm missing something.

[e30runner]

Ok so I was just looking around found a picture of this m20, could it be leaking from this area? what cover and gasket sits here?

[jlevie]

Clean the engine (from top and bottom) and then watch for the first sign of oil. Alternatively add UV dye to the oil and check for the glow with a UV lamp.
The intermediate and crank seals are a possibility as would be the gasket for the cover that goes over those below the water pump.

[e30runner]

Could be oil cooler lines, cam shaft seal, and rocker arm shaft seals. Worse case is head gasket. Others should chime in if I'm missing something.

Would it be any of those if I'm parked on an incline? technically the oil should be in the rear of the engine when its tipped backwards like that.

[jlevie]

Would it be any of those if I'm parked on an incline? technically the oil should be in the rear of the engine when its tipped backwards like that.

A larger leak when parked uphill more be more likely to be from the oil pan area at the rear of the engine or from the rear main seal.

[e30runner]

All right so I got under the car today and took some pics. it not coming from the valve cover or from the oil cooler. The a/c was completely drenched but I know that its not coming from it. Here are the pics before I wiped it.

[oliver.r]

Oil filter housing?

[F34R]

Oil filter housing?

Looks higher than that though, could be you VC has a leak judging by the wet oil near the bottom of the exhaust manifolds. If your front main seal was leaking you would have a mess coming out from the back of the harmonic balancer.

My advice is to spray some gunk cleaner and wash it clean. Let it dry and drive it a bit to get a good idea of the fresh leak.

[jlevie]

There may be more that one leak, but the oil cooler hose is one leak. From the amount of the oil on the right front of the block I'd suspect valve cover gasket/bungs or cam seal.

[Chuck C]

Unplug the oil pressure switch right below the oil cooler takeoff housing, then start the engine and check if the switch is leaking past the electrical pins.

[OD Green E30]

camshaft seal. They leak all the time.

[e30Rooster]

never mind