Weird Oil/Coolant Leak, Help!

[EDirty325]

Sorry for the lengthy post, but I need some help here I'm stumped.

I just finished removing and reinstalling the intake manifold on my '89 M20. Replaced intake manifold gaskets, throttle body gasket, throttle body vacuum hose, did the throttle body coolant bypass, replaced the coolant hose with the T joint that goes to the reservoir (had a hole), and replaced the upper and lower o-rings on the oil return pipe from the manifold to the block, because it was pouring oil when I ran it. When I put everything back together I flushed the coolant from the radiator and the block, refilled and bled, it is good to go. No air at all in the system from what I can tell, vacuum leak fixed and idles much better although still not perfect.

The day after the coolant flush I was greeted with a HUGE puddle of *something* running out from under the car. Upon further investigation, the leak is dripping from the wiring (I know wires don't leak, hence the reason for this post) that runs parallel to the block by the coolant hose that I replaced. It is dripping right in front of the starter, and running all the way across, down the alternator wire dripping on top of the oil pan and running off. The puddle looks like coolant, but is thick like oil, just not as thick as oil; it is very weird I know.

I have just recently done an oil change, and the oil is rather low and somewhat thin but doesn't smell weird and not milky. The car is not overheating either, I drove it for about fifteen miles the night before but I did notice the check engine light blinking. I should also note that the valve cover and oil pan gaskets are dry, recently replaced by PO.

I checked all of the coolant lines in that area, my bypass where I put in the copper connector, and the oil return pipe... Everything is dry except for that damn wiring bundle. Does anyone have any idea where this could be coming from, and what it could mean!? Pictures below thanks for any help you can offer!

Drip in front of starter:


Drip on other side of wire tube behind alternator:


Dripping down to oil pan:


Dripping in front of starter:


Oil appearance:



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[EDirty325]

Size of leak:



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[15Michaeljoseph]

check all the hose fittings from the TB onward. also check heater hoses, and the rearmost hose on the Tstat housing. You might have a tear that's spraying.


--Mike

[E30NJ]

You said you have a heater bypass, right? Check the bypass cap, its a little nipple, looks like the 9mm bullets:

[dnguyen1963]

That leak looks like oil and not coolant based on the color from the photos. Have you checked to see if the bitch-tube is tightly sealed? I can't really tell what is on your finger. In between, the oil looks fine, but on top of your fingertip it looks milky (I know you already said that the oil is not milky).

[EDirty325]

check all the hose fittings from the TB onward. also check heater hoses, and the rearmost hose on the Tstat housing. You might have a tear that's spraying.


--Mike

Checked all heater hoses and TB hoses. On the first picture that I posted, the oil is coming from right to left, meaning it's flowing from the direction of the heater hoses. The bottom of that wire is soaked, and it is dripping onto the block from the lowest point of that curve in the wire.

You said you have a heater bypass, right? Check the bypass cap, its a little nipple, looks like the 9mm bullets:

This is interesting, I was referring to the coolant lines that run to the throttle body, are we talking about the same thing? I cut the two hoses and clamped each end into a brass fitting. This is dry, are you referring to something else?

That leak looks like oil and not coolant based on the color from the photos. Have you checked to see if the bitch-tube is tightly sealed? I can't really tell what is on your finger. In between, the oil looks fine, but on top of your fingertip it looks milky (I know you already said that the oil is not milky).

Yes I installed the new o-ring to the top of the tube, then put the lower o-ring in the slot, compressed the spring with a zip tie, and when I wedged the manifold back on and lined everything up I cut the zip tie and it popped into place.I'm pretty sure everything is tight but this really is the only thing I can think of unless I'm overlooking something. The oil on my finger in the pic does look okay, but notice how thin it is, and the part that you say looks milky actually has somewhat of a shimmer to it in the sunlight, more like coolant. Which is what the drainage in the driveway looked like. Had a dark tone like oil, but at the same time, looked like new coolant was mixed in.

Also, if it is the bitch-tube, it didn't leak at all for about a day or two, is it normal to have fixed it and then have it come back so soon? The only thing that changed from not having the leak and having the leak was a coolant flush. I replaced all the hoses and what not, put it all back together, and noticed I was pouring coolant, which is when I found out that I had busted that coolant hose putting the manifold back on. Fairly sure I was not leaking oil at this point, only coolant. So I replaced the coolant hose and did a coolant flush a few days later. After that, this current leak started happening.

[dnguyen1963]

Is the coolant level in your reservoir dropping? Wipe everything down the best you can and watch for new leaks. Fluid can run everywhere making it hard to track its origin.

[EDirty325]

Is the coolant level in your reservoir dropping? Wipe everything down the best you can and watch for new leaks. Fluid can run everywhere making it hard to track its origin.

Yes coolant level has dropped about 3/4" in the reservoir.

[dnguyen1963]

Ok, I think you are okay here because if that much coolant is leaked into the engine, your oil should look like a milkshake right now. The coolant is probably mixed with whatever oil is already outside of the engine. Wipe it down and happy hunting.

[EDirty325]

Ok, I think you are okay here because if that much coolant is leaked into the engine, your oil should look like a milkshake right now. The coolant is probably mixed with whatever oil is already outside of the engine. Wipe it down and happy hunting.

Hahaha thanks.

Friggin mystical oil leaks!!!!! :hitler:

[VBe30]

Try out a UV Dye Kit for the oil - just went through this and it pinpointed it perfectly.

Good luck!

[Tom.]

I would just wipe it down, then fire it up and watch. Is your bleed screw closed?

Might just be dirty coolant, mixing with whatever gunk is in your engine bay.

[EDirty325]

Try out a UV Dye Kit for the oil - just went through this and it pinpointed it perfectly.

Good luck!

Might resort to that if I can't figure it out. never had to before, but always an option.

I would just wipe it down, then fire it up and watch. Is your bleed screw closed?

Might just be dirty coolant, mixing with whatever gunk is in your engine bay.

Bleed screw is tight, and everything around the thermostat is dry. And that's exactly what I did. The ONLY thing I can see are two drips of oil... One dripping in between wire and starter (picture 1), and one dripping off of the alternator cable right on top of the oil pan (picture 3).

The problem is, there is nothing that should be dripping from those two places. The alternator cable is obviously just running from somewhere else, but the one from the first picture is dripping off of that wiring bundle. The bottom of it is soaked and the top is dry. Keep in mind, this is about 6 inches to the right of the bitch-tube, so I highly doubt it's coming from there.

[EDirty325]

Bump?

Any other thoughts/theories?

[EDirty325]

Bump?

Any other thoughts/theories?