freaking bloody oilleak

[impalator]

I am getting really tired of this... my van is leaking oil like it's going out of fashion... it always has lost a drop here and a drop there... so it's nothing new... but as of late, the unit is starting to mark its territory in a more vigorous manner...

I've had a complete engine overhaul shortly after I bought it due to a cracked head/overheating problem (new gaskets, new timing belt, water pump, rad and the works in late 2008), then, sometime later I noticed an increased oil-drip and took it in again and learned that I needed a new valve cover gasket (in mid 2009) - the van continued leaking and I thought that maybe my turbo is the problem... but was told that while it's obviously not 100% sealed after 17+ years, the oil coming from the turbo is actually very minor and not to be considered a problem at this point.

Then the oil-leak continued on - so upon my latest oilchange I attempted another look at the source of the oilleak... and was told that I needed another valve cover gasket...

I then drove home to find that the oil was virtually drizzling out of the bottom of my van, staining my driveway in a most embarrassing manner (my neighbors give me the look).

So I took the van right back in again and the diagnosis was that the front seal or timing belt cover seal had ruptured and the belt, tensioners etc. were so oil-soaked that they needed to be replaced... a fairly big job obviously, with a new seal...

It was a bit better for about 3 days - but now my van is leaking again... I've had to put carpet down in my driveway and if things won't change, I am going to have to call a disaster response oil spill team to mop things up.

What the heck is going on with my oil-leaking van? No wonder we are reaching peak oil if I keep dispersing it across the roads and my driveway in such an excessive manner...

Where do common oil leaks occur in other member's vans? What do I need to look for? what are tips and tricks to eliminate oil-leaks? The van drives great, no performance issues, doesn't blow any more smoke than the usual black puff upon "hard" acceleration or pushing uphill at open throttle, no overheating or other weird issues appear to be present - I keep topping the oil off....

Thanks for any help or tips....
Chris

[FalcoColumbarius]

When I first purchased my wagon I had her checked out: Oil on the new timing belt ~ it was the seals so I replaced them. The only leak that I have had since then is the minor leaky turbo which rarely makes it to the ground. The only other leak I have had was the IP seals but that was diesel oil, not engine oil.

Falco.

[snelson]

Hey Chris,
Probably telling you what you already know, but the only way to stop an oil leak is to first definitively determine the source.

If it was my ride, I'd get a good engine degreaser spray, take it down to a proper car wash place, spray the degreaser everywhere to clean up the engine and then wash it all off.
Drive home if it's close, and then crawl under/over to determine exactly what where it's leaking.

Mine has the turbo leak too, and I will be getting it looked at at CVI in a month. But it's only a drop or two every other day maybe?

Could also be the oil filter/seal - lots of folks post about poor oil filter install due to an old oil filter gasket or pieces of an old gasket making for a poor seal. I'd check there first.

A bad valve cover gasket is easy to spot too, run your hand around the back of the valve cover and you should feel a little half moon piece of rubber - lots of reports of this leaking too, especially if not installed correctly.

There's a few hoses and possible leak points around the alternator too, check that area once it's all degreased.

Hope this is a little bit of help/support

[FalcoColumbarius]

........Could also be the oil filter/seal - lots of folks post about poor oil filter install due to an old oil filter gasket or pieces of an old gasket making for a poor seal. I'd check there first......

Good point. I had an oil change. Some weeks later I developed a major leak out of nowhere. Turns out that somehow my oil filter had undone a little, check that. I don't know how I forgot that, probably the trauma blocked from my memory. Thanks Snelson, now I have to relive that whole horrible experience. Honestly, I think that someone had loosened my filter. Had it not been put on properly in the first place it would have been leaking all that time? Or maybe it just vibrated loose all by itself.

Falco.

[jessef]

L300 2.5 common oil leaks :

Turbo rear seal - seals are prone to leaking. Just the way it is on the TD03's they are tiny

half-moon seal - on the rear of the valve cover gasket (very common - I replaced mine every 3-4 months because of the piss poor design)

front main seal - on the timing case. It 'should' last a good 70-80,000 km's 'if' it was installed properly and 'if' you it is genuine OEM Mitsubishi and not aftermarket or 'other OEM' .

Alternator to oil sump - there is a tube (should be pliable and not rock hard) with the typical Mitsu stock weak clamps. Replace the tube and the clamps. Oil frequently seeps out of there and gets annoying.


Those are the main 'common' oil leakage spots on the 2.5.

Unfortunately for the main seal on the timing case, as you've experienced, once it goes, it takes out everything else.

The half moon seal at the back of the valve cover gasket is prone to leaking. They ALL leak after a certain while. Once it starts, the oil gets everywhere. Usually flows down and to the front above the alternator.

When you take it to any of the 'reputable' shops, most will tell you that some leaks is normal because it is.

You can only keep this engine literally oil-free on the entire block for only so long until one of the seals goes at the common spots.

Good luck. Tracing the leak is not hard. If you find you've covered all of those bases and you're still leaking, then take it to a shop (or yourself) that puts a little vile of dye in the oil filler cap and once the engine cycles through a warmup, put on the yellow glasses and shine the black light on the leak. You'll see if there are any cracks anywhere and where the dye is coming out from easily.

[Mbryant]

Hey Snelson, I like the idea of degreasing the engine and then cleaning it off, as I have a small oil leak. However I cannot imagine taking a pressure washer to my engine with the seat up. Actually I can imagine it and I imagine I would make a mess of the entire cab area.
Am I missing something? What did you mean by an actual car wash?

[snelson]

Hey M - I guess I meant an actual car wash instead of spraying all that chemical/oil off into the local storm drain. Since the car wash places have proper oil/water separators.

Also, it's no problem at most hand car wash places, as every one I've seen have a setting where the water comes out lightly(often the tire/engine setting) instead of full on "peel your paint" pressure washer. I agree, that would be ugly.

[Mbryant]

Ah that makes sense.

[after oil]

impalator: try a different mechanic

[legionnair]

Something to check is if you replace seals and they seam to leak again make sure you pcv valve or hose is not plugged this will pressurize the crankcase and cause alot of greif. Also when I do engine seals at work I use a small piece of white scotch brite soaked in oil and polish the seal surface and put a small amount of grease or vasoline on the seal surface so it wont run dry waiting for oil. I built tons of heavy diesel engines and i hate leaks.

Good luck

Dustin

[Slimdog]

I have lifted the seat and pressure washed the engine. A few towels and rags over the dash and some carefulness was fine.

[impalator]

Turns out the 3rd valve cover gasket stopped most of the leak... Just don't understand why it took 3 gasket replacements until it stopped...

[mcbeaven]

Man, i feel your pain, ive got a drip coming out of my oil pan drain! Its torqued down and still leaking as of the last oil change two days ago... Im going to try to teflon tape it and see how that goes.. Good luck to ya!

[tayloringtheworld]

L300 2.5 common oil leaks :

Turbo rear seal - seals are prone to leaking. Just the way it is on the TD03's they are tiny

half-moon seal - on the rear of the valve cover gasket (very common - I replaced mine every 3-4 months because of the piss poor design)

front main seal - on the timing case. It 'should' last a good 70-80,000 km's 'if' it was installed properly and 'if' you it is genuine OEM Mitsubishi and not aftermarket or 'other OEM' .

Alternator to oil sump - there is a tube (should be pliable and not rock hard) with the typical Mitsu stock weak clamps. Replace the tube and the clamps. Oil frequently seeps out of there and gets annoying.


Those are the main 'common' oil leakage spots on the 2.5.

Unfortunately for the main seal on the timing case, as you've experienced, once it goes, it takes out everything else.

The half moon seal at the back of the valve cover gasket is prone to leaking. They ALL leak after a certain while. Once it starts, the oil gets everywhere. Usually flows down and to the front above the alternator.

When you take it to any of the 'reputable' shops, most will tell you that some leaks is normal because it is.

You can only keep this engine literally oil-free on the entire block for only so long until one of the seals goes at the common spots.

Good luck. Tracing the leak is not hard. If you find you've covered all of those bases and you're still leaking, then take it to a shop (or yourself) that puts a little vile of dye in the oil filler cap and once the engine cycles through a warmup, put on the yellow glasses and shine the black light on the leak. You'll see if there are any cracks anywhere and where the dye is coming out from easily.

Do you have the part number for the valve seal as well as a how to? It seams as you do it do often to be the person to ask. Thanks

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

[Growlerbearnz]

Not sure you'll get a reply from Jesse- haven't seen him around for a while, and this is a 4 year old thread. Still- look up part numbers here:

http://www.partsbase.org/mitsubishi/del ... 1986-1999/

(follow the links to select your particular flavour of Delica)

Purchase parts at your regular Mitsubishi dealer, or less expensively online here: https://www.amayama.com/en/

A note on the half-moon seal at the back of the head- the standard part for our engines is made of rubber, and is often the first part to fail. Mitsubishi part number MD372348 is the same part, but made of aluminium, so once it's installed it will never fail again. I highly recommend swapping out the rubber seal for the aluminium one.