# Oil leak



## ThirdgenTa (Nov 10, 2003)

I have an oil leak on my 87 Maxima. I was told that it was the rear valve cover gasket, but I replaced it and there is still oil leaking. Its hard to tell where it is coming from because it is kind of soaked. I would powerwash it and get a better look, but it is way to cold to do that. If anyone knows of some common places for oil to leak out of on an 87 maxima please let me know. My driveway is pretty much ruined and the owners of my association are probably going to be pissed when they see it seeing that they redid it a year ago.


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## jconstan (Feb 18, 2004)

I have leased a 1998 Maxima 65,000 miles and own a 2001 Maxima with 53,000 miles. I have no real complaints. I have not had much go wrong except normal maintenance items.


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## ThirdgenTa (Nov 10, 2003)

jconstan said:


> I have leased a 1998 Maxima 65,000 miles and own a 2001 Maxima with 53,000 miles. I have no real complaints. I have not had much go wrong except normal maintenance items.



Ummm Ok???


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

on the VG, it's very common for the valve cover gaskets to leak after a while.

did you tighten all the screws to proper torque when you replaced the gasket? did you replace all of the rubber bushings that go in the screw cap thingies? (they were on my '93 VG, but I don't know if they're on the 2nd gen VGs)

Anyway, how's the engine running? bad head gasket possibly? (it would probably be running pretty rough if it was a head gasket)

how's the oil filter area? I assume you've checked to make sure it's not leaking around the filter...

that's all I can think of.. you're going to need to clean it up before anyone can really say much more than that.


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

oh.. as for the driveway thing... soak up the worst of it with kitty litter (or dlay-based oil absorbent.. you can usually get it at any parts store)

once you get that done, use a degreaser or even laundry detergent.. soak the area pretty good with it, then scrub until your arms don't move anymore. rinse with strong water spray and it should be pretty good after that. if it needs help, do it again. there are also cleaners made for it, but these methods work well for me.


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## maxed out max (Jan 22, 2004)

forget fixing the oil leak problem i have the same problem they said it is the oil pan gasket they always go bad so im just doing a mad scientist motor swap


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## ThirdgenTa (Nov 10, 2003)

Matt93SE said:


> on the VG, it's very common for the valve cover gaskets to leak after a while.
> 
> did you tighten all the screws to proper torque when you replaced the gasket? did you replace all of the rubber bushings that go in the screw cap thingies? (they were on my '93 VG, but I don't know if they're on the 2nd gen VGs)
> 
> ...



I am not sure what the torque specs are and I don't have a torque wrench so I just tightened them pretty tight. I dropped the screw that goes in the top left corner, but the rest of them are pretty tight. (I can't seem to get that one in. Every time I get a new bolt I drop it an lose it.) I cleaned the engine, but it just got oily again, so its hard to find a path from the oil. My oil filter is pretty tight, but I will try tightening it more and see if that helps. The engine runs fine, except when you first start it in the morning. I have to hold the idle for about 30 seconds or it will die.


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## ThirdgenTa (Nov 10, 2003)

SO nobody else knows about these cars?


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## ThirdgenTa (Nov 10, 2003)

Bad news. Had someone look at it. I know why I couldn't pin point the oil leak. Because its coming from more then one place: Oil pan, Oil return lines or something like that, main seal etc. I just put that leak slower stuff in there and it seems to be working well.


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

unfortunately, that's all "normal" for a 15 year old car.

oil pan gasket can be replaced without TOO much trouble. oil return lines are same way.. front main seal should be changed when you do a timing belt (every 60k miles)..

If you were around Houston, we could tackle it all in a day or two.. it'd be a good weekend project to swap all that out...

and yeah, find and replace that one missing screw on the valve cover.. that WILL cause it to leak.. and they shouldn't be very tight.. should only tighten them by hand, as the valve covers are sheet metal and they warp easily. the screws (at least on 3rd gens) have rubber washers in them to prevent the cover from getting warped due to high torque on the bolts..


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## Armor01 (Mar 4, 2004)

find and check the oil sending unit


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