falconer315 Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 (edited) Driving into work hit the plastic splash guard coming up from a dip in the pavement, now I have what appears to be oil covering the bottom of the guard with droplets forming near where the guard ends by the driver's side front wheel. Oil filter and such are more towards the center/pass side, anything oil-related on the driver's side of the car that could have caused this? 2005 Baja Sport. Edited May 23, 2015 by falconer315 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana tom Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Best to remove or look under the plastic, oil could be dripping and running. On imprezzas they have oil cooler lines that run to the water pump but I don't think bahas have that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falconer315 Posted May 23, 2015 Author Share Posted May 23, 2015 I'll be checking my oil levels before I leave work to go home, and hope that whatever may be damaged isn't leaking too badly. Just hope to make it home so I can do all of this in the comfort of my own driveway rather than having to call a tow... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falconer315 Posted May 23, 2015 Author Share Posted May 23, 2015 Hypothetically though, I don't have the entire splash guard, the piece covering the filter/drain plug/pan is missing, so if I'd damaged any of that wouldn't it just run straight down? Only thing I can think of is the filler tube, but I don't think that comes down low enough. You're right Tom, I'm just going to have to remove the plastic when I get home and take a better look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana tom Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 (edited) Oil pans are tough, filter is way up there. Filler tube bolts at the top of the head so no way you got that. Valve covers ? You would have to scrape hard to wear a hole in one of them.Hopefully it only leaks when the motor is running. If you don't carry extra quarts of oil with you , I would stop on the way home and have some on hand. This way if it is a running leak , you should have plenty to get you home. It is motor oil and not tranny fluid right ? Auto trans lines run where your leak is ... if the oil is red better buy tranny fluid for the ride home. Edited May 23, 2015 by montana tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lstevens76 Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 It could be a leaky oil pan seal. If you hit hard enough to just "bump" the oil pan you could have broken a seal on one side or another if a bolt had come a little lose over time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falconer315 Posted May 23, 2015 Author Share Posted May 23, 2015 It could be a leaky oil pan seal. If you hit hard enough to just "bump" the oil pan you could have broken a seal on one side or another if a bolt had come a little lose over time. That's the thing, wouldn't have thought it was hard enough to do anything more than just skim the guard. Didn't do any noticeable damage/scaping on the guard when I looked at it. I'll certainly look at it when I'm under it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Is it engine oil or ATF? Some time in the mid 2000s they started putting an ATF filter on the drivers side in the fender area by the battery. Could also have jarred one of the ATF cooling lines that run to the radiator on that side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lstevens76 Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 It could also be the oil was already there and the guard just hadn't been positioned correctly to drip it down. The two things could be completely unrelated. But on the same note have you checked your different oil? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falconer315 Posted May 23, 2015 Author Share Posted May 23, 2015 Oil pans are tough, filter is way up there. Filler tube bolts at the top of the head so no way you got that. Valve covers ? You would have to scrape hard to wear a hole in one of them.Hopefully it only leaks when the motor is running. If you don't carry extra quarts of oil with you , I would stop on the way home and have some on hand. This way if it is a running leak , you should have plenty to get you home. It is motor oil and not tranny fluid right ? Auto trans lines run where your leak is ... if the oil is red better buy tranny fluid for the ride home. Certainly looks like oil to me. No red tinge to it, just looks like a transparent brownish gold. Funny thing is, I've got about 9 quarts of tranny fluid sitting in a box in my garage. If I have to stop and buy tranny fluid I'm going to be livid. Although spending a little bit on tranny fluid and then returning some of what I've got at home is a lot better than spending a lot to replace the whole tranny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 If it is engine oil, and its fresh, its gonna smell like engine oil. Try to compare to what's on the dipstick and see if its the same color. I would want to pull the splash guard off and make sure the oil pan isn't damaged. Oil pan is the lowest and most vulnerable point of the engine. Filter is up fairly high. Not likely to scrape, especially since it's probably surrounded by the dragons den exhaust manifold. Valve covers are way up there. The lowest point of the valve cover is still higher than the bottom of the frame. You'd have to bend the frame to get valve cover contact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falconer315 Posted May 23, 2015 Author Share Posted May 23, 2015 It could also be the oil was already there and the guard just hadn't been positioned correctly to drip it down. The two things could be completely unrelated. But on the same note have you checked your different oil? Certainly hope the oil was already there...just changed it less than 2 months ago and I know that I missed the filler tube a time or two thanks to a gust of wind and an unstable funnel. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it...) Haven't had a chance to check the diff. oil yet. All the bolts seem to be in there pretty tight and I haven't had time to mess with them much. Is it engine oil or ATF? Some time in the mid 2000s they started putting an ATF filter on the drivers side in the fender area by the battery. Could also have jarred one of the ATF cooling lines that run to the radiator on that side. Believe it's oil, going to have to take a closer look in about an hour. Go figure I'm sitting here working overtime, and on the way in have a potential problem that could eat up the money I'll be making. Gotta love life sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falconer315 Posted May 23, 2015 Author Share Posted May 23, 2015 Well, going out to look at it now. Checking the oil and then heading home. I'll probably pull the splash guard in the morning when I've got the time provided the problem isn't too big and the puddle under my car hasn't grown. I'll keep everyone updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falconer315 Posted May 24, 2015 Author Share Posted May 24, 2015 Well, looks like fairtax was right. Thanks to lovely salted roads every winter the ATF lines got corroded. The bump was enough to crack it open. The oil was just residual. Now I'm faced with a couple of questions. It's corroded right where it leads into the rubber hose, can I cut the line higher up and just splice in a section of hose? The rest of the line is clean and dry. I'd hate to waste the rest of the line. Or, if I do have to replace it all, is there a part number for a pre-bent line or do I have to bend it myself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 If the rest of the steel tube looks ok, you can cut the end off a little further up, but you'll need to flare the end to keep the hose from popping off the end. Sometimes running the hose on about 3-4" and double clamping will hold it. I usually just replace the whole section with ATF cooler hose all the way back to the trans. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falconer315 Posted May 24, 2015 Author Share Posted May 24, 2015 Yeah, I ran to NAPA and grabbed about 2 ft of hose. I'm going to just run it up higher. With any luck I can jimmy rig some zip ties to hold it out of the way and along the original course of the lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falconer315 Posted May 24, 2015 Author Share Posted May 24, 2015 Alright, I got the hose ran and got the new line hooked up. Now, how do I bleed it, or is that a non-issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana tom Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 Non issue,don't worry about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 No bleeding necessary. Just check the ATF fluid level and make sure you didn't lose too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 just install hose, check ATF level, and drive. make sure the hose isn't mobile enough to touch something it shouldn't - fan, engine belt, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falconer315 Posted May 25, 2015 Author Share Posted May 25, 2015 Perfect, thanks all for the input on this. The only thing it's touching is the other line that I haven't replaced yet. It's corroded as well, so I'm probably just going to grab more hose and change that one too a bit later on. If I'd realized just how much longer the other hose was before I bought it I would have just bought 3 ft vs the 2 that I walked out with. Oh well, lesson learned. Anyway, hooked everything back together, put the clamps on it and took it for a drive. Feels a little clunky on the shifting, so I probably need to add more ATF fluid. The levels indicated on the dipstick are very misleading. Can't seem to get it to come up clean with a clear indication of how much I've got. Also can't seem to find where I'd add it into either. But, it's a brand new day and I'll pop my head back under the hood this afternoon when I'm out of work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana tom Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 Add it in at the dip stick. trannys are hard to get a good reading , small tube takes forever to drip down. Motor must be running of course to check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falconer315 Posted May 25, 2015 Author Share Posted May 25, 2015 Was REALLY hoping that there would be an easier place to pour it into besides the dipstick tube. It's a real snot to get to with a funnel. Anybody have any opinions on Lucas Trans. Fluid stabilizer? I use the oil stabilizer, but I haven't tried the tranny fluid stuff yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana tom Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 I use two funnels. Small one that will fit in and sit on fill tube, then I hold a larger one above and pour into that. I haven't tried the lucas tranny stuff yet either, but I've been a lucas believer for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falconer315 Posted May 25, 2015 Author Share Posted May 25, 2015 Good idea on the 2 funnel system. I'll have to dig around and see if I've got a second. Once I have the tranny stuff in for a few miles I'll let you know if I see any noticeable difference in shifting/tranny performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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