[steinhnj]

Is your coolant blue? Looks like blue fluid in the picture. Is your washer bottle leaking when you use your washer? If it's coolant, there's a coolant hose on the back of the head. Maybe check the clamp to make sure it's tight.

Additionally, seen plenty of pics of the underside, but what does the topside look like? Valve cover leaking?

 

[steinhnj]

Valve cover gasket looks good. The threaded hole in the flywheel cover (in your pictures above) is typically where a rear main seal leak will present itself (sure the old salts will pipe in here if I'm wrong). A clutch slave cylinder leak will present here as well, but you have an oil leak. Doesn't appear that hole is the source of your oil.

The UV dye is a great suggestion. No experience using it, however. Hard to tell with a black block, that's where the UV dye would help. Looks like 1 day and $30 bucks on Amazon could get you the UV light and dye necessary depending on where you live.

Get a bottle of ZEP purple power or your favorite degreaser and concentrate on the block area. Get it good and clean first.

Check to see if the crankcase breather hose has come off of your intake hose (runs along the back of the engine, over the bell housing). Oil coming out of your crankcase breather line to your intake is another problem, but at least you'd know where it's coming from.

 

[steinhnj]

There shouldn't be a bolt there. It's called the wading plug/fording plug. If you're going to do a water crossing (or go to Winter Romp), it's recommended to put a bolt (wading plug/fording plug) in there to prevent water from getting in there and mucking things up.

Normal operating mode is to drive with the bolt removed. Sometimes referred to as a tell-tale drain, if you see oil leaking from here, it means that the rear main seal is leaking, or the clutch slave cylinder is leaking. Since you have oil dripping off everything else under there, it's highly unlikely that the rear main seal is the source.

The crankcase breather is the small black plastic canister coming off the valve cover. Follow the hose that comes off of it. You'll see it runs aft and connects to the larger intake hose. Just make sure it's still connected. Long shot, but still worth checking.

 

[steinhnj]

Yes, that's the hose I was referring to. Appears to be some more of the mysterious blue fluid in that pic too.

Not sure what bolt hole you're referring to then on the sump cover. May need another pic.

 

[steinhnj]

Think it's worth pulling the hose off and inspecting it or does it look ok to you based on the pic?

Eventually, yes. But doesn't look like the source of oil you're dealing with. Always good to know what issues your engine has. Oil coming out of the breather making it into your turbo intake? Oil making it past the turbo into the intercooler? Oil making it into the intake manifold?

While you're blasting your engine with degreaser, squirt some on that hose and keep an eye on it.

Coolant hoses are the supply/return to the heater core. Not sure what the device is though.

Looks like oil dripping off your track rod too. Where's that coming from? You may need a few different colors of dye. Power steering can be green, engine oil can by red, coolant can by yellow...your engine bay's gonna look like a Grateful Dead t-shirt!

 

[steinhnj]

Is that wet right there?

 

[steinhnj]

The clutch feels fine but I will check the level in the master cylinder when I do the inlet gasket. The slave doesn't leak. It has residual oil on it but it is 100% engine oil.

If the slave leaks, it will leak inside the bell housing, then present itself out of the centerline hole in the flywheel housing.

 

[steinhnj]

What's a quick way to check if the slave is leaking? Just check clutch fluid and see if it's low? I assume if the clutch fluid is at the appropriate level the slave can't be leaking

Yes, check master cyl reservoir level.

I don't think this is your problem thought. Oil is dripping from both sides of your flywheel housing. If it was the slave, you would see it dripping out of the threaded centerline hole in the flywheel housing.

Always a good idea to check fluid levels though.

 

[steinhnj]

Yeah, agree. I have oil dye ready to go and will be doing it this weekend along with the inlet gasket. Is oil dripping from both sides of the flywheel housing consistent with a leak from up above or something more sinister like a RMS?

Request more information: "inlet gasket" and "RMS"?

 

[steinhnj]

IMO, not likely from the rear main seal. This would present itself from the centerline flywheel housing hole. And the pictures I've seen I see no drop like I do from areas around the housing. You could always put the wading plug (bolt) in the hole and plug it up, then drive a few days on it just to be sure. Remove after a few days and see what comes out - hopefully nothing. Don't think that's necessary though.

IIRC, you'll disconnect the turbo oil supply and drain lines when you replace the manifold gasket. Assume you have those gaskets along with the copper washers for the oil supply line to the turbo to replace when you reassemble.

Could be a leak from the sump, vacuum pump, turbo oil drain or supply lines, anywhere around the engine and then getting blown back while you're driving, which confuses everything. Trust in the die. Excited to see the results. Clean clean clean before hand!

 

[steinhnj]

I'll post the results and let you know what I find.

This weekend I'll be replacing the gasket (just remove the inlet and unbolt the exhaust manifold -- not planning on touching anything with the turbos), and replace the rocker gasket, which I suspect might be contributing to the leak.

Any thoughts on that "missing bolt" at the front of the engine I posted a few days ago? Should that have a bolt in there?

sent you a PM

 

[steinhnj]

Not yet. Is yours also "missing" that bolt? I understand from @steinhnj is may also be a breather for the engine

No, it’s another tell tale drain. If you have seals leaking in the front of the engine, it will drain out of this hole.