2000 Windstar w 3.8L

Hello. I'm a new poster, but I've actually been browsing here for a while. I guess I've been a bit of a troll.

I've been searching here for my problem, but I haven't located info that addresses it.

I have an oil leak. It started last winter (about Jan) and my oil warning light came on. A check of the oil level showed there's enough oil in the crankcase. The leak is more noticeable when the engine is running. The drip slows down when the engine is stopped.

Being winter, I sent the van to the dealership to have the oil pressure read mechanically at the pressure switch. The reading came back within normal range (can't remember the exact reading at the moment).

I originally thought that the leak was coming from the intake plenum seals. I just did that fix yesterday (many thanks to Pcitizen and his web page). No leaks from the intake plenum. No leak from the left bank valve cover.

The engine has never over-heated.

Does anyone else have an oil leak from their Winnie from the upper half of the engine? I'm thinking it could be coming from the crankshaft (front) seal, or the timing cover. Could there be an oil leak coming from the intake manifold?

Anyone?

The front cover ( timing chain cover ) can be an oil leak problem according to some posts on this forum.

At the top end......you don't get to any oil passages with the upper intake manifold (black nylon).
The oil that you see there is from what is drawn in through the PCV line in that comes from your front (1999 and newer) valve cover.

When you remove the lower (alluminum) intake manifold....you open up oil (and coolant) passages.
Of course, this is a more involved job than the upper manifold.
The lower intake manifold gaskets.....between the alluminum manifold and the alluminum head......are known to fail.....particularly between the coolant passages and the intake air passages....as well as the oil passages.

Sources that I would look for would be the valve cover gaskets, front cover (aka timing cover) gasket, and lower intake manifold gasket.
I am leaning toward the valve cover.
Timing cover is SUPER labor intensive.....so let's hope that it is not that.

The other thing to look for is a need to add coolant from time to time.....as this could be an indication of a leaking timing cover gasket or lower intake manifold gasket......often leaking coolant into the engine oil....which can lead to internal engine damage.

Thanks Guys,

There doesn't appear to be any cross contanimation of oil or coolant in either fluid (whew!). So I'm leaning towards the timing cover (not good either).

Anyone got any tips on power washing the engine (aside from covering the electronics). Is an engine shampoo and garden hose better (less pressure)? I need a clean engine to make tracing the oil leak easier.

I have used simple green......and brake parts cleaner.
You don't want to get oil or grease onto the serpentine belt...

Thanks Wiswind. I've got plenty of simple green....my cleaner/degreaser of choice.

More info on the oil leak. While I haven't traced it upwards, it's dripping at the front, passenger side of the engine. I cleaned the area around the left bank valve cover when I replaced it to fix the upper intake manifold (CEL) problem. I didn't find any leaks there (I was actually disappointed, I was hoping the leak was coming from there). The leak is more noticeable when the engine is running.

Now I'm leaning more towards the timing cover or the front crankshaft seal as the source.