Oil Filter Housing Leak????

[ed_hall1]

I have a 1995 Crown Victoria with 177k miles. Over the last few months the vehicle has been loosing more and more oil (about one quart per 1000 miles). I have oil all over the area around the oil filter, and running down the oil pan. I thought that the problem might have been a bad seal on the oil filter so I changed the oil and put a Napa Gold oil filter on. It still leaked. So next I replaced the oil pressure sensor, this seemed to slow the leak down slightly but was not the total solution. I checked all of the oil pan bolts and all were tight.

Here are my questions… Could I have a faulty oil filter housing? Most of the oil seems to come from this general area, and the housing appears to be replaceable. Is this easy to replace/correct? If this is not the problem, what else should I be looking at? Front oil seal? If I have to change the oil seal & pull the pan, I might as well do a full engine refreshing.

Thanks

Ed

[BMFer1]

The oil filter housing has a gasket where it attaches to the engine. If your car is a police interceptor, it also has an oil cooler. The lines to the oil cooler attach to the oil filter housing, and the o-rings that seal them can leak. One of the two is most likely your leak source.