mdude

just wondeing has anyone used oil dye to find an oil leak. if so which brand do you recommend and are there any harmful effects. thanks

shawnk

I tried it several times on different leaks but didnt have any luck. What general area is the leak in? The hardest leak I ever tracked down was my front cover leak.



I just leaked when the rpm's were exactly right to throw oil off of the chain through the bad seal area.

mdude

im pretty sure the oil leak is coming from the oil pan. i just want to make sure

katit

iTrader: (1)

Clean up area really well with brake cleaner so it's dry. Drive it. Check it again.

jkstill

iTrader: (11)

I've used it, it works.

Don't know of any harmful side effects.

Most likely culprits are oil lines (crush washers) and the pan.

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

So, anyone have any advice on using UV dye to find oil leaks? I just added 1 ounce to my oil to try and find leaks but so far haven't had any luck finding anything. I used this stuff:
Drove around for a few miles.
Jacked up the car to have a look using this UV flashlight and glasses:

I'm not seeing anything. Do I need to drive it / run the engine longer? Should I have used more than 1 ounce?

I did get under the car with the engine running and found that my stock oil filler neck is leaking around the bolts. It also looks like the driver side engine mount might be leaking around the bolts.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

i've used it, but it takes a long time in a shop environment. you clean everything up, send the customer home and let them drive it for a while, and look when they come back.

on an FD usually you don't need to go that far, its usually pretty obvious, and or leaking from everywhere

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

Oil filler neck is usually the O-ring at the base of the filter neck. That's an easy fix.

The leak around the motor mounts is probably the oil pan. 90% of FD's have a leaky oil pan.

I typically just clean up the mess with rags/brake clean and then drive around some and see where it's coming from. There's only a few spots that oil can be leaking from so it isn't super hard to track down, no real good reason for using the dye or something IMHO.

Dale

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

I'll drive it some more then and re-check. Was hoping the dye would make this easier.

teebeekay

iTrader: (4)

Wipe down everywhere you can reach with a rag and then spray it off with brake cleaner. The UV dye actually does help. Also take a look at the UV dye on the dipstick so you know exactly how it should "glow" so you don't confuse it with coolant or other fluids.

Like everyone said it might take some drive time for the leak to develop. This is obvious but turn off every other source of light if you can.

cr-rex

iTrader: (114)

this is all you need to do. There's no need for the dye.

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

Good idea on checking the dip stick! I'm actually finally seeing dye. It's definitely helping to pinpoint.