I leak a little bit of oil from around the oil pan, it looks like condensation on the pan itself. I was thinking it's the gasket, but I don't know for sure. It's not leaking a lot but it's leaving a small mess outside wherever I park. Any ideas other than the pan?

 

OMP, Oil filter pedestal. There's a bunch of places, the problem is they all drip down onto the oil pan making it look like the oil pan is leaking when in fact it might not be.

 

I've got the same thing. I'm going to take it to my local rotary guy since he only charges $30 to diagnos a problem. Much better than guessing I will have to do along with the headaches.

 

Crawl underneath and try to determine which side is dripping. If on driver's side agree with Rx7 turbo2. It will drip on the pan and seem to be from the pan gasket. Also consider the oil pressure send unit as a source (common leak) of your leak. It will be tight from both on top and from underneath finding the source.

I suspected the send unit. It will be easire to replace the oil pressure send unit if you remove the oil filter and the pedistal. While at it, replace the two (2) "0" rings at the base of the pedistal. The "0" rings are about 2.00 each at Mazda dealer. It solved my problem.

 

First thing to do is grab a 10mm socket, a rachet and a long extention. Raise the car up, and tighten the bolts that hold on the oil pan. These are notorious for coming loose - albeit just a little- on pretty much all cars. You'd be surprised how often these are loose - especially on older cars. Whenever I have that kind of leak, no matter what car, it is the first thing I check, and wether or not it is the total cause of the leak, the bolts usually neet tightening. Give it a whirl!