Leaking Coolant, drips off bell housing

[ddddddd]

Hello! I have noticed that there is a fair amount of coolant leaking from my Xterra. It seems to run down the passenger side and then drips off the bottom of the bell housing. I checked the Heater hoses and they are dry, and I checked the Idle Air Control Valve, it is dry as well. It definitely seems to be coming from the passenger side. Here is a photo that shows the highest (from the ground) location that I can still see coolant leaking down. I haven't been able to find coolant above this point (doesn't mean it doesn't exist higher up, but I haven't been able to find it). This was taken from the passenger side:

I would like to be able to find the source of the leak. I really hope it isn't a head gasket. Are there any tests I can do to rule out the head gasket?

Additionally, it seems my bell housing has a hole in it? Take a look at this video:

https://youtu.be/4jrkrLkqfHk

 

[ddddddd]

Hey everyone! Hope you all enjoyed your 4th of July weekends. Anyways, my X is still bleeding oil from the hole in the bell housing (or it could be coming from the oil pan gasket, idk), and leaking coolant like I described in the OP. Any ideas? I don't want to take this in without having an idea of what could be wrong and what to check.

 

[emtmark]

First pressure test the cooling system if it doesn't hold pressure bad. Good you might spot leak with addition of dye and or seeing the leak with pressure in system. There is a chemical test that will react with combustion products in coolant which should be a confirmed head gasket. Any other symptoms? Smoke in exhaust? Stumbles power loss etc.? Coolant level dropping? How fast? Not much to go on as of yet?!

Check your oil if it's even remotely a chocolate milk color stop driving it!! You done with the little fixes and on the road to rebuild.

What sort of oil from bell? Red black brown?

We want to help but need more info

 

[Jbat]

Coolant running down bell housing could be freeze plug or head gasket issue. Like Mark said, you need to pressure test the system. Oil coming out of bell housing could be rear main seal, oil pan gasket. If it's not actually oil it could be tranny fluid or brake fluid from clutch slave cyl depending if you have auto or manual tranny.

 

[granitex]

there is also a lip gasket on the oil pan that can fail. you have to drop the front diff to get to it, but at least it is easier to fix than the rear main.

 

[ddddddd]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

Mark can you recommend a dye to use with the pressure test? Also, how does the chemical test for head gasket work? Is it like one of these: http://www.amazon.com/UVIEW-560000-Combustion-Leak-Tester/dp/B000NPDL76

I have not seen any smoke in the exhaust, no loss of power (other than when the a/c compressor kicks on). Coolant level does definitely drop, I haven't been keeping a close enough eye on it to tell you the rate of the leak though.

Checking the oil, do you mean by taking out the drain plug on the oil pan? My dipstick is worthless, It always reads empty even after a fresh oil change. I guess it isn't long enough.

The oil on the bell housing is engine oil. It isn't gear oil, and it isn't P/S fluid, i know that for sure. I doubt it is brake fluid from clutch master or slave because the fluid level is constant in the reservoir. It is dark brown, just like used motor oil. I am suspecting a leaking oil pan gasket at this point but i can't really see it well enough to know for sure.

What kind of tests can identify if the oil leak is the rear main seal or a leaking oil pan seal?

 

[emtmark]

Mark can you recommend a dye to use with the pressure test?
No dye for pressure test just what it says your testing to confirm integrity of cooling system. Use the dye to narrow down what fluid your dealing with, dye in transmission fluid or in engine oil etc.

Also, how does the chemical test for head gasket work? Is it like one of these: http://www.amazon.com/UVIEW-560000-Combustion-Leak-Tester/dp/B000NPDL76

that's it exactly, you can buy and use or pay as much or more for Johnny grumpy pants at the shop. Maybe less if you toss a six pack on the counter of the corner station, dealers not so much.

I have not seen any smoke in the exhaust, no loss of power (other than when the a/c compressor kicks on). Good small leak hopefully or just leaking to outside. Test compression in each cylinder to confirm which one or where. I usually don't because ill figure it out when I've torn the engine down enough.

Coolant level does definitely drop, I haven't been keeping a close enough eye on it to tell you the rate of the leak though.
Yikes
Figure that out

Checking the oil, do you mean by taking out the drain plug on the oil pan?

Not always use the dipstick

My dipstick is worthless, It always reads empty even after a fresh oil change. I guess it isn't long enough.

Fix this if you plan on keeping the truck

The oil on the bell housing is engine oil. It isn't gear oil, and it isn't P/S fluid, i know that for sure.

Ok

I doubt it is brake fluid from clutch master or slave because the fluid level is constant in the reservoir. It is dark brown, just like used motor oil. I am suspecting a leaking oil pan gasket at this point but i can't really see it well enough to know for sure.

What kind of tests can identify if the oil leak is the rear main seal or a leaking oil pan seal?

The best tool to use is the Mark 1 Eyeball. Made popular by conundrums like "where did I put my beer" and "that's not my wife, is it?" The Mark 1 has seen constant and severe duty in every climate on earth and has never failed to note the obvious. Proper use however demands exposing the suspect areas for assessment. Wiping and degreasing is the first step. Get all the old **** off so you can better track the nasty. Jack her up, and using all safety devices like chocks, straps, ebrakes, ex-wife behind the wheel fire up the ol beauty and every so often climb under and take a gander. Especially with the ex-wife behind the wheel.
Sometimes ill line the area with scrap cardboard to spot leaks faster. Find it, back track it and fix it.

Disclaimer: you should really make sure the truck isn't going anywhere when you get under it. I do it with the engine running, you should make sure it's off.

 

[granitex]

Clean everything very well before you look but you really need an inspection mirror and light to have any chance to see it. a lift also helps but is not needed.

 

[granitex]

If you don't see oil or combustion materials in the coolant, or coolant in the oil, then a compression test will tell you all that you need to know, unless you have bad rings or valves that is.

 

[ddddddd]

So I did the chemical test for the head gasket. I rented the tools. The fluid stayed blue after 2 minutes of sucking air out of the radiator. This would indicate that there is no combustion gas mixing with the coolant.

Does this test coming back negative rule out a bad head gasket? Or should I still do a compression test on each cylinder?

I have found out that checking the engine oil for "milky" color isn't the best test for head gasket issues, mainly because it can often yield a false negative, i.e. the oil will look just fine but you could still have a blown head gasket. Here is a great video I found that tests many different methods of checking for head gasket issues: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVn-IDi7da8. Watched part one and part two. Very informative.

I do plan on getting a new OEM dipstick.

I like the joke about the Mark I eyeball. I understand that I have to clean up that stuff before I can track the leak, and I did, but what I need to know is what does a RMS leak look like? The best I can trace the leak is back to the engine block on the passenger side only.

Here are a couple videos I shot to help you guys understand whats going on.

https://youtu.be/-0B9dpQ5lEw

https://youtu.be/_6J4axCbslw


So now that the bottom of the crank and the P/S pump are cleaned up, i'll monitor those areas for coolant or oil leaking. I cleaned them up and pressurized the coolant system, and got it to drip off the bell housing at a pretty good rate. I didn't see any coolant on the P/S pump or crank, so I suspect that only Oil is leaking on those parts. Just rule out the P/S pump for now because im not even sure it was oil on it in the first place.

FYI I have completely solved the normal leaky P/S reservoir problem a while back and have had no P/S fluid leaks since. The hoses are dry now.

Thanks for the help guys, I really appreciate it.

 

[ddddddd]

So there are many things to check to narrow it down.
Cleaning and pressurizing the system, and getting the leak you did, where you did tells me you have a blown head gasket between a water passage and the outside of the block.

If this is the case, what is the repair? Obviously a new head gasket, but also I would have to fix what caused the head gasket to fail in the first place. Is it also possible that there is a crack in the cylinder head or block between a water passage and the outside, and the head gasket is fine? I do not have the time or tools to pull off this kind of a job. Has anyone else had to fix this problem, if so how much did it cost??

Second, there is still the problem of the oil leak. I have two suspicions. First is the oil pan gasket. Second is the crankshaft oil seal. I may have incorrectly installed the crank oil seal when I did the timing belt. There is no easy way of telling which it is, either will require substantial labor right?

If the oil pan was indeed leaking, could oil get on the bottom of the crank? well it's not technically the crank itself, but the bottom of the timing belt cover and the engine block (i think).

 

[ddddddd]

If the oil pan was indeed leaking, could oil get on the bottom of the crank? well it's not technically the crank itself, but the bottom of the timing belt cover and the engine block (i think).

I just looked again, and it looks like the oil pan meets the bottom of the crank pulley area, so the oil pan could definitely leak oil onto this area, so perhaps the crank oil seal is fine. Who knows....

 

[emtmark]

When the head gasket job is done if they pull the motor to so it a rear main is easy and stupid not to do while it's out. If they want to do the head gaskets IN the truck you might be able to talk them into a threefer and pull the motor anyways. Do the heads, rear main, and oil pan. I personally would go nuts if the block is out and available depending on age injectors sparkplugs any gasket I could get my hands on check the timing chain etc. the labor to pull the motor I spent use the down time wisely.

Thank you to the poster who went through the litany of head gasket leaks. You seem to have one of the more benign variety. So that's a plus

 

[ddddddd]

Do the heads, rear main, and oil pan.

Do you mean the gaskets for the head? Or do you mean take it to machine shop to have them clean it up?

check the timing chain

The VG33E has a timing belt, not chain. I replaced the timing belt not too long ago, at 133k, so it should be fine.


I guess I have to bite the bullet and get a quote for the repair. Does anyone have estimates for this kind of job? I need to have some idea of what it should cost to know if I am getting ripped off.

 

[ddddddd]

I've been doing some research on other forums, and it looks like TJTJ fixed his head gasket with Bar's head gasket stop leak. Would this be a worthwhile experiment? Or would it just cause more damage?

 

[emtmark]

Do it right, do it once.

 

[ddddddd]

Do it right, do it once.

Yeah..... At about 2000 dollars to have it done professionally, I think I'll give the liquid sealant a try. If I had detected combustion gas in the coolant system, I would totally get it done and pay the big bucks. But I think we have narrowed it down to a crack between coolant passage and exterior. And for that I think the liquid sealant is a good candidate.

My xterra is only worth about 5000, so 40% of the car's value is a bit much. I'm sure there will be more issues down the road too, so saving money here will allow me to put that money into future repairs.

BTW the 2000 quote is the average between 3 different shops. Two are nissan specialists, and once was a regular shop. That quote included replacing the head gasket, getting the heads scraped and cleaned professionally, and replacing the rear main seal.

 

[emtmark]

Why not give it a shot yourself?

 

[ddddddd]

Why not give it a shot yourself?

Time, Energy, Money. Pick two. Right now, with a baby on the way, I'm low on money. Also, my new job is demanding, so I'm also low on Time.

I would love to do it myself, but I don't have a spare car to drive while it is being repaired. I would imagine a day to get the head out, and a few days turn around for the machine shop, and another one or two days to put it back together?

Also, I don't have an engine hoist, so I don't think I'll be able to do the rear main seal or oil pan gasket. I read somewhere that I would need that. What do you think?

 

[granitex]

you can do the oil pan without pulling the engine, you gust drop the front diff, for all of the room that you need.

 

[Silver dude]

Sounds similar to my leak. Mine leaks out the edge of the head near the head gasket area. Many Nissan had a defective casting in that area where the gasket can't seal properly. From the head the leak runs down the back side of the engine and out the bellhousing.

 

[emtmark]

I don't think you need to machine the head? Did you over heat real bad or anything? Going slow and first time should be a two 8hr days to pop off heads and regasket. That would be the cheap route for the head gasket fix and better in every way than magic fix it in a bottle. Like granite said dropping the front diff should give you all the room you need for the oil pan job. Never don a rear main on a nissan but from other jobs is imagine your either going to have to move the trans back or the engine forward or a combination of the two. Pulling the motor with a picker lets you do all three with minimal hassle but you can do one job a weekend get it all sorted.
I'm not saying the bottle fix won't work, but I view that stuff as a desperate get me the eff out of here emergency solution . A crutch until you can get the problem fixed properly. JM2¢