leak on drivers side frame rail - what is it??

[AudiTLC]

**photo is one I found in the forum- not mine- but I circled the frame rail were I have what looks like oil buildup.
It's wet, and it's not from the coolant resiv- not leaking there.

In fact, I really can't find any leaks. There is some residue on the intake pipe connection just above the frame rail.
Is it possible oil is leaking out of the intake pipe and onto the frame rail as I drive?? Seems a stretch... no obvious leaks
has me stumped

[SNice]

**photo is one I found in the forum- not mine- but I circled the frame rail were I have what looks like oil buildup.
It's wet, and it's not from the coolant resiv- not leaking there.

In fact, I really can't find any leaks. There is some residue on the intake pipe connection just above the frame rail.
Is it possible oil is leaking out of the intake pipe and onto the frame rail as I drive?? Seems a stretch... no obvious leaks
has me stumped

The only (reasonable) place I could think of would be that the oil is coming from that intake pipe connection.

I would remove the intake pipe and see how much oil drips out. Also remove the connection to the intercooler and see how much comes out. The oil is definitely more likely to pool down there - if that is where it is coming from.

If you do have excessive oil in your charge pipe, I would check your pcv. Does the car surge or run rough at idle?

Maybe you have a pinhole or crack on the bottom side of that upper charge pipe. The hole/crack could be pushing out oil rich air when you are boosting (?).

I can’t think of anything else that would be leaking oil along the top side of that frame rail.


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[AudiTLC]

thanks, yes it's possible it's the intake. I just changed the pcv so there may be a lot of oil there but so strange... car runs fine, no surge or rough idle. maybe slightly rough but nothing too notable. i'll have to open it up thank you

[SNice]

thanks, yes it's possible it's the intake. I just changed the pcv so there may be a lot of oil there but so strange... car runs fine, no surge or rough idle. maybe slightly rough but nothing too notable. i'll have to open it up thank you

Another check is to slowly remove the oil cap at idle. There should be some suction (vacuum at idle) and then the engine should shudder and run a bit rough. If there is no change (or suction) when you slowly remove that cap, you have a bad pcv or a leak somewhere along your intake path.


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[mtroxel]

How long have you had the car? Did the previous owner miss the opening for the p steering reservoir and dump hydraulic fluid on that boost hose?

[AudiTLC]

no, the PS res is not leaking. had the car over 10 yrs

it seems like clean oil... not clear how it got there. no obvious leaks anywhere around it, above it...
I opened up the intake pipe and there was some oil residue (probably from the pcv) and minor wetness at the clamp but cant be sure that's what it is...surprised that much could seep out of the intake pipe.
Still kind of confused where it's coming from. Cleaned it up and will monitor it

How long have you had the car? Did the previous owner miss the opening for the p steering reservoir and dump hydraulic fluid on that boost hose?