Dripper

pulled into the garage and noticed drippings in a "kitty cat" pattern (cat stepping into paint and leaving a trail behind) left to right every foot apart,right side of truck.checked oil stick,no oil.

bad oil pan gasket,head gasket,rear seal,or oil pressure sender or something else?

not wanting to change this and that if not needed.rather narrow it down to main source.

all help,if any,is appreciated

04 xl 4.6 (or 4.9)L triton rwd

oh.....i dabbed my finger in drop.felt like oil and looked like it.after 10-15 mins all drops on garage floor disappeared.oil doesnt disappear like that,ever.yet it felt and looked like oil.

Dripper

big ol thanks for all the replies back everyone.

oreilley helped narrow it down.blew a seal most likely,maybe oil pan gasket,likely seal.added blue devil an hour ago.will drive over a 100 miles tomm.time will tell if this stuff is worth the cost.feedback on websites suggest 98% satisfaction.

Mod (Ret.)

And thanks for your paitience; folks like to enjoy their weekends, and may not get on the forum during that timeframe.


Glad you got it diagnosed.

Rick's 06

I'm still struggling with if it was an oil leak. Like you said, it evaporated after 15 minutes. Oil wouldn't have done that. Could it have just been condensation from your AC system since you had just pulled in your garage?

Martian

Yeah... also thinking AC system. Oil technically does evaporate, but it takes a VERY long time. Coolant leaves a mark even when it's evaporated. Water doesn't usually leave its own mark (although it can disturb things already on the floor and leave a mark that way). Gasoline would've had an obvious smell to it. Transmission fluid, same as already stated about oil. Water can "feel" like a lubricant because it is. Most chemical labs use either glycerin or water to assemble various apparatus.

Dripper

hate to admit it,you may have a point.no oil on stick,oil splats on ground,gone into thin air mins later.stunned me big time.

a/c went out same day oil splats showed up,no oil on stick.

never in my mechanical experience heard of ac going out mixed with involvement of the oil gone.how?

possible pin hole on ac hose.tried finding it,no luck.its a "process" adding ac back.easy to do but takes step by step.

Dripper

def black oil on the ground,was.apparently oil is mixed with freon to reveal where leaks are at when hose pops a leak.its intentionally added with freon just for that purpose.smart idea.

Toshbar

So where did the blue devil reveal your leak to be originating?

Martian

the oil is mixed with the R134A to oil the compressor, not show leaks. if you want to show leaks, inject a dye into your lines.

Dripper

blue devil added to seal up gasket or main rear seal.so far so good.im impressed (nodding).

strong advice: add blue devil BEFORE draining whats left of the oil.drive around a couple days letting BD do its thing.then drain old oil and add new oil.while adding new oil,seal/gasket ought to be good to go.

dye,or oil im guessing,is added to reveal leaks in ac,not blown gaskets/seals.