Hemi oil leak

[haydene94]

Hey everybody!
I hope you're having a good Monday. I was under my Ram changing the oil this afternoon and noticed a wet weeping spot between the rear of the engine and transmission. I haven't seen any wet spots on the street where I park so I'm not totally sure how long it's been going on. My question for you all is can I re-snug that bolt down to factory spec? Or do I leave it be?I'm not really sure what to do. The truck only has 42,000 miles on it. If it's not that big of a deal I'm happy to not touch it but I don't want this leak to get worse.

Thank you!
-Hayden

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[Nick_rp]

Torqueing those bolts wont do anything. My eyes maybe playing tricks on me but that oil looks like it has a red tint to it. Wipe some off with a white paper towel. Red= transmission fluid. If it is, do a quick level check before driving. Engine running and up to temp on a level surface, than pull dipstick.

 

[CVX20]

Wash it off good,run it for a couple of days and then have a look staring from the top and working your way down.

Can't count how many times I've seen pan gaskets replaced when it was actually valve covers or intakes that were leaking.It was dripping off of the pan so that's what got resealed.

 

[indept]

Wash it off good,run it for a couple of days and then have a look staring from the top and working your way down.

Can't count how many times I've seen pan gaskets replaced when it was actually valve covers or intakes that were leaking.It was dripping off of the pan so that's what got resealed.

As CVX20 said clean it and drive for a few days & keep checking it. Oil leaks will flow down and it will blow from front to rear so look above & forward of the spot you pictured. The hole in center between engine & trans is a weep hole. If it's tranny fluid from the front trans seal I would expect it to come out of that hole.

 

[haydene94]

Thanks guys. I sprayed that whole area down with brake cleaner and wiped it off yesterday. I'll check it again later today. I'm gonna take it on a little cruise today to see if the oil comes back. Now with the trans level, I have the 8 speed and I don't believe I've seen a dipstick for it. Is there level check procedure for that?

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[indept]

Torqueing those bolts wont do anything. My eyes maybe playing tricks on me but that oil looks like it has a red tint to it. Wipe some off with a white paper towel. Red= transmission fluid. If it is, do a quick level check before driving. Engine running and up to temp on a level surface, than pull dipstick.

Thanks guys. I sprayed that whole area down with brake cleaner and wiped it off yesterday. I'll check it again later today. I'm gonna take it on a little cruise today to see if the oil comes back. Now with the trans level, I have the 8 speed and I don't believe I've seen a dipstick for it. Is there level check procedure for that?

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If it's the ZF 8hp70 then the trans fluid won't be red as Nick_rp suggested, it's green fluid in that.

 

[Nick_rp]

If it's the ZF 8hp70 then the trans fluid won't be red as Nick_rp suggested, it's green fluid in that.

The red tint im seeing could just be my phone but i figured it was important enough to make note of. Green fluid is a new one for me. Need to educate myself some more

 

[PoMansRam]

Man you gotta love CA vehicles. It's ~7yrs old and looks newer than my 2019 does underneath!

Given that oil stain appears to be only on the right side, could it be oil filter related?

 

[haydene94]

Man you gotta love CA vehicles. It's ~7yrs old and looks newer than my 2019 does underneath!

Given that oil stain appears to be only on the right side, could it be oil filter related?

Hahaha thanks man! I try to keep it clean. I'll take a look up there today too. Yesterday the old oil filter was bone dry before I removed it. I'm gonna take a flashlight and have a look from the top down.

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[haydene94]

Quick update guys:
I took another look and it appears the passenger side rear of the valve cover and head are wet with some oil. It's not a lot but I'm pretty sure I found the culprit. I tried to look from the top end and couldn't see anything because the hemi is so damn big. For comparison the first picture is the passenger side and the second is driver side (which is bone dry and clean). Is the valve cover gasket a common failure on the 5.7? I'm hoping it's a simple fix

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[indept]

Try snugging the valve cover bolts, not real tight but snug. They're small bolts threaded into aluminum so it won't take too much to strip them. Maybe someone here can chime in with a torque spec?

 

[haydene94]

Try snugging the valve cover bolts, not real tight but snug. They're small bolts threaded into aluminum so it won't take too much to strip them. Maybe someone here can chime in with a torque spec?

Thanks for the quick reply. I just googled it and the spec is 105 in. Lbs. I'll give it a go [emoji106]

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[Taylor513]

Hahaha thanks man! I try to keep it clean. I'll take a look up there today too. Yesterday the old oil filter was bone dry before I removed it. I'm gonna take a flashlight and have a look from the top down.

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Not to get off from the main point of the valve cover but you changed your oil and the oil filter that you removed was bone dry?

 

[haydene94]

Not to get off from the main point of the valve cover but you changed your oil and the oil filter that you removed was bone dry?

Haha sorry I worded that wrong! The filter was full of oil but the outside of it was dry. My bad

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[Taylor513]

Haha sorry I worded that wrong! The filter was full of oil but the outside of it was dry. My bad

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Hahaha ahhh no worries. That makes a lot more sense.

 

[Hector92]

@haydene94 what was causing it to leak did you ever find out, having this issue at the moment with mine

 

[fijicorey]

I have this same leak! I noticed it as well when I was changing my oil. It's not leaking enough to drip on the ground, so I'm not going to worry about it but it is something to keep an eye on

 

[willtaylor]

I have a 2016 Ram 1500 5.7L Hemi Longhorn 55K miles. I noticed a small oil leak about 12 months ago... only a couple of drops at a time. The leak would stop periodically, however yesterday I found a large puddle of oil under my truck (1 -1.5 Q). I started my truck and it started gushing oil from the passenger side of the engine above the oil pan. I had it towed last night to my mechanic, talking with him he told me it is too hard to tell over the phone what is causing the issue without getting in there. Hopefully it is only a valve cover gasket or an oil sending unit. I will post what we find as it seems small leaks on the Ram 5.7 L can lead to a catastrophic oil release. Luckily I was at the house and not on the road for work when it let loose. More to follow, but I thought this may help someone else with the same situation.

 

[crackerjack1957]

If its gushing it's the oil sending unit, oil filter loose, has a puncture, bad or double oil filter seal.

 

[willtaylor]

If its gushing it's the oil sending unit, oil filter loose, has a puncture, bad or double oil filter seal.

Mechanic said the oil filter was loose... that's what I get for A. having someone else change my oil and 2. (lol) not getting up under my truck to check it myself.