Have an oil leak around oil filter

str8stang036

New Member
Dec 28, 2002
1,382
0
0
Miami
Hello everyone! I have noticed that my '01 stang has been leaking oil for some time now near the oil filter. Its not the oil filter because I had replaced it and cleaned all the oil residue from previous leaking.

I noticed that where the oil filter is, behind that there is a bracket or block that bolts to the main block. Does that have gaskets or seals that prevent it from leaking?

Completely stock stang for those who wanted to know.
 
  • Sponsors (?)


yes there is a gasket behind the oil filter adapter, mine developed a small leak there as well.
gasket is cheap ^20.00, and easy to install, just a little messy because of the oil and coolant
good luck
 
The oil filter in these Mustang's are at an odd angle and location - it's difficult to take the filter off without getting oil all over the place. Are you sure it's an actual oil leak or is this the result of a recent messy oil change?
 
2003 GT Mustang 4.6 leak within the oil filter adaptor!

Yes, my sons's 2003 GT Mustang with the 4.6 engine has the same oil leak some where within the oil filter adaptor. We will be replacing the gasket shortly. Looks like we have to drain both the engine oil, and the anti-freeze coolant. The oil filter adaptor supports both fluids. At this point it appears that oil may be leaking through one of the bolt holes in the oil filter adaptor. Just wondering if any type of sealant must be used on any of the threads for any of the bolts when replacing the gasket? Anyone find any type of instructions for replacing the oil filter adaptor gasket. The picture provided here is the actual gasket for the oil filter adaptor. It has 3 fluid ports, and 4 bolt holes. It's actually a piece of plastic approx. 1/8" thick, with O ring type seals imbedded around the port holes on both sides of the plastic. Even the bolt holes have rubber seals in them. That brings up a Red Flag in my mind! Hope this helps. Good luck, Tommy.
 

Attachments

  • 2003 GT Mustang 4.6 oil filter adaptor gasket.jpg
    2003 GT Mustang 4.6 oil filter adaptor gasket.jpg
    22.5 KB · Views: 4,803
2003 GT Mustang 4.6 leak within the oil filter adaptor!

I am sure its not the filter. I cleaned it all up when changing the oil before and its all back again. I was down to 1 1/2 qt of oil because of this.

If you have the 4.6 engine, then it is probably leaking from the same area of the oil filter adaptor like my son's adaptor is. I would suggest you purchase the appropriate gasket for the oil filter adaptor and replace it. More than likely, the oil is leaking through one of the O ring seals in one of the bolt holes on the adaptor. If you look good at the picture of the gasket in my thread above, you will note that there are O ring seals inside each of the 4 bolt holes of the gasket material. This has to be where the oil is leaking from. I will be replacing the gasket on my son's car this weekend when he gets off from work. I will be taking a picture of the leaking area if I find it, and I will post it here. Good luck, Tommy.
 
2003 GT Mustang 4.6 leak within the oil filter adaptor!

str8stang036, Ok, I decided to take a close up picture of the oil filter adaptor gasket to show you where I think the oil may be leaking from. If you click on the picture to make it larger, you will note that I have identified one of the bolt holes with a red circle. I suspect the oil is leaking through one of these 4 bolts holes. Note the O ring seal inside of the bolt hole. This is where I feel the oil is leaking from. The only way to stop the leak, is to replace the old gasket with a new one. To do this, you will have to drain out both the engine oil from your engine, and anti-freeze coolant from your radiator. The reason is, the oil filter adaptor supports both ports on the engine. After you replace your gasket, you will have to torque the bolts on your oil filter adaptor to the required spec's. Hope this helps. Good luck, Tommy.
 

Attachments

  • 2003 GT Mustang 4.6 oil filter adaptor gasket close up with red circle.jpg
    2003 GT Mustang 4.6 oil filter adaptor gasket close up with red circle.jpg
    49.8 KB · Views: 4,430
I was down to 1 1/2 qt of oil because of this.

OMG! How long did you drive it in this condition? Didn't it make some god awful racket, especially when starting it up? That's only 25% of the amount of oil you should have...and that's scary. If you didn't do any damage, you certainly age some parts very rapidly. With minimal lubrication and excess heat, the moving parts wear quickly.
 
Replacing the gasket behind the oil filter adaptor!

TTT Any updates on this. Just noticed mine doing the same. GT Tommy, any tips for making this go smoothly?

We still have not replaced the gasket yet. As I mentioned previously my son is a Police Officer and uses his car daily on patrols. We intend to replace the gasket on his next day off. The oil is still leaking from what appears to be one of the bolt holes from the oil filter adaptor. Just make sure you drain your engine coolant, and your engine oil before you remove the oil filter, then your oil filter adaptor. After you remove the oil filter adaptor, make sure you remove any gasket material that may still be on the engine, or on the oil filter adaptor, then wipe both area's clean and dry. The gasket that you will be using is shown in a previous thread. Let us know how things turned out for you. If you are able to post a picture that would be great. Hope this helps. Good luck, Tommy.
 
I will replace the gasket this weekend... I did not know about the coolant issue, I thought the coolant port was only for 4V engines so I suppose on 2V's the oil filter adapter is blind on the cooland port?... It is OK for me as I have to flush the cooling system and replace the engine coolant anyway... Will post back when the job is done...

I will also remove the radiator. I replaced it some time ago and started leaking cooland through the gaskets (o-rings)... I suppose the clamps were not properly bent on the factory and the radiator gaskets did not seat properly... I will bent them further a little bit... the radiator cap is OK...
 
I noticed that where the oil filter is, behind that there is a bracket or block that bolts to the main block. Does that have gaskets or seals that prevent it from leaking?

behind that oil filter is an oil cooler..if u take that oil filter off u will see an allen head..get and allen wrinch to fit it and i'm pretty sure thats where ur leak.thats what mine did and i drove myself crazy lookin for a leak and i took the oil filter off and seen that..dont get it to tight just snug it up
 
I noticed my car leaking oil a few weeks ago and after changing the oil and cleaning off all the parts around the filter.... I dread that I have this same problem. It is a super slow leak, maybe a drop or 2 every day I run it and it looks like there is zero leak when it just sits. I did tighten one of the bolts a little but haven’t noticed much difference. I really didn’t want to have to go through something like this considering I just want to sell my car...

Anyone have any further info?
 
I noticed my car leaking oil a few weeks ago and after changing the oil and cleaning off all the parts around the filter.... I dread that I have this same problem. It is a super slow leak, maybe a drop or 2 every day I run it and it looks like there is zero leak when it just sits. I did tighten one of the bolts a little but haven’t noticed much difference. I really didn’t want to have to go through something like this considering I just want to sell my car...

Anyone have any further info?

Its a simple install to change that gasket behind the remote oil filter adapter. Jack stands and and socket exstension with appropiate sockets is all you need. Maybe worth putting some PB blaster on the bolts and let set for a while. Straight forward install minus draining coolant and cleaning up the oil spill.