Oil leak around front right tire

leetpcguy

Member
:
2001 Miata
Just got my oil changed about a week ago, and now i have an oil leak thats aobut 8 inches inside of the front right tire, almost like right below the dipstick. Over the course of about 3 days, it has leaked about a tablespoon of oil. I'm definitly not happy, but i'm sure its not something too bad. I did push it pretty hard last night, but nothing that should have made something catastrophic happen. I've also thought about taking it to a mazda dealer to see if they can fix some other problems, like the poorly attached door panels that i've noticed in my car, as well as the ECU flash. Any comments from MSP Vets will be appreciated.
 
Thats what I tought with mine, but our oil filter is there and it might have leaked when they changed the oil, as it did with mine. It might me different with your sitiation, but check the filter and make sure its tight and check the drain plug. Wipe off any excess oil around that area and see what happens in a few days. Check your oil level too to make sure ur not loosing more oil than you think.
 
the guy probobly just didnt do a good job cleaning up after he changed the filter and oil got on things like the axle and overtime dripped down. jack up the right side of your car, put a jackstand under and clean the area. check back after a day or two of your normal driving. as long as you are not visibly missing oil on the dipstick(im assuming you have already done this to know you arent running with no oil) and if the oil dripping doest come back then there u go.
 
I changed oil at a dealer for a while and it surprised me how lazy or sloppy some techs can be. I did that for over a year and I saw about 3-4 motors blow but not from me. Clean up after yourself, always double check the filter and drain plug and check the oil level. Sometimes I would get a guy next to me have a dought in a car he worked on but be to lazy to double check so after a minute I would go and check it cause it bothered me. Most times it was ok but a few times I caught a car without any oil. Long story short always check that there is oil in before you leave and if your in dought about a leak take it back and talk to a manager, the techs get in trouble for doing sloppy work. Good luck, hopefully they just need to wipe it down.
 
if it helps any, i just found more oil on my front sway bar, But only a little splatter on the top. thanks for the input
 
get under the car with a water hose and wash it. Let it dry and check for any leaks.
 
orng1 said:
I changed oil at a dealer for a while and it surprised me how lazy or sloppy some techs can be. I did that for over a year and I saw about 3-4 motors blow but not from me. Clean up after yourself, always double check the filter and drain plug and check the oil level. Sometimes I would get a guy next to me have a dought in a car he worked on but be to lazy to double check so after a minute I would go and check it cause it bothered me. Most times it was ok but a few times I caught a car without any oil. Long story short always check that there is oil in before you leave and if your in dought about a leak take it back and talk to a manager, the techs get in trouble for doing sloppy work. Good luck, hopefully they just need to wipe it down.
yeah this "master" tech at a dealership i used to work at left a few shop rags in someone's oil pan.... it was halarious to see the look on his face when he took apart the car exlaiming he hadn't done anything wrong and he found the rags in the pan.
 
Did you ever solve this problem? Have you checked if it might be the front main seal? Both of my main seals were leaking and I had oil around that area.
 
orng1 said:
get under the car with a water hose and wash it. Let it dry and check for any leaks.

Wait....WHAT?! (boom07)

Um, I don't think I'd advise that. If there's a leak somewhere the last thing you need to be doing is spraying water all over the engine bay. Just wiping down the area will be fine.
 
well it did stop quite a while ago. I'm coming up on my 60,000 mile tune up, but the dealership wants $1000 for everything. Seems kinda stupid considering most of it is just an inspection. Any comments?
 
i believe thats y every1 calls them "stealerships" honestly tho i think alot of they stuff they do do is stuff you should have done just not at the dealership unless ur rich.
 
leetpcguy said:
well it did stop quite a while ago. I'm coming up on my 60,000 mile tune up, but the dealership wants $1000 for everything. Seems kinda stupid considering most of it is just an inspection. Any comments?

Don't pay them to do that. Instead, find out exactly what they will be doing to your car (itemized list). If they will not do that, then tell them to f***K themselves (Just kidding no need to be rude, it may work against you later on). If they give you the list, look through and do all of the stuff you feel comfortable doing yourself. Then if there is anything left, price the remaining services with some other reputable shops. You will probably save a lot of money this way.

Dealership service departments depend on their customers lack of knowledge regarding their cars and autos in general. This is how they get away with charging such ridiculous prices and raping their most loyal customers.
 
i'll find out today at the locar mazda dealer what is included in a 60k service, unfortunately opinions of dealers differ, all you should need to do is what is in your book
 
i am coming up on 60K....will have to check on what i should do to my P5.

i try and clean up my mess when i change mo oil......i usually still get a drop or two from where out oil filter is located......

-R
 
After changing your filter and replacing the drain plug, use a little carb/throttle body cleaner to remove any mess. That should keep everything nice and clean.
 
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