Yeah.. I noticed that too... that was not staged. I only noticed after I took the pics. 
Small Oil leak for me too... :-(
- Thread starter Kedis82ZE8
- Start date
RuckinWestwood
Member
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- CX-5
I had a similar leak around that area. The dealership removed and reseal the timing cover. They also replaced the valve cover gasket and did the oil pan also, even though it wasn't leaking from there. All covered under warranty.
Thanks!! Good to know!!!
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- Plano, Texas, USA
There's no way your AC compressor leaking oil or your freon should be totally gone from the pressurized and closed AC system - your AC wouldn't be cold at all! Like RuckinWestwood said, timing chain cover, valve cover, and oil pan seals are the most likely culprits!
Unfortunately.... oil with dye was changed a few months back.
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- Plano, Texas, USA
That's unfortunate. Have you had a chance checking the previous suspected oil leak area between engine and transmission? I guess you can only take your CX-5 in and see what the dealer says. If they reluctant to do anything, may be you should show RuckinWestwood's post and presuade the service tech. We've seen people here having oil leak issues in these areas, timing chain cover, oil pan, valve cover, as Mazda uses sealer instead of traditional gasket.
EDIT: Appt scheduled for Wednesday with dealer.
I was going to check the other spot out this week.... it was still dry at last oil change. I am waiting to see if cold weather changes things up with that spot. I am just trying to get things on record at least if this ends up affecting me adversely in the waning years of my powertrain warranty.
One can likely check out this spot themselves if they crank the wheel a hard left and then shine a light in toward the lower back right corner of the oil pan. Just in front of the CV joint in my pic.
I know some probably think I am OC about issues and leaks. I just want to ensure I can pull over a relatively long trouble-free ownership experience and mitigate repairs costs over the long term. I didn't nor plan to purchase an extended warranty so if this can be fixed with basic warranty that would be good. Frankly if this was off warranty I probably wouldn't care and just keep things topped off.
I really like this little rig.
I was going to check the other spot out this week.... it was still dry at last oil change. I am waiting to see if cold weather changes things up with that spot. I am just trying to get things on record at least if this ends up affecting me adversely in the waning years of my powertrain warranty.
One can likely check out this spot themselves if they crank the wheel a hard left and then shine a light in toward the lower back right corner of the oil pan. Just in front of the CV joint in my pic.
I know some probably think I am OC about issues and leaks. I just want to ensure I can pull over a relatively long trouble-free ownership experience and mitigate repairs costs over the long term. I didn't nor plan to purchase an extended warranty so if this can be fixed with basic warranty that would be good. Frankly if this was off warranty I probably wouldn't care and just keep things topped off.
I really like this little rig.
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Looks like a small amount of oil residue on the original area as well from this thread... so two separate leaks I guess. I'll bring that one up again too.
If you have some ramps one can look into this area pretty well with a flashlight by just removing that small inspection cover in the middle. It is only fastened by one screw.
If you have some ramps one can look into this area pretty well with a flashlight by just removing that small inspection cover in the middle. It is only fastened by one screw.
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- Plano, Texas, USA
Did dealer put dye in your engine or transmission? It seems once the dye is gone, the leak shows up! I guess viprez586 said it correctly, your rear crankshaft seal is leaking.
Dye went in engine.... I did do a lot more towing after the last oil change so might be a red herring but higher load conditions
Mazda mechanic feels this latest leak is coming from the timing cover. They are tearing in to fix this morning.
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- Plano, Texas, USA
Ha, your dealer should learn the lesson from Mazda dealer used by RuckinWestwood, redo all the seals for all possible leak areas while they're there, timing chain cover, valve cover, and oil pan! They can charge all the work to Mazda anyway. (whistle)
And your dealer still insists there's no leak in the rear crankshaft seal like viprez586's case?
I will definitely be monitoring post repair as well.
EDIT: Still getting the road grime story... it was barely noticeable this time. Might try the talcum powder tip that was suggested to source exact location of where that area may be leaking.
Interesting tear down video.... of the chain replacement..... not my problem though
EDIT: Still getting the road grime story... it was barely noticeable this time. Might try the talcum powder tip that was suggested to source exact location of where that area may be leaking.
Interesting tear down video.... of the chain replacement..... not my problem though
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Look at the video. The pictures in the beginning of this thread are an ENGINE OIL leak between the engine and transmission. NOT ATF so no...there is no transmission leak that exists unless its ATF leaking.
That being said lets look at the orientation of the engine here.
The timing chain/cover is considered the FRONT of the engine as it is closest to cylinder 1. That being said, if you had a leak on the FRONT of the engine, it's possible the timing cover could be the source of a leak, or the FRONT main crankshaft seal.
To reiterate: The timing cover and front crankshaft seal are located on the front of the engine, positioned in the vehicle closest to the passenger side.
Going back to the issue at hand. All of these pictures are looking at the REAR of the engine or closest to cylinder 4 and closest to the transmission. Given that we live in a world with gravity, and the design of the engine, it is highly unlikely another component other then the rear main crankshaft seal is the source of the leak. The leak occurs mid-plane and goes down from there.
That being said, most manufactures will not warranty seepage. Seepage can be defined as accumulation of oil appearing wet and typically attracts road debris.
A Leak is defined as puddling, drips, or drops. Make sure you know the difference between those two.
Typically no technician is going to rip apart an additional component to address a leak if it is not leaking.
That being said. The transmission needs to be removed to address the rear main seal replacement. This is a 7-8.5 hour job under warranty labor rates and would take most techs 1-2days to completed upon the arrival of necessary parts to complete the repair.
Warranty times are not an accurate measure of ACTUAL labor time needed to complete the job so your results may vary.
Additionally. The reason they replace the gaskets of the valve cover and re-seal the oil pan is because both of those components need to be removed in order to remove the timing cover. It's the proper repair procedure to address a leak from the timing cover, even if those 2 other components are leaking.
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Given your pictures I would determine that as seepage and will likely be deemed "normal".
On a scale of 1-10, 1 being minimal seepage/film and barely attracting road debris, and 10 being a large widespread area of film, small drops starting to form and drips onto engine splash shield every 10-75miles or so.
I would rate that a 3. Of all the dealerships I've worked at, your seepage would be noted but not deemed a necessary repair or leak at that time. They will probably spray it off with brake cleaner or degreaser and tell you to monitor it or come back in 500 miles.
Yeah... the seepage area of original issue is barely noticeable now. I more or less just want this on record with dealer if it turns into something worse in the future.
The repair today looks like it was only going to get worse as oil started to collect near oil pan and mechanic could visually see where it was coming out of timing cover gasket.
The repair today looks like it was only going to get worse as oil started to collect near oil pan and mechanic could visually see where it was coming out of timing cover gasket.
They are going to replace all seals in that area apparently... timing cover, crank, oil pan, etc..... they want to ensure there are no further leaks in that area. They didn't have crank seal in stock and will take a couple hours to obtain so they sent me home in a new CX-5 loaner. I'll pick it up tomorrow. I told the service writer I was using moly so he made a note to replace with that oil.
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- Plano, Texas, USA
Yeah, I forgot valve cover and oil pan need to be off for timing chain cover re-sealing. Thanks for point it out!
