# Main seal oil leak?



## A1an (Mar 22, 2007)

Just need a little assistance here. The car in question is a 2007 Rabbit with just under 97k miles. I was performing an oil change today and I noticed some oil residue on the passenger side of the belly pan just under the belt area. Oil pan isn't leaking but I see the area above it behind the pulley does seem to be seeping some oil. This is a new leak...the belly pan was clean when I changed the oil 5k ago. 

Curious if this is just the front main seal or possibly something else? Also interested to see if anyone else has had this issue.

I have 3k remaining on an extended warranty but want to be as informed as possible when I take this to the dealer. 

These are some crappy cell phone pics...

Belly pan:









Photos of the seepage. Pretty crappy quality...was the best I could get with my cell:



























EDIT...some more info came to mind after posting. A couple weeks ago I had a starting issue and had to have the car towed to the shop. Long story short the car 'fixed itself' and started just fine for the tech. No codes or any other issues but they claimed the car was low on oil causing excessive valve noise. I admit the car was a little low on oil but it was still on the lower end of the hash marks on the dipstick...so I was well within factory specs. When I probed further they said it was a quart low and added some oil to find the valvetrain noise went away. When I changed the oil today I noticed a leak from the drain pan plug and from the filter housing (along with the one pictured above). Is it possible the dealer overfilled the oil causing some leaks? This car has been bone try underneath before all this.


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## Dronks (Jun 7, 2011)

Pull the passenger front wheel and wheel well liner off to get a better look and some more pics. The oil looks like it "climbed" up the side of the block leading me to believe it's not a main seal. But, I've been wrong before and those aren't very good angles.

I haven't seen a car leak oil from it being over filled. For the most part, the crank just sloshes around in the oil.


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## A1an (Mar 22, 2007)

Dronks said:


> Pull the passenger front wheel and wheel well liner off to get a better look and some more pics.
> 
> I haven't seen a car leak oil from it being over filled. For the most part, the crank just sloshes around in the oil.


Neither have I but figured it was worth noting. I pulled the dip stick prior to draining and it was above the hash marks. VW tech did an awesome job topping off the oil. 

I'll see if I can get some time to pull the liner this week or at least get a better camera under there.


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## A1an (Mar 22, 2007)

Unfortunately I am not going to have the time to pull the liner for a better look. Just going to take it in and hope they don't give me some **** like they usually do. At least it is pretty obvious something is wrong here.

Yesterday I pulled the belly pan again just to make sure the leak on that side cover isn't getting worse. Discovered my oil filter housing is leaking a little bit as well. I noticed a little drip before my oil change but figured it was from the last oil change...didn't notice any cracks or issues with the plastic threads before I reinstalled. 

On top of this, as of Friday my passenger seat no longer slides forwards or backwards which makes loading my kid in the back so much easier (sarcasm). I looked underneath and I identified the problem but my hands/arms are too big to really get under there to fix it. Thankfully we have a bit left on the extended that will cover this but I'm not happy with the recent events. This car seems to be falling apart. :thumbdown:


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## chc-rado (Nov 20, 2008)

A faulty valve cover breather could be the problem. If it doesn't breathe properly, crank pressure pushes oil in different areas. I will start there and clean engine bay. Other know leaks at times can be the oil filter housing and vacuum pump and your front crank seal.


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## A1an (Mar 22, 2007)

Heard back from the dealer today. Leaking crank seal, cracked filter housing, and the passenger seat rail assembly has to be replaced. Extended warranty is covering it all which is surprising since I thought I'd at least have to come out of pocket for the filter housing. :thumbup:

Had them go over everything else with a fine tooth comb and they couldn't find anything wrong with the car. I really hope this is the last of the issues for a while.


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## Dronks (Jun 7, 2011)

Awesome :thumbup:


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