My 96 started leaking alot of oil

[Salvador Mondragon]

I have a 96 4.0 efi that's been good to me the time I've had it, it's had some little issues but nothing too bad but I don't want to drive it in its current condition. It makes a rattle noise when I'm stopped at a red light also and its getting worse. I checked under the car and it had alot of oil running down but this part looks like where the oil is coming from and looks broken but not sure. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[974X4BLACKSPORT]

Looks like power steering fluid, check all your hyd. lines, pump, and rack & pinion.

 

[imp]

@Salvador Mondragon
As stated, first you must determine WHAT the oil is: Power steering fluid, Engine oil, or Brake fluid, can't be anything else.

Most importantly, check ENGINE OIL level. If it's very low, the noise comes from the timing chain guides and tensioners, and they will quickly be ruined.

If steering fluid, Power Steering pumps usually make a whining or growling noise when low on fluid. It is likely that you have a steering fluid hose ruptured. Do not drive it until you can determine the exact cause, at the very least. imp

 

[410Fortune]

what he said! Looks to be in the area of the power steering system BUT the oil pressure sensor is also on that side of the block.....so it could also be engine oil

 

[Salvador Mondragon]

Ok thank you for the advice, so I checked the power steering fluid and the oil level and it's definitely motor oil that's leaking. So i cleaned the underside to see where the oil is coming from and added a little to the motor and let it run for a couple seconds and found this yellowish tip leaking oil. Can someone tell me what it is, the pic is from under the engine and the little wire leads up to the top of the engine

 

[Salvador Mondragon]

The rattling noise has been going on for months now it recently started getting bad to the point I want it checked now and it sounds like it's from the transmission maybe, the rattling doesn't seem to be coming from the engine, more like from the whole car but I'll check the timing chain guides and tensioners

 

[Turdle]

Leaking part is the oil pressure sending unit. Could be leaking where the extended mount threads into engine also, but to me it looks like the sender has cracked.

I think there is a rear ( of engine) timing chain also.

 

[Salvador Mondragon]

Thanks man I'll go buy that now, I tried to follow the little hose to the top of the engine but it's covered but I don't see any oil on the top

 

[Turdle]

It's not a hose. It is a wire. The wire goes to the oil gauge in the instrument cluster.

The connector to the sending unit just pulls off, revealing a threaded stud on the sender which is the sender's connector.

 

[410Fortune]

He has a ohv 4.0, no timing chains, its a 1996
The is the oil pressure sensor for the dash oil pressure gauge
You will need to remove it from the engine and inspect
The white plastic part is just a cover and has nothing to do with sealing in the oil

You likely need to replace the sensor, they are not expensive

Once the sensor is out of the engine you will want to inspect that area really good with a high powered light, make sure there are no cracks/leaks in the metal adapter or engine block, basically the plumbing behind the sensor itself.

Do not OVERTIGHTEN the adapter to engine block fitting is tapered and if you tighten too far it can crack the block (ask me how I know)

Here is the sensor in question:

To get to the sensor you will need a 1-1/8" socket (pretty sure its 1-1/8" don't quote me on that its been a while) and you can get to it from in front of the drivers tire with a ratchet, some extensions and that socket

1996 FORD EXPLORER 4.0L V6 Oil Pressure Sender / Switch | RockAuto

Pretty simple repair really, just make sure its clean when you install the new one
The rattle underneath the truck check your catalytic converter heat shields, sometimes the welds break and they sit down there and rattle like crazy

Good luck!

 

[Salvador Mondragon]

Ok so I changed the part (pretty simple) and wiped as much oil and grease as I could off, then added more oil and turned on the engine and there's no obvious leaking anymore but I'm still not sure, seems like alot of oil mess for that part but could of been the freeway drive home that made it go everywhere, I want to check the oil pan gasket real quick though but I'm not sure where it is

 

[domct203]

Ok so I changed the part (pretty simple) and wiped as much oil and grease as I could off, then added more oil and turned on the engine and there's no obvious leaking anymore but I'm still not sure, seems like alot of oil mess for that part but could of been the freeway drive home that made it go everywhere, I want to check the oil pan gasket real quick though but I'm not sure where it is

The oil is under pressure, it will make a mess fast.

Get yourself a can of engine cleaner and spray around the area to remove some more of that oil residue, so you can see if there are any more leaks.

Watch your oil level as well. If there’s a leak, you’ll see it in the oil level.

 

[imp]

In all my years I've never seen a sending unit leak from it's inside; it has always been thread leakage, either due to looseness or cracked housing. The newer units already have some type of sealer on the threads, so no need to fool with teflon tape or other stuff; teflon has caused cracking of thin-walled parts often. Since his leak seems fixed, I'd say the old sender was leaking. No sealer will seal a cracked housing, at least not permanently. imp

 

[Salvador Mondragon]

I turned on the engine checking to see anymore oil leaks and I think that part was the only problem cuz its been running a few minutes now and I don't see any oil leaking so thats good. But I noticed this pipe looks a bit worn and it has a little smoke coming from it from the (i assume) oil and grease on it, can someone tell me if it's normal or if it looks like it's gonna blow. It's not hanging loose but the heavy vibrating the car makes could still be making it rattle. Gonna replace some more little parts (air filter,spark plugs, pcv valve, and anything else i can think of thats not too expensive) to see if it helps the car run a little smoother, I figure it could use some replacement parts considering how old it is. A big thanks to you all, that oil mess scared the **** outta me

 

[410Fortune]

Its an old truck! Lucky for you it's a tank. The 96 OHV 4.0 Explorer is one tough SOB
You have residual oil on your exhaust pipes, the smoke is it burning off....
Tune up parts are always a good idea, you can search this forum and learn ALOT about that rig of yours.

Well done so far! A good way to see how many leaks you have and where they are coming from is a good power washing of the engine bay and suspension, then let it dry and park over some cardboard. Check the cardboard daily to see what is leaking and when, whether cold or hot.
A few drips from various places on a daily driven truck from the 90's is perfectly acceptable

The 4.0 is known to leak oil from a few places, like the valve cover gaskets, the oil filter adapter O ring and as you found out the oil pressure sensor/adapter. They are also known to reach well over 250K miles on a regular basis, they are very very good engines.

 

[Eric Tang]

My O/P sensor went at about 150,000 miles and made one hell of a mess. Luckily, I was close to work and made it back before damaging the engine. My advise, if you make it to 150k before it goes, change it. If it goes out miles from home, it could cost you a tow, or worse........an engine.

 

[Blue Oval Charlie]

Wow, thread is over a year old. I'm having similar leak issues. I've got a 98 SOHC. I've got fluid down the front of the engine and down to the driver side lower control arm. It's also coming down the back of the engine and covering the bellhousing. From what I can see it looks like it may be coming from the threads on the high pressure power steering line and/or the front timing chain tensioner. I so need to add oil every other month and just added PS fluid yesterday (pump started whining). Could it be coming from anything else as well?