3.5 V6 oil leak -- help?

[djprov431]

I had the car in the air this weekend for an oil and filter change at 2100 miles -- there is an oil leak above the oil filter housing, which may be coming from either of the two lines above ---assuming these are oil cooler supply return lines? For warranty Lotus requires the car be brought to the dealership for evaluation, then repair. I reached out to roadside assistance and they offered to flat bed the car to the Winson Salem NC dealer, which is 40 miles closer than the Cape Fear NC Lotus dealer I bought it from. Neither dealer likely has any parts in stock, if any were to be needed for replacement, which means the car will sit for weeks outside if that's the case. When I had the car in the air I did not attempt to check / tighten any fittings on the two hosess, but now I'm wishing I did. Has anyone seen this before? I'd really love to fix it myself than the alternative of sending it 2 hrs away to the nearest dealer and have it sit. It's definitely oil that's dripping.

 

[Aero]

Are those pics before you did the oil filter change? Was there any drips on the ground to indicate any drips? I had oil on the bottom of my filter like that after the filter change but it is because i lubed the o-ring seal too well it weaped down to the bottom like that but went away after cleaning off. Kept checking it for multiple drives. Looks like its weeping from where you stated above the filter though. From the fwd bolt hole at bolt/mounting surface, id suspect a bad gasket at that point letting oil into the bolt hole passage and its coming out the top.

Put it back in the service position you used and check those bolts (theres two each per hose fitting) are torqued properly as peace of mind. If they are you dont have much recourse as you dont want to attempt a fix and then have them not warranty it. Could always try to work with them to schedule it in so its not at dealer til they are ready for it.

 

[djprov431]

The image is before I drained the oil and changed the filter -- it's also looking 'up' at the filter housing area. To me it looks like the pipe connection, whether it's a gasket that covers the entire area, or maybe an o-ring at the pipe -- it would be nice to know what's supposed to be there first, rather than just try and tighten it.....but I admit I wish I put a wrench on it just to check if it was lose.

 

[djprov431]

Does anyone have a part diagram, or know if there's just a single base gasket under the entire pipe assembly, which is what I believe it is,. All I have found so far are similar parts going back to the 2015 time frame when they had recalls for the rubber line replacements. Is this the ticket (the large one on the left) Ebay gasket set

 

[MR69ALB]

The image is before I drained the oil and changed the filter -- it's also looking 'up' at the filter housing area. To me it looks like the pipe connection, whether it's a gasket that covers the entire area, or maybe an o-ring at the pipe -- it would be nice to know what's supposed to be there first, rather than just try and tighten it.....but I admit I wish I put a wrench on it just to check if it was lose.



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There will be more than likely be rubber “O” ring seals above and below the base plate as there is tremendous pressure at that point from the oil pump, my 570S has a similar housing which also had a slight leak 50c worth of “O” ring cured it.