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 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.



View attachment 59288

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.

 

[Seriouslylotus]

two O rings (one on each pipe and also a gasket). I canT find the Emira diagram of those parts but 99% they will be the same as Evora 400 series cars

 

[djprov431]

two O rings (one on each pipe and also a gasket). I canT find the Emira diagram of those parts but 99% they will be the same as Evora 400 series cars View attachment 59334

this is great, thank you

 

[djprov431]

two O rings (one on each pipe and also a gasket). I canT find the Emira diagram of those parts but 99% they will be the same as Evora 400 series cars View attachment 59334

Do you happen to know where I can source these parts?

 

[Seriouslylotus]

Do you happen to know where I can source these parts?

We buy from Lotus dealer parts department

 

[djprov431]

Got the parts ordered through GRP!

 

[eEmira]

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.

I had the same problem. The day I got the car home from buying it, I saw oil on the garage floor within hours (and 46 miles.) Geez, new car leaking oil. Though having an Evora for 14 years, I accept the Lotus ethos. / Lotus Philadelphia, the dealer I like but not the one I bought the car from, had never seen this b4 and repaired it. There were 2 leaks They replaced the oil filter housing and necessary o-rings & gaskets. I’ve attached the official description from the no-charge invoice. Lotus Philly was really great. Sat in a $430K BAC Mono in their showroom…that’s crazy!

 

[eEmira]

Trying to attach!

 

[djprov431]

Trying to attach!View attachment 59618View attachment 59618

Good info, thanks for sharing! I've got the two o-rings and gasket ordered and will be replacing them myself upon receipt -- the dealer(s) have been fairly useless wanting me to transport the car hours away and leave it for weeks for something they should order (based on my photos) and be ready to install while I wait....It's a simple enough job. I'm curious what the actual failure part is -- the base plate gasket, an improply seated o-ring? I'm leaning toward the gasket with the thought that if it were an o-ring it would be pissing out oil -- mine looks to be a small weeping leak.

 

[eEmira]

The 2 failure points I had were at the line going out from the filter housing to the oil cooler and that same line going into the oil cooler. These leaks were about 3 feet apart and were also slow, weepers like yours. / And for sure, some of the dealers have raised the bar on uselessness. Countless screwups at the dealer I bought from. Glad Philly Lotus opened just in time for servicing my car. They understand their clientele as they have a local dealership network that includes Ferrari, McLaren, Porsche, and Lambo. Our Lotuses are the low-end cars in that group... excluding driving dynamics of course. Please lemme me know how your situation works out.

 

[djprov431]

The 2 failure points I had were at the line going out from the filter housing to the oil cooler and that same line going into the oil cooler. These leaks were about 3 feet apart and were also slow, weepers like yours. / And for sure, some of the dealers have raised the bar on uselessness. Countless screwups at the dealer I bought from. Glad Philly Lotus opened just in time for servicing my car. They understand their clientele as they have a local dealership network that includes Ferrari, McLaren, Porsche, and Lambo. Our Lotuses are the low-end cars in that group... excluding driving dynamics of course. Please lemme me know how your situation works out.

I haven't looked any further than the oil filter area to trace to the oil cooler -- my assumption was that it would be located under the hood (maybe not!) -- and that it's a heat exchanger with the engine coolant (as in, it's also an oil heater when needed) , not it's own "oil cooler". Might need to take a deeper look to be sure, but I do believe the only issues I presently have are right at the filter area pipe and adapter plate. Thanks again for sharing your experience!