Help, I have oil everywhere.....

[skeeter316]

I have a 2003 Explorer Sport Trac. I got almost all the way home last night and noticed my engine pinging like crazy. Sounds like it is on the bottom side of motor. Parked turned off immediately.

When I got to work today, I noticed a huge puddle of oil where my truck had been parked.

Got back home, checked the truck that sat in the same spot all night and day. Hardly enough oil to register on the dipstick. Oil all over the undercarriage near the oil pan. Not in any one specific area. All over the filter, side of oil pan, and everywhere around that area. Something I did notice was a small diameter steel tube, about the size of a break line or oil sending line coming down beside the oil pan, nothing connected to it.

All of the bolts around the base of the oil pan are dry, so I don't think it is the oil pan itself.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks!

[mustangboy]

Did you just get an oil change? If so make sure the oil filter is not double gasketed. Sometimes the old filter gasket will stick and not get removed and they put the new filter on over the old gasket.

[TurboNG]

If no to above question then go get some purple power cleaner and clean your engine bay, add some cheap oil and start it up. With the engine clean and dry you should be able to find the leak. If not get a black light from a novelty store and add some oil dye and look for your leak again ( helps if you have yellow safety glasses on). That steel line isn't the dipstick tube is it that may have came out???? Find out what that is or mb post a photo of it!

[skeeter316]

I did not change the oil recently. Great ideas turbong. I think I will post a pic of the underneath, where this line is. Now that I think about it, it is the size of the dipstick tube, maybe slightly smaller.