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Engine Oil Leak Diagnostic Check

24K views 35 replies 11 participants last post by  cohenfor 
#1 ·
Hello anyone,

I have a 2014 Fiat 500L Trekking with 69,000 miles. Car has been driven in Texas and New Mexico and I just purchased it for a bargain due to slight hail damage; mostly on the roof of the vehicle. I took a car for an oil change here in Phoenix last week and one of the mechanics at dealership told me an Engine Oil leak has been detected on the front Engine and needs a tech to do an oil leak diagnostic check. Everything else checks out; I changed tires on one of the wheels. Do these type of vehicles have oil leaks after so many years and mileage? Anyone else has this happen and what was the result? I will have it checked out at the Fiat Dealership in a week or two. The mechanics at the place where it was detected told me I'm in no danger but needs to be looked at.
 
#2 ·
Would this be on the driver's side of the valve cover under the PCV box? Perhaps leaking into one or two of the spark plug cavities on that side? There's an updated O-ring where the box attatches to the valve cover. That's usually the problem--about $5 at the dealer parts counter or you can go to ACE Hardware and get one for less than a dollar. It's best to replace at every spark plug change.
 
#4 ·
Hi, I'm sorry to hear this. Please let me know if you plan on visiting a dealership for this concern. I would be happy to open a case for you.

Alison
FiatCares
 
#5 ·
Hello Alison,

I'm scheduled to see the Fiat dealership service this Friday at 2pm here in Scottsdale Arizona and he will check it out not only that but everything else with this car 6 years old and with 69,000 mileage. I'll put the results for everyone in here that has similar vehicles like mine. I'm hoping its not a leak from the engine gasket; hoping its from an oil filter that was improperly installed before i purchased this nice car.
 
#11 ·
DuvalMatt, please tell me more about the leak from the oil cooler sensor. My Abarth has started leaking from the oil filter housing. I took the under panel off for a better look and the only place I saw oil was dripping from the filter housing- is that thing below it the oil cooler? I am guessing it is, but it looks so small.
 
#12 ·
Cool keep me posted. I like to know all issues i can about these cars to spread the knowledge and help the community.
FInally got the results; the oil leak is from the vacuum pump and PCV O-ring: cost is $621.53 to fix it. They also found A/C LIne leaking: cost to fix it is $728.11. They recommend changing the spark plugs every 30K miles; which is $248.15.

What do you all think?
 
#13 ·
I think you can change both those things your self for less than 200 dollars if you are even lightly mechanically inclined. The spark plugs and the pcv/vacuum pump anyways. The ac system only has a few hook ups and they are not very hard to get to either. You can change your own spark plugs for less than 75 dollars with a 5/8 spark plug socket and a 6 inch extension and a few other tools in about and hour. So I wouldn't pay anyone to do that. If you are not mechanically inclined at all it sounds about right but almost all of that cost is labor the parts for either fix are less than $100 as long as it's the vacuum pump seal and not the pump itself
 
#14 ·
You do have the owner's manual? Follow THAT schedule. My 2013 Sport manual says 30k. Change the plugs yourself for like $30. The $1 PCV O-ring can be easily done at the same time. See my Post #2. Clean the area up with paper towels and then see if you still have an oil leak.

Exactly where is the A/C line leaking? If you paid for a diagnostic they should show you the exact spot. I'll bet it's just a loose connection.

Also you can try next time Bill Luke Fiat in Tempe.
 
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#21 ·
Hello all, I decided to go buy a Vacuum Pump at a dealer shop parts that comes with the O-ring for $169.00 today. Also will buy NGK Iridium spark plug for $15.00 for a set of 4, Engine and Cabin Air Filters to replace and buy those at either Autozone/O'Reillys or Napa auto parts. My co-worker friend told me that we should install all of these parts in 30-45 minutes at my work place parking lot. Now for the leak for my Air Conditioning unit; I think i can get by because my A/C is working fine and don't know of any noticable leaks. I wondering from some in here if the line is loose and needs adjusting/tightening to fix the minute leak; I'll youtube it to see if I can do it myself or have a local mechanic do it for me for much lower than $728.00.
 
#22 ·
All of that sounds great... but plan for about a hour and a half, just based on things not working as planned.and if your ac is still working normal and you have noticed no difference in its performance then ride it out and see if it gets warmer over time or if you notice warm patches, then it is getting progressively lower on freon and will need to be addressed. There are 2 connections for the ac on the ac compressor itself which you will be able to see/feel when the air intake is removed to do the spark plugs. I believe they are 10mm and you can just check them for tightness... for now.. the other connection is behind the front bumper cover (not so easy to remove or get to), attached to the condenser on the passenger side of the vehicle. Not sure if you can get to it without taking the cover off or not. Good luck, hope all goes as planned.
 
#23 ·
Hey DuVaMatt, do you happen to buy Engine Air Filters and Cabin Air filters from amazon.com? Lots of the local autozones, Napa and other autoshops auto Air filters costs from $45-60 each. I seen some Engine Air Filters that are priced from $9-25 each call Ecoguard and see they had great reviews. Has anyone bought them with no problems; I seen lots of people buying them from Amazon and had great reviews of these filters.
 
#32 · (Edited)
Find a local mechanic. Those prices are ridiculous. My mechanic changed my plugs for $50. I supplied the plugs. Dealers are outrageous. I think I might have one of the most reliable and issue free 2012 Fiat 500 on the planet. Over 150,000 and not a single oil leak or mechanical problem ever. I should hit 200,000 in about three years.
 
#34 ·
I, too, am having the same issues as outlined in this thread.

109615


Check engine light came on last Wednesday while wife was driving down the highway; then it started blinking. Told her to pull over and turn off the car, wait, then turn it back on. Turned back on and light was still illuminated solid. Told her to drive it to the nearest big box parts store and have the codes read. One code came back: P1068. After hours of reading online forums, and noticing oil leaking from the car, I concluded it was likely the oil leak that caused the code. My initial eyeball search of the oil leak brought me to the vacuum pump area. While I was working on that area, I decided to replace the valve cover gasket, the PCV o-ring, and the spark plugs as well.

109617

There was a weird hole at the bottom (circled red) where oil continued to come out of after I removed the vacuum pump and gasket.

After replacing the above-mentioned, I started the car up to check and make sure everything was running smoothly. Oil started leaking from the passenger's side at about one drip per second. This lead me to the plastic oil filter housing that I bought from NAPA. To me, it looked like the rubber o-ring that goes around the housing was not making a proper seal. So I went to the dealer and bought and a new housing and rubber o-ring. That seemed to stop the drop-per-second leak. I wiped everything down last night and put a piece of cardboard under it to see if any leaks still existed overnight.

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When I woke up, sure enough there was oil on the cardboard. I noticed the follow beads of oil on the driver's side. Can someone help me identify what part is circled in red? Additionally, there looks like there might be a gasket, as indicated. Could someone confirm?

109620

In addition, there were also beads of oil on the passenger's side underneath the oil filter location, but no oil had leaked onto the cardboard from this area. I am hoping this is just some residual oil from my transitioning of the new oil filter housing. Will continue to monitor.

NOTE: I took the car into the shop to have the oil cooler gasket replaced. That was sometime last year.

I am not sure where to go from here and don't really have the time or money to continue to replace parts that don't need replacing...although it is nice to do! Any hints, tips, tricks, secrets, or advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
#35 · (Edited)
^^^^^^ Yes, there is a gasket that leaks on the oil cooler.

Eurocompulsion sells them.

This gasket fits the first generation 500 1.4 Turbo & Normally Asperated Engines.

The FIAT/MOPAR Part Number of the gasket is: Part Number: 68213432AA

Vision care Eyewear Font Circle Electric blue


GENUINE FIAT OIL COOLER GASKET
(FIAT 500 ABARTH, FIAT 500T, FIAT 500)


LINK: GENUINE FIAT OIL COOLER GASKET (FIAT 500 ABARTH, FIAT 500T, FIAT 500)

$11.99 each

Hope that helps -
 
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