Huge oil leak

[Notagto]

Got a 2015 Regal Turbo w/89k miles and came out to a huge oil leak this afternoon. The oil seems to be pooling on the drivers side engine block and making its way down.

Any jdeas based on pics below?


Is that the transfer case on the drivers side that its pooling on?

I already had 2 pistons replaced under warranty at 34k miles. Is this another case of the engine going boom?

 

[JacupV.]

That would be your vacuum pump.. It’s on the side of the cylinder head big circle thing on the drivers side with a black cover... Yeah it exploded and busted open the black case and it’s dripping on the upper radiator hose and running down the hose. Hitting the fan and... Well... We all know what happens when sh*t hits the fan LOL! Happened to mine also. Makes a hell of a mess 🤦‍♂️

 

[JacupV.]

Here. I screen shot your pic and circled in red where it’s leaking.

 

[TheBude]

Unfortunately, I know nothing about Regal's. However, best way to track any oil leak is to disconnect negative battery terminal. Cover alternator and all appropriate sensors with something waterproof then use a degreaser such as Gunk brand spray on and a bunch of disposable rags to clean from the top of the engine downward. Use cardboard under car to catch the runoff.

After engine is clean visually check for leaks from the top down from cold start to operating temp. Can use baby powder or athletes foot spray on suspected areas if you can't find an obvious leak.

Most cars have common oil leak issues amongst make/model/year (generation). Most likely there are related threads here and elsewhere that can help out as well.

 

[JacupV.]

Unfortunately, I know nothing about Regal's. However, best way to track any oil leak is to disconnect negative battery terminal. Cover alternator and all appropriate sensors with something waterproof then use a degreaser such as Gunk brand spray on and a bunch of disposable rags to clean from the top of the engine downward. Use cardboard under car to catch the runoff.

After engine is clean visually check for leaks from the top down from cold start to operating temp. Can use baby powder or athletes foot spray on suspected areas if you can't find an obvious leak.

Most cars have common oil leak issues amongst make/model/year (generation). Most likely there are related threads here and elsewhere that can help out as well.

Yeah, can do that. But if it’s anything like mine was (which it looks like it is lol) you should be able to see it dripping off the vacuum pump with just the car idling. Might want to just wipe it down to verify but by the looks of it.. should be able to tell just by turning the car on lol unfortunately. Good thing is! It’s only like $100 bucks and maybe 20min to fix. Think mine was $160 but that was a year or two ago. I’m sure price went down a bit. Oh! And before I forget. They did change the part number but the parts store should be able to cross reference the original part number with the new one. I do remember that happening. There may have been a update to it and or a different manufacture. That’s why the part number changed... Anyway.. I’m pretty sure I have a pic of what mine looked like. I’ll see if I can find it... It’s actually kind of funny. Literally explodes LOL! Found them! And found another pic. Looks like the same huge mess to me 😂!

 

[Notagto]

Yeah, can do that. But if it’s anything like mine was (which it looks like it is lol) you should be able to see it dripping off the vacuum pump with just the car idling. Might want to just wipe it down to verify but by the looks of it.. should be able to tell just by turning the car on lol unfortunately. Good thing is! It’s only like $100 bucks and maybe 20min to fix. Think mine was $160 but that was a year or two ago. I’m sure price went down a bit. Oh! And before I forget. They did change the part number but the parts store should be able to cross reference the original part number with the new one. I do remember that happening. There may have been a update to it and or a different manufacture. That’s why the part number changed... Anyway.. I’m pretty sure I have a pic of what mine looked like. I’ll see if I can find it... It’s actually kind of funny. Literally explodes LOL! Found them! And found another pic. Looks like the same huge mess to me 😂!

Thanks for the response! Appreciate it!!

 

[JacupV.]

No problem. Unfortunately this happens a lot and theres a good chance that pump was broken for a long long time before it exploded.. It’s super hard to diagnose because theres virtually no symptoms until a massive oil leak happens. The only symptoms are a loud ticking, only a very slight ruff idol, and a very slight loss in MPG’s.. And the only real dead give away when it’s bad is the ticking and that’s ALWAYS confused with either the High Pressure Fuel Pump. Or (and the most annoying) the timing chain... When my pump went it took almost a year for me to even figure it out. That thing ticked loud FOREVER but there was hardly anything that I could notice that was wrong.. until one day it stopped.. then a few weeks later the oil leak... LOL! Damn thing scares the heck out of you! That mess is so massive when it happened to me I thought the same thing.. Like... that’s it.. it’s over... I cracked the head and now it’s junk😂... It was the only time when spending $160 actually felt like relief haha

 

[jasnreiner]

Thanks to both of you for the post and information! I have been hearing the ticking for a good 6-8 months and was told twice when I brought it in it was the high pressure fuel pump. Saw this post and did the ol hose to the ear and bam vacuum pump making the exact ticking I've been hearing. Had it in to have them look and the compressor wheel was loose, and they replaced. No more ticking and got to avoid the oil mess!! Thanks again!

 

[JacupV.]

Thanks to both of you for the post and information! I have been hearing the ticking for a good 6-8 months and was told twice when I brought it in it was the high pressure fuel pump. Saw this post and did the ol hose to the ear and bam vacuum pump making the exact ticking I've been hearing. Had it in to have them look and the compressor wheel was loose, and they replaced. No more ticking and got to avoid the oil mess!! Thanks again!

Hahahaha! It really is funny how long that thing does last just ticking like a time bomb and always and I mean ALWAYS being miss diagnosed. Glad this helped! People have to remember that the HPFP will throw a code in most cases even before they start ticking or while they tick so if your getting codes for HPFP and hear a loud tick then it’s safe to say the HPFP is going. You’ll only see the code a few times before it craps out or even only once. They also almost always crap out around the 120-130k mark so if your car isn’t near or over 130k the HPFP would be the last thing I’d look at if there’s a loud tick from the topside drivers side.

Just food for thought

 

[Notagto]

Just a quick update on this. @JacupV. was exactly right. $150 deductible on my extended warranty and had the vacuum pump replaced.

Now 6k miles later and got the P06DE engine light with Reduced Power warning. Seem like something is either stuck in the coldstart checkball in the oil pump, or the oil pump is bad, or the whole engine is toast (per the TSB PIP5676A).

Goes in on Thursday to find out. Thank goodness for extended warranties! After this repair I will be in the black on warranty cost lol