Engine Oil Leak 5.9L

Feb 20, 2004 6 Replies

Both of my 5.9L engines leak oil from somewhere in the rear of the engine which drips onto the exhaust manifolds and transmission bell housings. Intake manifold gaskets? Or what ???



Thanks, Bruce


check your distributor o ring lately?

also you oil pressure sending unit is back there and has a habit of getting a leak in the them after a few years.

If it drips on the exhaust manifolds, it's probably the valve covers.

Clean the engine really well with a quality degreaser and some hot water. Let it sit until COMPLETLY dry. Then spread flour around the suspect areas. Run the engien for a while. Look for the discolored flour to pinpoint the leak.

It is not unknown for Chrysler engines to have leaky valve covers..

I hear that trick works on fat women, too.

Its not unknown for ANY brand engine to have leaky valve covers...

But the Magnum versions of the 5.2/5.9 are much less prone to valve cover leaks than the pre-Magnum versions. The Magnums have a machined gasket surface for the valve cover gasket, the pre-Magnums have a rough cast surface.

If its a Magnum, I'd check the oil sending unit and the intake manifold end gasket. Smallblock Mopars have more places to leak oil from than the big-blocks did, and the intake end-gaskets are one of the most common.

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