07 Five Hundred - Oil Leak
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Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2017
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07 Five Hundred - Oil Leak
I have an 07 Ford Five Hundred with around 90K miles on it. As with any 10 year old car, minor things have started to go wrong (windshield wiper pump and a door actuator).
I had the car in for an oil change (around 2.5 weeks ago), and the shop told me I have a major oil leak. Though it was "major", they told me to just make sure it has enough oil and I will be fine. I put cardboard under the car each night, and some (but not all) mornings, I would have an oil spot about the size of a half-dollar coin on the cardboard. When checking the dip stick, it shows the oil level is full.
I had a friend of mine who works at a garage look at it, and the leak looks to be coming from the timing cover. He recommends not to worry about it, and to check the oil level every 2 weeks or so.
If I wanted to have everything fixed (leak, door actuator, and washer fluid pump), it would be around 1K, with the majority of the cost being replacing the timing cover gasket. Based on the age of the car (though it is low miles), he didn't think it's worth the money. His other concern is that once the seal is fixed, there is a likelihood that oil will find the next weakest seal and start leaking from there due to it being part of a pressurized system. The best option (if I want to sink the money into it) is to have the engine removed (which would need to be done anyway to have the timing cover gasket replaced), and have all seals/gaskets/etc within the engine replaced
For anyone who had a similar situation (or has done work on the Five Hundred), would you recommend anything different other than just monitor the leak?
I had the car in for an oil change (around 2.5 weeks ago), and the shop told me I have a major oil leak. Though it was "major", they told me to just make sure it has enough oil and I will be fine. I put cardboard under the car each night, and some (but not all) mornings, I would have an oil spot about the size of a half-dollar coin on the cardboard. When checking the dip stick, it shows the oil level is full.
I had a friend of mine who works at a garage look at it, and the leak looks to be coming from the timing cover. He recommends not to worry about it, and to check the oil level every 2 weeks or so.
If I wanted to have everything fixed (leak, door actuator, and washer fluid pump), it would be around 1K, with the majority of the cost being replacing the timing cover gasket. Based on the age of the car (though it is low miles), he didn't think it's worth the money. His other concern is that once the seal is fixed, there is a likelihood that oil will find the next weakest seal and start leaking from there due to it being part of a pressurized system. The best option (if I want to sink the money into it) is to have the engine removed (which would need to be done anyway to have the timing cover gasket replaced), and have all seals/gaskets/etc within the engine replaced
For anyone who had a similar situation (or has done work on the Five Hundred), would you recommend anything different other than just monitor the leak?
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 16,619
We always love to spend someone else's money. But justification always gets in the way. If you had the above items repaired , you know the vehicle and had regular maintenance done , chances are you might come out ahead and be happy with the results. If on the other hand, delayed or ignored maintenance was the situation it could be a crapshoot and become a money pit. This is the time to get a few opinions and consider which choice was best for your situation.
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