in my 97 taurus i have oil leaking onto the starter. what is above the starter and most likely the cause of this leak.

 

Did you resolve this oil leak?
I have a 98 Taurus w/Duratec that I purchased new. Last year, it started leaking oil on the back of the engine. Dripping onto the Catylatic converter shield. A nasty odor. I also see oil coming from the rear main seal.
This weekend I'm removing the back spark plugs and will inspect/replace the valve cover gasket.
My wife wants to keep the car, but after reading the posts about rust in the coolant system, I'm thinking-TRADE!

 

Do you change your own oil? If your 97 Taurus is a 3.0 L like my 90 & 07 Taurus, the oil filter is right above the starter. Every time I change my oil filter, the oil runs down on top of the starter.