Small oil leak/possible coolant leak help

[Chisel_86]

Doing an oil change this weekend and I discovered some oil in the plastic under tray. Took it off hoping I could see the location and also hoping it was just the oil pan. The leak appears to originate somewhere above the oil pan, but I can’t see exactly. Also it looks possibly mixed with coolant because some of it is milky brown. Coolant level was slightly lower than full. It has 65k on the water pump (done at 40k), but I don’t know if that could be a possibility. Does anyone know what it could be leaking from? I don’t know this engine well enough yet to know. Pictures taken from under the front of the car.

 

[Joe_Mama]

It's your RMS.

 

[Chisel_86]

It's your RMS.

Even though the leak is on the front side? behind the radiator?

 

[Joe_Mama]

Looks close enough to me to be RMS. But it could also be leaking down from your valve cover or down from the PCV or down from the...

It is an oil leak. Just follow the oil up it isn't hard

 

[BudgetPhoenix]

The water pump is above that leak, ive seen dried coolant mix with a little oil and get nasty like that you could be leaking from the water pump there and then maybe some weeping from somewhere else like the cam cover.

 

[chorales]

i blew a RMS last year on my TSI and i had oil all over the place but you could definitely see a crapload of it where the tranny meets the motor, there's a little hole there in the tranny and the oil will leak out of it. looking at your pictures that area looks totally dry. clean everything off the best you can and start hunting.....

 

[Chisel_86]

i blew a RMS last year on my TSI and i had oil all over the place but you could definitely see a crapload of it where the tranny meets the motor, there's a little hole there in the tranny and the oil will leak out of it. looking at your pictures that area looks totally dry. clean everything off the best you can and start hunting.....

Yeah the trans and join between it and the block are dry. Hopefully it's not hard to find the source. Thanks.

 

[Chisel_86]

It was 100% the water pump. Leaking from the belt side. Upper gaskets were still good.

 

[Grabbit]

Not the RMS. It looks bone dry in the pics. Likely coming from the valve cover above.

 

[Joe_Mama]

Likely coming from the valve cover above.

I know its tough, but if you read the post just above yours you will see it was from the water pump.

 

[Chisel_86]

Yeah, turns out that it’s not leaking oil at all. It must have been just road grime mixed with the coolant. I’m glad for that!