I have a 2007 Chrysler Aspen with the 5.7L Hemi. It has a leak that has developed at the interface of the engine and transmission. After cleaning up the oil off the bottom of the engine and transmission, I watched for a while and the oil was not leaking with the engine off. I then started the vehicle, and only a tiny amount of oil dripped at the weep hole at the bottom at the interface of the engine and transmission. I cleaned it up and let the engine run for a good 10 minutes, and the leaking stopped altogether.
Then I shut the engine off and a leak developed on the left hand side of the interface, and not at the bottom where the weep hole is. See the picture below.
I am trying to understand what is causing the leak. Please help.
Thanks,
Tim

 

Rear main seal.

 

If you are REALLY lucky it could be a valve cover gasket, oil looks like it is coming down the side of the block, but jkeaton is probably right.

 

jkeaton,
Thanks for the feedback. I was thinking that too, but don't understand why it is leaking down the leak side, and not out the weep hole on the bottom. Any thoughts?

 

b1lk1,
Thanks for the reply. I didn't have a chance to diagnose further yet, but I may try again in the morning, and will try to see how far up the left side the oil starts from.

 

Update... This morning I attempted to further diagnose where the leak is coming from. I cleaned everything up, and performed the same basic procedure as before (see my first post), except that I might not have let the engine warm up as long. Long story short, no leaking while running, and no leaking afterwards. I am going to try again this evening and allow it to fully warm up.

In the meantime, can anyone point me to pictures of what the rear of the engine, or the front of the transmission look like when disassembled? There also appears to be a thin plate that is sandwiched between the two, and interfaces with the transmission (see the top left of the picture above). What is this plate?

Thanks.