Has anyone had a leak at the rear of the oil sump cover?
 

I've been puttering through spring maintenance on my 1999 2.5L for the last few weeks, and just noticed what appears to be an oil leak at the rear of the oil sump cover gasket. After a pretty thorough cleaning, I've convinced myself that its not coming from the oil drain, and I don't see where else it could have originated from.

Has anyone had a problem with a leak in this gasket? Wanted to see if anyone had a 'Yeah, I thought it was that and then..." story.

Also, I don't see this referenced in Bentley other than that the cover exists in the oil section. Is this one of those unique situations where these bolts hold the cases together or something equally traumatic?

-Thanks.

Could be RMS, hope not.

RMS was one of my first thoughts
 

That was one of my first thoughts, but I believe that it would be leaking between the cases (i.e. down the back of the engine) if that were the case. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.) Doesn't appear to be occurring, the gasket of the oil sump cover appears to be wet.

Found an exploded diagram of the sump, it doesn't appear that the cover is anything more than a cover. Also looks like there isn't a service gasket for it, just use silicon. That surprised me, because I thought I could see a steel core gasket peeking out.

can you post a picture? I have a really small leak on one of the bolts on my oil return pump. It's a common thing. I posted a few pics of mine several months back. If I can find it again I'll post the link.

-SP

Took a day to get back out for a photo
 

Unfortunately I don't get to work on it every evening :(

Here's a photo looking towards the front of the motor.

Had a friend look up the recommended procedure in a commercial service database, appears that its a pretty straightforward R&R, with a permatex-type gasket recommended.