Mitsubishi Repair: oil leak, haynes repair manual, oil seals

Question
I drive a 90 eclipse 1.8 non-turbo automatic.  Recently it has started leaking
lots of oil when the car is running.  I have it up on stands but it is hard to
pinpoint where the leak is coming from.  It is towards the bottom middle,
somewhere next to the oil pan, drivers side drive shaft output and where the
casing comes down right next to the oil pan.  The casing has that thin metal
cover deal that does not fit tight against the (I assume) transmission housing.
It drips off from that, of course it is the lowest point.  What is up under that
thin piece of metal or where do you suspect it coming from?  Thanks for your
help.

Answer
Landon: My question would be how old is your transmission fluid? Are you sure this oil is engine oil, or could it be transmission fluid? Then the oil filter could be on wrong and so the car is blowing oil out it. Or your oil pan could have a small hole in it and it is blowing it out there. Or the oil sending union which is on the bottom but front of the engine, could have a leak. It is really very hard to know just where it might be coming from. That thin metal cover that you are talking about is what covers the exhaust pipe. But the transmission is down there too, and you could have a leak in it. In that the one or two bolts are coming loose. Have you ever changed the transmission fluid and filter? If not, then the gasket could be getting old, so leaking transmission fluid. But if the car has a clutch, then you could have a bad seal which is leaking. Ok, I looked this up in my Haynes repair manual... here is one I did not think about the gasket around your oil pan could be leaking, cylinder head(valve) cover gaskets are bad so leaking, or the engine oil seals are leaking. I hope this gives you some ideas to check. I would love to tell you, that it is this or that. But you will have to check those things I wrote you about and see what you can find out. Because it could be anything. For the valve covers to be leaking, do you smell oil when you are sitting at a stop light or when you shut the car off? How much oil is the car loosing? A lot or a small amount? What color is it? If you don't have a repair manual for your car, I would be buying one. Most parts stores have them for around $20.00 and well worth the money. Take care now. Linda