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Trying to figure out where my oil leak is coming from (pics)


BCM
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I put the car on the ramps today and attempted to locate the oil leak :willynilly:. Took a few pics to see if anyone could help. In the first 2 pics look closely and you can see a dop of oil about to fall to the ground.

This first pic is by the oil drain plug, and yes it's tight.

oildrainplug.jpg

This next pic is by some shiny thing :lol: i dont know what it is..

shinythingwithoil.jpg

A shot at the whole undercarriage.

Picture005-2.jpg

This is how much oil dripped to the ground about 5-10 minutes after driving it. More dripped after the pic :rolleyes:

oildrops.jpg

 

I figured its probly comin from around the oil pan somewhere or the valve covers, but I didnt see any signs of leaking around the valve covers

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how bad are 3100 oil pan gaskets to replace and what does it involve (price and time)

 

Try not to hijack his thread.

 

You probably have to pull the cradle to do it. Parts are probably like $20 for the gasket.

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What engine is this on?

 

If it's 3x00 i'd take a look at the oil pump drive seal, see if it's leakin oil down the side of the tranny/block anywhere under the TB. Mine looks very similar to that and it's the pump drive seal that is leaking like mad.

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What engine is this on?

 

If it's 3x00 i'd take a look at the oil pump drive seal, see if it's leakin oil down the side of the tranny/block anywhere under the TB. Mine looks very similar to that and it's the pump drive seal that is leaking like mad.

3800 (L36)

I'll take a look tomorrow when I get a chance

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I dont think its the oil pan gasket. I do think its the rear valve cover gasket thou. There isnt enuf oil to be the oil pan gasket.

My car is leaking from the pan gasket, and it's not leaking like a sieve or anything. Oil pan gaskets don't have to be spraying oil everywhere to be bad.

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I would bet you money it's the oil pan gasket..................as for replacing it, don't.............it's FAR cheaper and easier to just add oil..........trust me :wink:

 

If you don't believe me, go to a dealer and simply ask how many hours labor a trained tech gets payed to do it :mrgreen:

 

 

 

 

Just in case I'm wrong ( :rolleyes:), other things to look at are:

 

1) Power steering pump and/or hoses.

2) Drivers side axle seal and/or transmission sidecover gasket.

3) Trans pan gasket.

 

But.

 

I would bet it's the oil pan gasket...............I've seen HUNDREDS (I'm not joking) do this.

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Does it stop leaking after a while?? Or will it continue to drip all night?? Or does it only leak when the motor is running/continues to leak a few minutes after shut down??

Yeah it does stop after a while, as the motor cools down.

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I would bet you money it's the oil pan gasket..................as for replacing it, don't.............it's FAR cheaper and easier to just add oil..........trust me :wink:

 

If you don't believe me, go to a dealer and simply ask how many hours labor a trained tech gets payed to do it :mrgreen:

 

 

 

 

Just in case I'm wrong ( :rolleyes:), other things to look at are:

 

1) Power steering pump and/or hoses.

2) Drivers side axle seal and/or transmission sidecover gasket.

3) Trans pan gasket.

 

But.

 

I would bet it's the oil pan gasket...............I've seen HUNDREDS (I'm not joking) do this.

Would dropping in a L67 be cheaper? :twisted:

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I'm thinking its your lower intake gaskets leaking into the valley of the V and spilling over. Thats what mine is doing and it drips in that same location. As long as the leak is slow and it leaks out and not in, I can live with it.

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I'm thinking its your lower intake gaskets leaking into the valley of the V and spilling over. Thats what mine is doing and it drips in that same location. As long as the leak is slow and it leaks out and not in, I can live with it.

 

Totally different engine there Tex :wink: .............

 

We are talking about the 3800 here.

 

 

 

LIM's on Series I 3800's have a tendency to leak coolant, but SII's all leak at the UIM gasket..........both coolant AND oil.

 

BUT...........

 

The leak in THIS case IS oil pan gasket..............VERY common on SII 3800's.

 

 

 

 

 

And an L67 is STILL more $$ :lol:

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Its a L36 right?

 

The major leak is going to be the pan gasket leaking.....but your intake is leaking, you are also going to need a new upper intake manifold, as its rotted out......the valve covers are also wet, so its best to reseal those while we are doing the upper intake.

 

I didn't even look at the pictures.......thats were they leak at. Sure, the power steering pump seal and rack could be and pry are......but they are just wet. They'll be okay for now.

 

I think L36 oil pans in a W car is above 3 hours...4 perhaps?....its been awhile since I've done one.....the gasket isn't to bad. Its actually kind of a baffle/gasket in one unit, it gets GMSed in place.

 

You can pretty much copy and paste that same bit for every L36 out there.....kind like 3x00s and intake gaskets leaking.....and 4.58/5.3/6.0s intake gaskets leaking, they just leak air....and 4.3/5.7 intake leaks.

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