*@$#% oil leak question

[luigisho]

Hey folks. I have had a slight oil leak for almost a year now. No big deal until recently. Now it leaks a good amount of oil on a daily basis. When parked on a level surface it drips a little. My driveway however is an incline and it seems to leak much more with the front of the car facing up the incline.
Question. How can I tell if it's the oil pan seal or the rear main seal?

 

[projectSHO89]

Back the car into the driveway. That way oil should flow INTO the engine.

Seriously, check your valve cover gaskets and the oil pressure switch etc. The rear main or rear oil pan gasket shouldn't be affected too mush by the inline of the driveway.

Steve

 

[luigisho]

HA- as a matter of fact Steve, I did park with it backed in today after my oil change. The valve cover seals are fine. The puddle after being parked is more than a valve cover gasket leak could produce I would think. The other misc. usual suspects seem ok. I just can't tell if it's the oil pan leaking or the rear main. I guess I'll have to just replace the oil pan seal first and hope for the best.

I'm thinking if I have to get at the rear main then I'll shame myself into a new clutch and a tranny freshening. aka -I'd rather not!

 

[sdpatt]

Don't "hope for the best." Find the leak then fix it. It may be a simpler fix than the oil pan seal. Jack the car up, place it on ramps or jackstands, crawl under and look for the leak. Look on the rear face of the oil pan for the oil level sensor above and to the passenger side of the plug. Look farther up the block under the block under the number three cylinder for the oil pressure sender. Either of those two sensors can be a big leaker. The presure sender usually leaks more when the engine is running, while the level sensor can leak all the time.

 

[jelloslug]

Get under the car and clean the oil pan (I like Castrol Super Clean, just don't breath it)scrub it shiny then wait till the next day, it should be a little more clear where the oil is comming from. Thats how I found my leaky front and rear main seals.

 

[smcallis]

I just went thru the same thing. I stupidly went after the RMS before doing the OPG and it turned out to be the OPG. I don't know how you can really tell if its the OPG, RMS, or carrier gasket without the tranny off. My mechanic and I used dye and everything but it tends to just go all over the general vicinity. I think your cheapest and most efficient route is to replace the OPG's and see if that cures it. If the Ypipe comes off easy its not too bad of a job and cheap if you do it yourself. If its not the problem look at it this way, the OPGs were gonna leak sooner or later anyway...

 

[luigisho]

See, that's the thing. I cleaned it off and tried to locate exactly where the leak was. The stuff up top is good. The sender and sensor look ok. I can't tell if it's the rear seal or oil pan. I really don't want to drop the tranny if i don't have to.

 

[jelloslug]

Its not the best practice but you could just replace the oil pan seal and see if it stop leaking. One way or another you will know if its the rear seal.

 

[SHO_Driver]

Check the oilpan bolts, see if they're loose. It seems that rear main seals leak more when driven hard. If the leak is from the oilpan it'll drip all the time.