oil leak

[bigpappy]

Gentlemen (and ladies),
i am leaking about two quarts of oile every week -- about 250 -300 miles. The more I am in city traffic, the more oile I lose, as opposed to interstate driving, I don't seem to lose as much. I jacked her up and looked underneath. Near as I can tell, everything looks okay except for the oil dripping from somewhere -- has to be fairly near the right side of the engine, but I can't see it. I've got a case of oil, and I'm checking it constantly until I can get the cash to have a pro find this leak. Any suggestions? I don't suppose there's some trick to seeing back there besides lifting out the engine? A very nice car, but man! What a b**ch to work on if you don't have access to a garage with lift.

Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!
Come bay with the big dog or go **** with the puppies!

 

[projectSHO89]

Step one: Clean the engine, including the bottom! You wouldn't believe how much easier this makes the diagnosis. Be advised, there are risks if you use anything under pressure.

Step two: Drive the car up on ramps and crawl under it to see where the leak is coming from.

Everything can be inspected and fixed with the engine in the car and with the car on jackstands.

Oil leak possibilites:

Front of engine: Camshaft seals, front main crank seal, front oil pan gasket. Inspect the rear camshaft seal initially by running your fingers under the camshaft sensor and see if they come out oily. Confirm diagnosis by removing sensor and inspecting for oil inside the sensor housing. The two inner cam seals will require removal of the front camshaft pulleys for positive inspection. If they are leaking, the oil will run down the front of the block and mingle with the oil from the front main seal or the front oil pan gasket. With the lower timing cover in place, it cannot be determined exactly which is leaking.

Upper engine: Valve cover gaskets. Use a mirror and a flash light to thoroughly inspect the entire perimeter of each valve cover. Remove each plug wire and inspect for oil in the well. Inspect each valve cover bolt head for leaking.

Rear of engine: Rear main seal, rear oil pan gasket, oil pressure switch. Inspect the switch by looking up (from under the car) at the sensor. The sensor is mounted on the firewall side of the engine block, just below the head, at the rear of the engine (#3 cylinder). Inspect for leakage of the rear main and rear pan gasket by looking for leakage at the engine/tranny joint.

Bottom of engine: Oil level sensor, drain plug, side oil pan gaskets. Perform visual examination of each.

Oil filter mounting area is also a possibility.

There you have it. A fairly complete list of all the posibilities for external engine oil leaks.

Clean it up and happy hunting!

Steve

 

[Bizzy]

Ditto what Steve said.

<small>[ December 22, 2002, 09:48 AM: Message edited by: Bizzy ]</small>

 

[bigpappy]

Hey, I just wanted to say thanks to Steve and Bizzy for their replies to my initial post. Turns out it was the oil sending unit. I'm curious though -- Do you guys think 91 bucks to replace it is a fair price? Seems like 15 bucks for that part is a bit high.

Thanks again,

John

 

[projectSHO89]

If you had replaced it yourself, you probably could have done it for $15.

If you use a pro, expect to pay his overhead (including his boat payments).

Steve

 

[rangerj]

Steve,

Not long ago I would have objected to your sarcasm and the disparaging remarks about the "professional" mechanic.

But, these SOBs, and I do not mean sweet old boys, have the audacity to charge a diagnostic fee to find the problem, then mark up the price of parts double or tripple their costs, AND charge $65 to $100 per hour for their labor on top of every thing else.

To add insult to injury they have the unmitigated gaul to bill the customer for the number of hours the job should take according to the flat rate book, even if the actual hours are much less.

It gets worse! The flat rate system encourages mechanics to cut corners so they can beat the flat rate system, and they do.

A garage does indeed have overhead, like disposal fees for tires, batteries, and fluids, that it did not have a few years ago. However, an ASE certificate should not be a license to steal, IMHO.

Lastly, IMHO the oil sending unit should not have costs more than $50 to $60 for parts and labor. This would be double the garage's "cost" for the part, and labor time to pull the car in, put it up in the air, find the leak, replace the sending unit, lower the car, pull it out of the garage, and prepare the bill.

For what they charged they should have also washed and waxed it! rangerj

 

[luigisho]

Knowing a few dealer techs, I agree with everything you just stated about many garages. Not much different than other businesses either I'm afraid. You should see how many law firms operate.

<small>[ December 31, 2002, 03:46 PM: Message edited by: luigisho ]</small>

 

[projectSHO89]

rangerj,

I have noticed that you are a "real" mechanic from your posts over time.

Nothing personal, it's just that I have been taken advantage of by the "professionals" before, so I keep a wary eye on them. There are times, though, when it is necessary to consider using them due to specialized tools, training, and diagnostic data.

After listening to Click and Clack on NPR for years, I borrowed the 'boat payment' joke from them and they are professional garage owners and mechanics. Funny guys.. I learned half of what I know from listening to them. Mainly the half about men and women and cars, not necessarily how to fix them.

Go ahead and make jokes about printer and computer guys, I can take it.

Steve