Oil leak is getting worse.

"Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck)
08/17/2018 at 17:41 • Filed to: long in the tooth

This is about a 12" diameter splash zone over three-ish weeks . She used to leak maybe 3 drops a month, now leaves oil anywhere no matter how brief without fail.

I don’ t know if the pan gasket has finally excessively degraded, or if I stressed it further with my frequent short trips from moving.

I don’t trust myself to properly diagnose what’s going on, let alone fix it. It’s nearly 40 years old and coated with oil as you’d expect. Probably too expensive to fix professionally. But I don’t like oil drops over my decent-ish driveway, street, and garage floor. What should I do? Live with it?

DISCUSSION (16)

Spaceball-Two > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/17/2018 at 17:46

If it is the pan gasket I say try and fix it yourself. It’s not too terribly hard, just time consuming and messy.

Berang > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/17/2018 at 17:47

First check the the pan is tightened down. My Saab went from one drip a night, to a huge puddle in a few hours, due to about half the pan bolts coming loose. After retightening them, it went back to one drip a night.

PS: cookie sheet filled with cat litter will keep your cement stain free.

lone_liberal > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/17/2018 at 17:51

I’d clean it really well and then see if I could get a good idea of where it was coming from. Once you know that you’ll have a better idea of whether you can fix it easily or not. Failing that, get a big tarp, spread it out and then park on that.

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/17/2018 at 17:53

drain all the oil... then it cant leak :)

(yeah yeah.. i know.... its friday night.. im getting more helpfull by the beer)

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/17/2018 at 18:09

Put a diaper on it like a baby and then it’ll be fine. Just remember to change it regularly.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Berang
08/17/2018 at 18:17

Or an epoxy coat.

LOL @ “back to one drip a night”

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > farscythe - makin da cawfee!
08/17/2018 at 18:17

Don’t do that. It’ll leak something else.

TahoeSTi > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/17/2018 at 18:18

If it stops leaking add more fluid.

atfsgeoff > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/17/2018 at 18:31

Before replacing gaskets, check your PCV system. Clogged PCV systems cause excessive crankcase pressure which, in turn, pushes oil through otherwise healthy seals.

Replacing a leaking seal when your PCV is clogged, will just result in the new seal failing very quickly.

MM54 > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/17/2018 at 18:59

Sounds like the RX7

LOREM IPSUM > farscythe - makin da cawfee!
08/17/2018 at 19:32

A 50:50 mix of gear oil and kitty litter upon the next scheduled oil change should do the trick.

Junkrat aka Rick Sanchez: Fury Road Edition > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/17/2018 at 19:58

You could always get the dye kit for $20 at the auto parts store. Then you can assess if you want to fix it, I mean it could be a $40 part and 20 minutes.

cluelessk > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/17/2018 at 20:43

Just de- grease it. And see where it starts seeping from. Shouldn’t take long with a leak that big.

cluelessk > LOREM IPSUM
08/17/2018 at 20:45

We use hydraulic oil for a tractor in our old Ford pickup. It leaked so quickly that we just added a bunch before each trip. Worked well for years.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/18/2018 at 08:08

just get some 3-bond and go around the outside of it

(JK)

don’t do that. it’s a truly bad idea.

TrickJos > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
08/18/2018 at 08:08

I bought a sheet of rubber material to slide under my Saturn when we moved into our house. It’ s about an 1/8 inch thick 2 feet wide and 4 feet long. I just move it around depending on where I park the car. Two years later and no oil spots on the driveway.