Serious oil leal

Tiny
DAVE DIXON
  • MEMBER
  • 1985 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE
  • 5.0L
  • V8
  • RWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 80,000 MILES
My car has a major oil leak. What would you look for? Oil pan gasket? Where to look to see where the oil is leaking from? I need a few pointers. Thanks, Dave.
Friday, May 13th, 2016 AT 9:22 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,864 POSTS
Major leaks should not be hard to find, but you might have to wash the area first with engine degreaser. Gaskets and seals typically do not leak really fast. Look for the highest place you see oil on the engine since it only runs down.

For slow leaks, adding a bottle of dark purple dye is a good choice. Search a day later with a black light and the dye will show up as a bright yellow stain that you can follow back to the source. For fast leaks you might be able to find it by injecting smoke from a smoke machine, then watching where it sneaks out. The problem with this is fast leaks are usually located in a pressurized passage and the smoke is only under two pounds of pressure so it might not make it to the leak.

If this came on rather quickly, a good suspect is the oil pressure sending unit. That is usually close to the oil filter.
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Friday, May 13th, 2016 AT 9:32 PM
Tiny
DAVE DIXON
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
Thanks great information. This car is a project car /parts car, if can repair. So many thanks!
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Saturday, May 14th, 2016 AT 5:28 AM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 47,256 POSTS
Hey Dave,

We are here to help please use 2Carpros anytime.

Best, Ken
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Tuesday, May 17th, 2016 AT 10:10 AM

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