Whoops.. MAJOR oil leak: How serious is this? Need help!
 

After keeping my baby in winter storage for about 6months it was time to fire her up again (I have been waiting to do this for a looong time now). I havn't seen her during this time since I figured this would only be tempting so I resisted. And when I opened the gates: jeezz.. :( Something like ~1 gallon of oil on the floor... MAJOR oil leak!

Last summer I noticed minor dripping between drives. I also noticed white smoke and the smell of burnt oil coming out of the wheel wells after long drives (I assume oil dripping onto the heat exchanger). During the winter the gaskets have probably dried causing the dripping to accelerate. I called my P mechanic this morning and he advised me to take herout for a run (without refill), then let her run at idle (warm) filling up oil to the sufficient level. I am going to do the regular oil change thingy within a few weeks so these leaks will be taken care of while my mech is at it. He told me that fixing leaks is part of the maintenance and that its nothing unusual. What do you guys think? No need to tow her? Would you drive? I have been told that there's about 3 gallons of oil in the engine but still..Its not drips we are talking here, its litres of oil.. :banghead:

TIA

Correction: About a ½ gallon on the floor (1,8 litres) not 1 gallon as stated above. (Dunno if it makes a difference though).

With a half gallon sitting on the garage floor (that's a lot!) - I'd be more comfortable adding a quart or two for peace of mind before starting...

I suspect the oil return tube seals have given up the ghost. They are the most likely cause and happily one of the least expensive repairs that will show this symptom. I would strongly recommend "factory" collapsible ones for the best results.

good luck, Jerry

My mechanic said something about a seal that is easy to replace (no need of removing engine). He will do it at the while doing the oilchange.. I think you mean the same part.. Thanks for the advice! Let's hope its not more serious than that... :eek:

I had front and rear seal leaks at 33,000 miles. It was thought the reason for the leaks may have been caused by the car sitting for long extended periods of time. Since I was there, I ended up going with a LWF and Sachs clutch.

How much to replace these seals? :( FYI, my car has ~90,000miles on it..

This is my guess too. He is talking about the valve cover gasgets. $30 or so for one gasget and changin it takes maybe 30 min. so Total or $60 + one hour or so for the whole job if you do both sides. Maybe two hours if you DIY.

Check if filters and drain plugs are loose. I had a leak, and it was the small oil filter was not properly tightened.

Seal is practially nothing. I have heard some can replace without removing the engine.

about $400 for the front

I would assume about $1k for the rear-i did a lwf and clutch upgrade so the engine was removed.

before driving, make sure it doesn't leak with the engine running.