Leaking oil after lowering~!!!

I have had my 91' G20 lowered for the past yr w/ Intrax springs. Now I've got a lot of scrape marks on my oil pan and exhaust manifold---with the biggest problem occuring recently>>>LEAKING OIL! Could this be a result of me lowering my car? Does anyone know how complicated it is to replace the oil pan gasket, or if it could be something more serious than just the gasket?

hmm... i think your wheels would hit the top of your wheel wells long before any of these items would scrape on the floor.

you sure the leaking is due to the scrapes, and not leaking from somewhere else??? the scrapes probably happened when going up a driveway or something, not anywhere you were moving with speed and could have punctured something.

well i hope the leak isn't a result of me lowering my car...but i ,ust say that i have A LOT of scrapes on that oil pan...and itz from driving in NYC all the time. I hear it scrape sometimes.

No I think its leaking because of the lowering. I have intrax springs too, and esp. when I first got em, I used to scrape the bottom....sounded really bad.....and sometimes bottomed out on dips. My mechanic told me that my oil pan was dented, luckily so far it hasnt leaked oil. I drive REALLY careful now, at least I try to..sometimes you can avoid a dip or watever when ur traveling fast! :eek:

Yeesh, guess Intrax/P10 is a little too low... :(

well I wouldnt say that they are too low...its just that you need to be careful, like driving at an angle on steep driveways and speedbumps, driving real slow over dips. IMO the intrax nicely lowers your car!:D

I guess the only way to find out is by washing all under that area and getting your car over a pit and having a really good look to see if you have damaged the pad.
Haven't you got a plate that covers the front bit of your oil pan to stop this from happening ??
On mine there is a "skid plate" that protects it

Driving in NYC is tuff, and most of the time driving carefully doesn't help. Some highways and parways have speedbumps as a result of weathering. And they are all but small, some look 1- 2 inches high.

wow, i have the same problem right now, i have an oil leak. i have to replace so many things, its going to cost me $600 to replace everything. not just for the oil pan gasket, but a lot of other things. :o

There are two possibilities to why your leaking oil.

One has already been stated. You possibly bent the oil pan enough that the seal is no longer holding and is leaking around the oil pan gasket.

The other thought is the oil switch. It controls your "dummy" light for your oil on the dash. It is a common point of oil leaks on the SR20's.

If you are laying on your back looking up at the oil pan with your feet hanging out from the front of the car, the oil switch will be to the upper left of the oil pan right below the starter. Look closely with a flashlight. It's way up in there. Pull back the rubber cover over the plug on the oil switch and see if there is oil there. If so, that is where the oil would be leaking from.

Get a new switch from the dealer and replace the leaking one.

Thanks for all the advice guys...I really don't have any $$ to fix it yet, plus I'm planning to get rid of my 91' G20 once I find a new job. If it does come out to $600, forget it...I can live w/ the leak for a while. I know that my valve cover gasket needs to be replaced too, because oil is sweating out of it. I do have 1 more question though >>>>> My oil leak started a week after I had my water pump replaced (which is right above the oil pan). Could oil be leaking as a result of this work?

Anthony

yeah i just checked right now and luckily i am not leaking oil....theres some water leaking from that general area..its a tiny puddle.....anyone know where that may be coming from?

oops Im thinking its the water pump(just read the earlier post:D ) .......is it supposed to have some leakage after driving the car?

hey that water is your Air Conditioner...if you needed a new water pump, you would be leaking Antifreeze (most likely).

hehe thanks! :)

BAD NEWZ ONCE AGAIN!!! I just jacked my car up earlier today >>> not only am I leaking that oil, I put a decent size dent in my transmission pan---but no leaks, YET! Stupid potholez....

CRANK SEAL!!!!! almost every sr20 with more than 60k on it has it leaking a bit...the more miles the more oil coating that area of the underside. its a 5 dollar part and pretty easy to replace. ym car has a dented oil pan as well and it is lowered but that doesn't mean anything. my pan is dented cuz i hit a dog at 105 before it was lowered. the pan has scrapes on it from driveways but not so many that it has actually worn through...that isn't likely and would take a lot to do.

kyle>>>>I just called the dealership and found out that there is no oil pan gasket for the G20. I know that you said it might be the crank seal, but where exactly is that located? I don't want to replace it, if that's not where the oil is coming from. The thing is, i can visually see the oil coming out around the edges of the oil pan beneath. Is there a gasket there? I also heard there is another gasket somewhere above the oil pan that might need to be replaced? I am really puzzled at this point.

I have very limited funds @ the moment, and would like to try and replace the lower oil pan gasket first, if there is one. The Infiniti dealership informed me that there is no gasket, but rather a sealant. I am really confused. :confused:

You first job is to determine where the leak is.

The upper and lower oil pans are sealed using RTV silicone. Ultra Grey to be exact. The crank seal is behind the main pulley and is a bonded rubber oil seal.

sorry it takes me so long to reply...i don't have internet so i got to my parents house to use a computer. the crank seal is at the end of the crank...bottom of the block at the end of it behind the pulley. you may want to get a new pan and some rtv like geo recomended. but when you do that you will need a bit of time because you will want the sealant to dry completely before refilling your car with oil and resealing it. be sure to clean the meeting edges very thoroughly. it may leak otherwise if you have old sealant or dirt compromising your new bond.

Originally posted by kyle95g20
you may want to get a new pan and some rtv like geo recomended. but when you do that you will need a bit of time because you will want the sealant to dry completely before refilling your car with oil and resealing it.

Just to clarify, you install the pans immediately after running the bead of RTV. Do not wait for it to harden or even skim. It cures by itself. You do want to wait to put oil in the crankcase for 24 hrs if possible however.

where can i get that sealant that everyone is talking about, and about how much? Is it possible for me to use the same oil pan with that sealant, or do I NEED to replace that oil pan? Can i just patch up the edges of the oil pan with that sealant, or do i have to remove the oil pan completely?

Sorry for all the questions, but I would like to fix this problem on my own b/c of my lack of $$. Thanks for all the help guyz...

any parts house or your dealer

P10DET - Can i just squeeze that sealant around the edges of the oil pan, from where it's leaking?

Originally posted by ishydaflip
P10DET - Can i just squeeze that sealant around the edges of the oil pan, from where it's leaking?

No