Leaking under 92 Lumina

[delicatedelinquent]

HI! I notice there are dots that span under the transmission area of the car but the transmission works fine.There is some leaking oil but i have to add maybe a pint every 1-2 weeks. Any ideas or troubleshooting techniques?

Thanks for your help!

[richtazz]

Do you notice the oil on the drivers side of the engine? There is an oil seal on the oil pump drive shaft(basically a distributor with the cap and rotor lopped off), located in the center of the "v" of the engine under the throttle body that is a common problem on 3.1's. It will start to leak and normally goes down the back of the block near the seam between teh engine and transmission. It will sometimes appear to be a rear main seal leak because the oil collects and drips in the same area. It's a cheap part ($1- Fel-Pro part # 70800), but you'll have to remove the throttle body to get it out. You'll see a hold down bracket with a 13mm bolt, remove the bolt and bracket, and pull up on the shaft (sometimes they're pretty stuck due to the hardened o-ring) to remove. You'll see the o-ring toward the top of the shaft. I always put a small block Chevy distributor gasket (fel-pro part #70194- about $1 also), between the top of the block and the oil-pump drive as added insurance against future leaks.