Mystery oil leak...

[Kurai]

I started leaking oil in April of last year on my 2.2L 2005 VUE. Took it to the mechanic, he said it looked like a rear main seal, that he wouldn't know for sure till he put it on the rack to pull the starter etc, but that there really wasn't more back there that COULD leak.

We didn't have the money for it at the time--rear main seal replacement was quoted around 1000--so we just kept driving it and adding oil as was necessary.

Finally after all this time, the leak has gotten significantly worse, and we also had the money saved. Got it to the mechanic, and---it's not the rear main. He says the bell housing is dry as a bone.

He did a little research, and said he suspects it has something to do with the double oil pan setup it has... I guess one of the two actually supports the crankshaft?

I've never heard of such a thing, and he hadn't either. But he told me that if that's where the leak is at, it was essentially tantamount to an engine rebuild to even get to the thing.

Has anyone else ever dealt with this before? My mechanic is waiting to check with the certified Saturn guys tomorrow but any advice I could chip in would also be appreciated.

[GMCustomerService]

Have you had the issue resolved? Was the dealership able to verify the concern regarding the double oil pan? Please feel free to contact me and keep me updated with the fix. You can contact me here on the thread or via private message. Thank you in advance.

Tricia, GM Customer Service

[inafogg]

you need to put oil dye in so you can be sure what is leaking.
oil pan gasket looks like rtv sealer.need to raise engine
rear main seal,you need to pull trans. to replace.
i dont see anything special with the oil pan removal besides unbolting
the r/mount,supporting/raising engine 3-4 inches.
Good luck

[inafogg]

unless your looking at a bottom plate on the oil pan,(which is for a deeper
sump i believe)& has nothing to do with crank support.im not real sure what
else you be talking about

[Kurai]

As it turns out, no resolution, and I have been told that pretty much I'm out of luck on the leak unless I rebuild the whole engine.

I'm fairly savvy but I've never heard of /this/ so forgive me for using general terms. But apparently there is some sort of block that has a physical composition similar to that of Styrofoam (as in, comprised of compressed bits) that is located back in the same rear area of the engine. Apparently this block can be defective and oil will begin to seep through over time. Apparently this is what is happening, which explains why the oil leak is not constant, and varies in severity.

Per the Saturn guys they have seen it before, and it is not something to be replaced. Essentially it would amount to an engine rebuild/replacement to get to the problem and fix it. It is not something I can afford to do. I still owe 7k on this car that has 105k miles and I'm pretty much SOL. Between this and the freaking engine light that will never go off (and yet, never throw a code), I think I'm done with GM cars.

[Kurai]

Well, just as a point of interest here, I'll post what the solution ended up being.

I only just go the problem fixed about 2 weeks ago. The oil loss had become so significant that I was uneasy driving the vehicle for very far. I finally got sick of it and bit the bullet.

I'd had two options given to me as to what the problem could be--either the rear main seal, or an engine block fault as a result of a bad cast in the factory. Given that the engine block fault was so uncommon, I finally said "to hell with this" and opted to have the rear main replaced. At least that way I would know for sure, even if it was a waste of 800 bucks.

Luckily it seems that I chose correctly. It was, in fact, the rear main seal. The mechanic told me that it had completely just shriveled up, and we have no idea why. It just so happened that it leaked *just so* that the crankshaft was throwing oil all over the place--which is why it looked so nasty under there--but the bellhousing wasn't being dripped on.

I'm now oil-leak-free for two weeks and I'm pleased that the ordeal is finally over.