back again....

[starfish]

Ok guys, ya'll were a great help to me at the beginning of the year...now I am in need of more assistance....

I have the 1990 pontiac grand am 2.5 tbi, well lately I have had this problem...going down the road it throws oil...sitting in the car it's on the right hand back side of the engine I can't tell if it's the oil pan ...or maybe the rear main went out on it.... ...i have noticed when i stop a big oil puddle and the oil is getting on the exhaust and smokes like crazy burning it off and the passenger side front wheel is soaked in oil.....Is this something I could possibly fix myself? or should i leave it to a mechanic?? oil drips everywhere so i can't tell where it's coming from....

thanks

[grfnkl]

Welcome back,

Don't wait too long to get this fixed....Since your not sure where the oil leak is coming from, Open the hood, and look from the passenger side at the back of your engine to see if you can determine where it's coming from (if it's coming from top or bottom of the engine) With the amount of oil you are describing I'm gonna say it's probably the oil pan, gasket or maybe the pan itself. Just make sure you have enough oil in the car at all times. Please be very careful with this type of leak, especially if the oil is spraying on the exhaust, it could cause a fire!!!

[Madcat455]

Will it leak if it's just sitting there running???

If so, then the most likley cause is the Oil pressure sending unit... they are known to literally squirt oil out when they go bad.

Could be a valve cover gasket, but I've yet to see one leak that badly, rear main would be on the driver side and only leak badly on right turns. Front main is on the pass side and could be it... but still would leak worse on left turns.

I'm leaning towards the Sending unit as a Main seal would've gradually gotten that bad.. not just suddenly like the sending unit will do. It's a cheap and easy fix if it is one.

[starfish]

Hi,
Thanks for all of your responses,

I had someone to ck the car today he said my catalytic converter was stopped up and thats why the car is throwing all the oil..he did a compression test on it #1 120 #2 125 #3 120 #4 130 he said all was good for an engine that old.... I dunno....so before i go to the expense of getting the converter changed is this possible??

when the converter was clogged b4 all it did was lose power...I changed it in Dec of 04.

Thanks for all your help....

Betty

[grfnkl]

I would assume it's possible, but i never heard of that happening before. Make sure that the backpressure of the cat didn't cause a leak in a gasket or some other component. I would still find out where the oil was coming from before replacing the cat.

[starfish]

Well thanks...and I called a muffler place here in Norfolk today and found out that the converter would not cause the car to blow oil like that so ...

my next step is to get the oil sending unit checked....I have noticed when the car is running altho the engine seems extremely hot, the temp gauge in the car is showing lower than normal temps...I thought this was odd but thought maybe the oil had gotten onto the wires ...maybe grounding something out....

Also the guy who looked at my car yesterday told me the manifold got hot fast when we were doing the compression tests...and that was just short off and on starts..thats why he said it was the converter...but then I guess a car engine will heat up if it hasn't enough oil in it to properly operate as well....

I dunno but I do appreciate all the help...the older cars were much easier to fix....have a great day!

[starfish]

Hey Guys,
Well this is not one of those posts ya really wanna write but here goes.....

Last time when my car was giving me problems.... I described a noise the car was making and he said it was the timing chain, at that point he told me it would be best if I had that changed soon, but work and lack of funds prevented that.....so today.....

I took my car to precision tune to have it cked out....I find my timing chain is so loose that it's torn up the timing cover and a seal and bent the lip of the oil pan...and thats where the oil loss is coming from....the oil sending unit was fine.....

The price for them to fix it was between $300 and $600 dollars....I only paid 450.00 for the car.....so I guess a hardhead made for a soft bottom cuz i fell right down on mine by not doing that one maintenance on it....

I wanna try to do it myself...I have some experience in repairs like changin clutches and stuff, is it that difficult a female couldn't do it? I called today about the parts they add up to a total of $40 and then i'll haveta find a timing cover for it I guess from a junk yard or u wrench it place...

Any advice b4 i start this adventure?

thanks Betty

[GTP Dad]

Get a manual so you can follow the instructions on replacing the timing chain. It will take a little time but I don't think it is anything you can't handle. Good Luck!

[skibum1111]

Is it a chain or a belt? For $40 it sounds like a belt, and they are very easy to do, just follow GTP Dad's suggestion, get a manual and follow the directions. The hardest part of the job is getting the crank bolt out so you can take the pulley off.

[Madcat455]

2.5L's are under head cams, should be a chain.