leaking oil?

[mike561]

Over the past couple of months ive noticed the oil stain where i park my car at night getting bigger and darker, although it was there when i had my other car, the spot has gotten alot darker since i had my grand prix. it looks like oil, could i have a leaking gasket or something? im geussing its a very slow leak because ive had my oil changed a few months back but im still not due for another one yet and the low oil light has never come on.

[GTP Dad]

Look under the car and check the oil pan area. Also check the front valve cover. Both areas are prone to leaks as the engine gets older. I suspect you will find a valve cover gasket issue!

[mike561]

Alright ill check it out, thanks! also, this might sound wierd, but this guy i knew had his oil pan burst i geuss, causing oil to go everywhere under his hood and aparently destroyed his engine. long story short he had to get a new car. im not at risk of this happeneing am i?

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by mike561

Alright ill check it out, thanks! also, this might sound wierd, but this guy i knew had his oil pan burst i geuss, causing oil to go everywhere under his hood and aparently destroyed his engine. long story short he had to get a new car. im not at risk of this happeneing am i?

It wasn't by chance a Dodge Neon was it?

The only car that I know of that can actually get a busted oil pan is a Dodge Neon. One of the gals at the office ran hers up on a curb and it shattered the oil pan due to the way Chrysler designed the POS. Oil dumped out for about 20 - 30 feet and then she ran into a stop sign which fortunately stopped her. Although it was PITA of a job I replaced the oil pan, the gasket along with some other parts and believe it or not it worked fine. Of course, it needed some body work done. Still running today. And she paid me well too.

[mike561]

Actually it was a 95 subaru legacy sedan lol

[GTP Dad]

No, you are not risking an exploding oil pan. The bolts on the oil pan may have loosened or the gasket itself is going bad. Hopefully it is just loose bolts, the oil pan gasket is a PITA to change since you have to raise the engine to get the pan off. Also the valve cover gaskets do go bad and may need to be changed. Check for oil around the spark plug area. Gaskets are available from ZZ Performance and a host of other sources.

[BNaylor]

The question I have for Mike561 is how DIY capable are you? If you are not then you're looking at spending some money to get the issue of the oil leak resolved probably at a shop. It takes special equipment (engine hoist) and a shop to replace an oil pan gasket. Changing out valve cover gaskets on a GTP is no fun either. For the front valve cover you will need to remove that bracket that goes from the alternator to the ignition control module and coil packs. The coil pack/icm module and mount will need to be removed along with the right dogbone engine mount. The rear valve cover gasket is just as tedious.

In a worse case scenario you could have a bad rear main seal. Visually check for an accumulation of oil around the starter. The best thing to do is safely jack it up and using a good flashlight or drop light do a comprehensive inspection from underneath.

Also check your oil filter and make sure it is tight. You can safely run with an oil leak but check your oil level more frequently.

[mike561]

yeah im not that car knowlegeable, only when it comes to smaller and easier things of course i can do. i'll inspect around everything though, i know i wont have the cash right now to do anything, but i do remember when i first got the car my mechanic saying i should have the under part of the engine cleaned because there was some dried oil built up around somewhere, and he wanted to see if that came back after the engine being cleaned.