I'm still betting it's from up top, these oil leaks can be sneaky.

 

I think this one is going to require the dye-check stuff. The kit (with UV penlight) will cost you about $20. But, you have to do this testing "wisely".

You need to clean off as much of the backside of the engine as best you can. Since you don't know where the leak is, wash it ALL. If you just clean off the normal suspect areas, you may miss out on finding where it starts.

Put some dye in your engine oil. Have the car situated so that, once you start it, you can have good visual access to every potential area of leakage (on a lift or jacks, as a minimum...but you still need to see the topside, too).

Have someone else start the car, so that you can be looking at it. The lighting in your garage should be very low...just enough for you to see and be safe...so that it won't bleach-out the UV light you will be using to spot the initial point of leakage.

Start on the bottom of the engine. That's where the oil 'starts' and where the pressurized oil initiates. Check around filter, pan gasket, fuel pump, main seals, etc, etc. If you don't see anything obvious on the bottom, in the first minute or so, move to the topside (valve covers, crack in heads, distributor/intake gasket, etc., etc.).

If you still don't see any flourescent oil (it will show up very brightly, if the dye is present), go back underneath and look in that gap between the bellhousing and engine block. Shine the light up in that gap and, hopefully, you won't see any dye back there, either. But, that's just "wishing"; if you don't see leakage anywhere else, you will likely find it on the backside of the engine block casting...coming from those oil gallery pipe plugs. If that's the case, turn off the engine--holler, cuss, (don't throw the penlight!), cry. Then, cool down--drink a beer--and start planning how to drop/back the tranny up to get enough acces to locate and fix the leak.

Lastly... If you find that one of the 3 pipe plugs is leaking, REMOVE THEM ALL AND SEAL THEM ALL VERY WELL. FGS, don't just fix the one that is leaking!

Wish you luck!!

 

There is nothing in that area that leaks oi. Probably some residual.

 

 

{Thanks for the pic!}

 

This was my initial thought...haven't had the car on the road for any extended period yet but will tonight. Guess we'll find out.

As terrible as it would be for it to be the galley plugs, at least that would mean I did a good job on the rear main! Ha. But honestly I just can't see it being the main because I've seen that leak before and it looks very different than this. Will try the dye next week (off to the east coast for a vacation this weekend).

 

Chevys are know to leak from under the intake manifold and it will follow the seem between the trans and block. If it was the passenger side I would say check the distributor gasket.

Where is your oil pressure gauge tapped on the block? They like to start leaking at will too

 

I have been working on cars for 40 years and worked in a chevy dealer for 5 years and never saw a rear galley plug leak.

 

Good for you!!!

But, some of us have....

 

Good for you that you have that experience......

But I have never seen it. And doubt it is the problem.