It was not really a pool, but was larger than a drip. Had the car out yesterday and was the first time she had seen 5000 rpm (currently 700 miles after the 24 year sit). Got home, no drips. Check a few hours later and did not see anything (though it was dark), checked this morning and the puddle was there! Watched it for a few and I did not see any drips at the time.

Puddle was releatively small and the oil level is fine. Puddle is located at the rear of the block, right handside. The valve covers and top of the engine are dry. I t looks as if the drip was over the top of the exhuast.

must be a slow drip as it burned off the exhaust while it was still hot.

Where do I start to look?


[Modified by Robert N, 11:04 AM 10/2/2002]


[Modified by Robert N, 9:07 PM 10/2/2002]

 

Oil pan gasket :confused:

 

Try oil line where it enters the block behind distributor. Might be the real main seal. You might could tell by removing the inspection cover if auto tran.

 

Sounds like the rear main to me as well. They're not very hard to replace. Just do a search on "main seal replacement" on the forum, and you'll turn up a couple of good tutorials.

 

I'm currently having the same problem. Haven't done anything yet. I figure for the rest of the year the half quart of oil I'll need to add is a lot less expensive than the seal replacement. At least until I figure out the $ situation.

I tried doing the search that was recommended above , but without any success.

Does anyone have a link to a discussion on the subject?

 

I agree with the "add oil as needed" theory for now. he is pure pleasure and at 200 mile per month driving, oil is cheap. I will tear the engine in the next year or 2 anyway for a full rebuild.

Thanks for the input as it confirmed what I was thinking. Just was hoping for something simple.

Here are a few of the links:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=201272
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=226168
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=343845
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=130905

 

You mention that there was oil dripping on the top of the exhaust. Would that have been from the oil pan area or valve cover exhaust area? If rear main seal, you should see some oil collecting on the rear, underside of the oil pan.

You can try swapping the valve cover gaskets for piece of mind (if they are 24 years old, they need it!).

I resolved an oil pan leak at rear of engine by installing a one-piece 'blue' FelPro oil pan gasket. Never leaked from there after. The one-piece oil pan gasket is available from Summit and Jegs for around $20 (I think). A breeze to install really. All you have to do is disconnect the idler arm from the right frame rail which allows you to drop the center steering linkage about 4". Then drop the pan, clean the pan (and pickup), clean old gasket from oil pan rails, insert 4-corner blue guides in the four bolt holes that are at each corner of the pan(look like bolts w/out heads, they keep the one-piece seal in place while you re-position the oil pan) and guide the pan up to and over the 4-corner guides (keep an eye on the seal lip in underside of timing cover and the rear main cap). Tighten pan bolts per manuf spec's.

This was a 2-3 hour job for me. Don't ask me what it was like to replace the old-style 4-piece pan gasket before.... :smash: :crazy:

:seeya


[Modified by TedH, 2:55 PM 10/2/2002]

 

Sounds like a rear main seal to me. Mine leaked. Not a big deal, just annoying. I hated to have the oil drip on my driveway.

It never leaked enough to have to add oil, but still left a small puddle everywhere.

Fix it (or have it done). I will be worth it.

 

It gets more interesting...
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=402097


[Modified by Robert N, 9:47 AM 10/3/2002]

 

Also check that it's not the little teeny hose with oil which feeds into the oil pressure gague. Mine had a leak at the compression fitting back by the distrib under the ignition shielding and started out with little puddles and ended up being a real mess when I finally figured out the source! :eek: ~Juliet

 

Go buy one of those drip pans and some kitty litter at an auto parts store. That's how I'm dealing with my leaky tranny for now. Oil, tranny fluid, and kitty litter are MUCH cheaper than repairs :D