Need help!! Major problem!!
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Joined: Nov 2008
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From: Scranton PA
Need help!! Major problem!!
so i went out to a car show and my firned behind me noticed i was burning oil a little bit so i said okay well maybe valve seals or something. take the car home park it for a week and notice a little more oil in my catchpan than normal. check oil and oil filter and oil is a little low so i top it off and go for a drive around the block..car starts shaking in the lower rpm and doesnt really want to go anywhere when i put the throttle down. go home and park it and just happened to look under the car and this is what i see..
any help guys? im hoping its an oil pan gasket but from the looks of the pictures i hope its not a main seal..looks like my show season is gonna be cut short after only one car show
any help guys? im hoping its an oil pan gasket but from the looks of the pictures i hope its not a main seal..looks like my show season is gonna be cut short after only one car show
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2000
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From: Crystal lake Il
2022 Corvette of the Year Winner -- Modified
2021 C4 of the Year - Modified Winner
Did you try tightening the bolts on the pan?
Don't go crazy they strip easy, bu maybe they have backed out?
Don't go crazy they strip easy, bu maybe they have backed out?
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 1,917
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From: Crystal lake Il
2022 Corvette of the Year Winner -- Modified
2021 C4 of the Year - Modified Winner
Well its from the front thats a start, could very likely be the oil cooler hoses.....start tracing it back looking for wet areas.....run fintgers around hose connections and see if its wet....
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Joined: Nov 2008
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From: Scranton PA
yeah i was hoping it isnt a rear main seal or something since its at the front but as far as the sensor..check for leaks around that or check for bad sensor? and is there an oil overflow?
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 6,314
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From: South-central Missouri
okay ill check that out....looks like its coming from above the cooling lines...can it really leak that much tho i drove it last night and its only been sitting a good 24hrs..any relation between the shaking in the car to the oil leak tho? i mean its prolly not helping but is there something else that might be wrong?
yeah i was hoping it isnt a rear main seal or something since its at the front but as far as the sensor..check for leaks around that or check for bad sensor? and is there an oil overflow?
yeah i was hoping it isnt a rear main seal or something since its at the front but as far as the sensor..check for leaks around that or check for bad sensor? and is there an oil overflow?
Aside from loose pan bolts about the only thing that would spew oil like that at the front of the engine would be where oil is under pressure. That confines your search a lot, and the oil filter housing and its various connections are a prime suspect.
Smoke, you said... Can your friend be specific as to whether it was from one side or the other?
Look at the exhaust headers/manifold. Is one side showing signs of burnt oil, or at least more so that the other?
I'm going out on a limb a bit, but the oil filter housing or one of its attending connections or sensors is a prime suspect, especially if it appears to be coming from the passenger side/front of the motor. Oil is under pressure there, and even a small breach somewhere will result in a leak of the magnitude of yours. Fortunately, everything about that housing is easy enough to inspect:
- As mentioned, there are the two "AN" type oil cooler connections at the oil filter housing.
- There are 3 bolts that hold the filter housing to the block. 19# of torque with some blue LockTite might be all that is needed. Or, Jerry's Gaskets can fix you up with a fresh gasket.
- There are 3 sensors attached to the filter housing; two of them are easy to get to, and one (THEE one that is apparently prone rupturing - because it is hard to get to
) is on the bottom of the filter housing.
If you don't have a problem there, and especially if it turns out that oil is blowing out of the dipstick, check you PVC valves and tubing.
Keep us posted, and come visit the ZR-1 Net Registry. The depth of talent residing there exclusively is awesome!
P.
Last edited by Paul Workman; Jun 5, 2011 at 08:03 AM.
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Joined: Nov 2008
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From: Scranton PA
If the leak is coming from the general direction of the oil cooler lines/filter housing, you're among friends, it seems - you would be the 4th person dealing with that in the past year.
Aside from loose pan bolts about the only thing that would spew oil like that at the front of the engine would be where oil is under pressure. That confines your search a lot, and the oil filter housing and its various connections are a prime suspect.
Smoke, you said... Can your friend be specific as to whether it was from one side or the other?
Look at the exhaust headers/manifold. Is one side showing signs of burnt oil, or at least more so that the other?
I'm going out on a limb a bit, but the oil filter housing or one of its attending connections or sensors is a prime suspect, especially if it appears to be coming from the passenger side/front of the motor. Oil is under pressure there, and even a small breach somewhere will result in a leak of the magnitude of yours. Fortunately, everything about that housing is easy enough to inspect:
If you don't have a problem there, and especially if it turns out that oil is blowing out of the dipstick, check you PVC valves and tubing.
Keep us posted, and come visit the ZR-1 Net Registry. The depth of talent residing there exclusively is awesome!
P.
Aside from loose pan bolts about the only thing that would spew oil like that at the front of the engine would be where oil is under pressure. That confines your search a lot, and the oil filter housing and its various connections are a prime suspect.
Smoke, you said... Can your friend be specific as to whether it was from one side or the other?
Look at the exhaust headers/manifold. Is one side showing signs of burnt oil, or at least more so that the other?
I'm going out on a limb a bit, but the oil filter housing or one of its attending connections or sensors is a prime suspect, especially if it appears to be coming from the passenger side/front of the motor. Oil is under pressure there, and even a small breach somewhere will result in a leak of the magnitude of yours. Fortunately, everything about that housing is easy enough to inspect:
- As mentioned, there are the two "AN" type oil cooler connections at the oil filter housing.
- There are 3 bolts that hold the filter housing to the block. 19# of torque with some blue LockTite might be all that is needed. Or, Jerry's Gaskets can fix you up with a fresh gasket.
- There are 3 sensors attached to the filter housing; two of them are easy to get to, and one (THEE one that is apparently prone rupturing - because it is hard to get to ) is on the bottom of the filter housing.
If you don't have a problem there, and especially if it turns out that oil is blowing out of the dipstick, check you PVC valves and tubing.
Keep us posted, and come visit the ZR-1 Net Registry. The depth of talent residing there exclusively is awesome!
P.
as far as the smoke it was out the drive side the most but a hint of blue on the passenger side..i have aftermarket headers w/ cat delete and as far as i can tell they are pretty beat up...thinking about putting the stock ones back on while i have it on the lift along with replacing the gaskets for the exhaust manifold
i'm already on zr1 registry (Need4Speed90) but havent gotten the chance to post yet
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Joined: Nov 2008
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From: Scranton PA
thank you!!!! getting it up on the lift on wednesday and checking everything out..hopefully its the problems you described..the oil filter assemly sounds like the problem along with the coolin hosescongrats on the prototype rebuild btw bringing the pride back to life
1994 Admiral Blue ZZZZZR1
Joined: Sep 2007
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From: Jarrettsville, md
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St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
thank you!!!! getting it up on the lift on wednesday and checking everything out..hopefully its the problems you described..the oil filter assemly sounds like the problem along with the coolin hosescongrats on the prototype rebuild btw bringing the pride back to life
Have you brought your car to Corvettes of Carlisle? If you haven't, you will be amazed at the amount of ZR-1's there this year!
There is a group of hard core ZR-1'ers very close to you in "WAZOO" land... Have you noticed the posts? Many Z owners from VA, MD, PA, NJ, and DE helping each other out with maintenance / issues for the past few years.
Take a look on http://www.zr1.net/forum/ LOTS of owners posting up help wanted and others posting up answers.
David
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 7,392
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From: Merritt Island, FL
I just fixed this issue on my '91 a few days ago. Have been trying to eliminate oil leaks one by one over the last year, and I *think* this was the last one. Oil pressure switch was ruptured internally, so oil was coming out of the connector terminals.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,128
Likes: 70
From: Pineville Louisiana
If the bottom coolant hose has oil on it the cooler lines failed but if the idiot light sensor under the oil filter housing failed it will be dry and hard to see the leak. This is what happened to me and believe me it lost a bunch of oil in a short time. I made a tool that makes it easier to change if you want it I will mail it to you. I also cleaned the sensors connector with MAF cleaner before I reinstalled it. Also after it was fixed I put the car on the lift and cleaned it with some LA Awesomely Amazing and you can’t even tell that it had oil all over it. BTW the ZR-1 Net forums are a good place to go with this, those guys are great
Daniel
Daniel
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Joined: Nov 2008
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From: Scranton PA
If the bottom coolant hose has oil on it the cooler lines failed but if the idiot light sensor under the oil filter housing failed it will be dry and hard to see the leak. This is what happened to me and believe me it lost a bunch of oil in a short time. I made a tool that makes it easier to change if you want it I will mail it to you. I also cleaned the sensors connector with MAF cleaner before I reinstalled it. Also after it was fixed I put the car on the lift and cleaned it with some LA Awesomely Amazing and you can’t even tell that it had oil all over it. BTW the ZR-1 Net forums are a good place to go with this, those guys are great
Daniel
Daniel
cant wait to get this problem behind me..thanks guys
sorry its been awhile to post..ive been busy working
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 6,314
Likes: 508
From: South-central Missouri
thanks guys..posting it to zr1.net right now....ill have to look into it further because im getting anxious and loosing major time..if it is the light sensor is it called a light sensor or something else...as far as the oil cooler lines how hard is it to change out?
cant wait to get this problem behind me..thanks guys
sorry its been awhile to post..ive been busy working
cant wait to get this problem behind me..thanks guys
sorry its been awhile to post..ive been busy working
- The big one on top, next to the oil filter = "oil pressure sensor"
- The little one down and stick out toward the front = "oil temperature sensor"
- The one on the under side of the oil housing = "oil pressure switch"
ALL of these are available at AutoZone, I discovered. They go by different part numbers, depending on the vehicle, but the are common and used on several different cars, I'm told.
Hope this helps
P.
Race Director
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 10,230
Likes: 885
From: Alexandria, Virginia, USA VA
oil pressure switch fails often and would be the first thing I'd look at
plenty of ZR-1 guys in your area.
go to the zr1 net registry and look them up and see if they can give you a hand.
come on up and see the wazoo guys and we'll throw it up on the lift and fix the beast.
it's what we do. don't dispair, the lt5 is a more smiles per miles option that will keep you grinning. I have had more fun in this car than anything else I've had and I've had alot
plenty of ZR-1 guys in your area.
go to the zr1 net registry and look them up and see if they can give you a hand.
come on up and see the wazoo guys and we'll throw it up on the lift and fix the beast.
it's what we do. don't dispair, the lt5 is a more smiles per miles option that will keep you grinning. I have had more fun in this car than anything else I've had and I've had alot
Navigator
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
I'm dealing with this same problem with my friends '91 Vette. I'd be curious as to what you did to solve it?
Besides the oil smoke coming up the passenger side firewall the engine isn't running well after it warms up. No power when accelerating (bogs down). No diagnostics codes. I did notice that the wires to a sensor under the TPI runner are stripped and may be shorting out.
Thanks!
-Terry
Besides the oil smoke coming up the passenger side firewall the engine isn't running well after it warms up. No power when accelerating (bogs down). No diagnostics codes. I did notice that the wires to a sensor under the TPI runner are stripped and may be shorting out.
Thanks!
-Terry
Racer
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 408
Likes: 0
From: Sherbrooke Quebec
so i went out to a car show and my firned behind me noticed i was burning oil a little bit so i said okay well maybe valve seals or something. take the car home park it for a week and notice a little more oil in my catchpan than normal. check oil and oil filter and oil is a little low so i top it off and go for a drive around the block..car starts shaking in the lower rpm and doesnt really want to go anywhere when i put the throttle down. go home and park it and just happened to look under the car and this is what i see..
any help guys? im hoping its an oil pan gasket but from the looks of the pictures i hope its not a main seal..looks like my show season is gonna be cut short after only one car show
any help guys? im hoping its an oil pan gasket but from the looks of the pictures i hope its not a main seal..looks like my show season is gonna be cut short after only one car show
Good luck!
