Rear main oil leak??
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 162
Likes: 8
From: Gardner KS
Rear main oil leak??
I've had a leak on my '01 now for the past year and kept thinking "yeah, I'll get it fixed someday". Now its gotten to the point that my entire driveway is polka-dotted with oil drips and my wife says it needs to get fixed.
So, I used engine cleaner and cleaned everything up. Bought some UV dye and ran it through. Drove the car around the neighborhood and down the highway/back. Used the snazzy yellow filtered glasses and UV light...hmm I dont see any dye. So I pulled the dipstick and it glowed like the moon! Thought I would climb back under and stare at all the spots-- still no glowing. Even stranger: The oil that is dripping is completely "pitch black" and the oil on the dipstick is clean (less than 600 miles on oil). It doesn't appear to be clutch fluid, but cannot figure out why else this oil would be so black. Anybody have any idea? Here is the picture:
http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/5073/leakingcq0.jpg
It appears its leaking out of several places! One of them looks like the oil level sensor, out of a hole in the rear bell housing and around the bell housing/block surface.
So I finally took it to Chevrolet and they said "Possibly a rear main or rear cover" I have no idea what "rear cover" they would be talking about other than the differential. Anyways, to replace the rear main: $1000 labor plus $20 seal; then $100 for the oil change.
Is this problem common? Does it look like its the rear main? They didn't seem quite sure. Now the next huge question:
Has anybody ever done this by themselves, and is it possible? I'm thinking I'm being cornered by Chevrolet and will have to pay them big $$$ to fix it.
Thanks in advance!
So, I used engine cleaner and cleaned everything up. Bought some UV dye and ran it through. Drove the car around the neighborhood and down the highway/back. Used the snazzy yellow filtered glasses and UV light...hmm I dont see any dye. So I pulled the dipstick and it glowed like the moon! Thought I would climb back under and stare at all the spots-- still no glowing. Even stranger: The oil that is dripping is completely "pitch black" and the oil on the dipstick is clean (less than 600 miles on oil). It doesn't appear to be clutch fluid, but cannot figure out why else this oil would be so black. Anybody have any idea? Here is the picture:
http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/5073/leakingcq0.jpg
It appears its leaking out of several places! One of them looks like the oil level sensor, out of a hole in the rear bell housing and around the bell housing/block surface.
So I finally took it to Chevrolet and they said "Possibly a rear main or rear cover" I have no idea what "rear cover" they would be talking about other than the differential. Anyways, to replace the rear main: $1000 labor plus $20 seal; then $100 for the oil change.
Is this problem common? Does it look like its the rear main? They didn't seem quite sure. Now the next huge question:
Has anybody ever done this by themselves, and is it possible? I'm thinking I'm being cornered by Chevrolet and will have to pay them big $$$ to fix it.
Thanks in advance!
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 10,554
Likes: 33
From: Not on either liberal coast.
It's probably dirty because it's picking up dirt/grease along the way from its point of origin. Maybe the intake manifold or oil pressure switch at the rear of the intake manifold?
Last edited by hotwheels57; Mar 13, 2007 at 05:26 PM.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 162
Likes: 8
From: Gardner KS
Thanks for the help though; I read the walkthrough on replacing the clutch... egads! Since that has to be done before you can replace the main seal, I think I'll have to pay somebody. Anybody know/trust other places rather than GM to do this work? I just feel like there's gotta be a better price than $1000 in labor.
