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99 Oil Pan Gasket Replacement

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Old Feb 27, 2023 | 03:37 PM
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Default 99 Oil Pan Gasket Replacement

I developed a small leak on my 99, most noticeable while parking it on an angle, took it into the Dealership today for a diag and they quoted be $1,815 to replace the oil pan gasket, perform an alignment, and oil change.

I am thinking this is crazy, no?
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Old Feb 27, 2023 | 04:22 PM
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Originally Posted by Vader_C5
I developed a small leak on my 99, most noticeable while parking it on an angle, took it into the Dealership today for a diag and they quoted be $1,815 to replace the oil pan gasket, perform an alignment, and oil change.

I am thinking this is crazy, no?
upper oil pan gasket is expensive to replace. $1800 seems high though. Mine was $1000. Id contact some local speed shops and see what they would quote.
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Old Feb 27, 2023 | 05:05 PM
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The whole front subframe and suspension need to be dropped while the motor is supported. They better be positive that is the source of the leak and not the front or rear seals.
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Old Feb 27, 2023 | 05:44 PM
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Originally Posted by hungryhippo
The whole front subframe and suspension need to be dropped while the motor is supported. They better be positive that is the source of the leak and not the front or rear seals.
I am going to get a 2nd opinion and/or wait for warmer weather and high mileage oil!
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Old Feb 28, 2023 | 10:08 AM
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I would power wash everything. And add dye to the oil. Black light will tell you where your leaks are. Upper oil pan leak is very common on these cars though.
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Old Mar 6, 2023 | 05:22 PM
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Originally Posted by hungryhippo
The whole front subframe and suspension need to be dropped while the motor is supported. They better be positive that is the source of the leak and not the front or rear seals.
A related question on that, please. My car is having the harmonic balancer replaced soon, so I believe I'm correct in saying that they'll have to do some of that anyway in order to do that job. They've advised it may be wise to replace the front seal as well as the upper and lower oil pan gaskets. How much work/time, roughly, do you think is being saved doing the oil pan gaskets while doing a harmonic balancer, vs a car going in for just the gaskets? From what I have seen, the front seal can probably only be done when you have removed the balancer, is that correct, please?
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Old Mar 6, 2023 | 05:36 PM
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Originally Posted by sayerbloke
A related question on that, please. My car is having the harmonic balancer replaced soon, so I believe I'm correct in saying that they'll have to do some of that anyway in order to do that job. They've advised it may be wise to replace the front seal as well as the upper and lower oil pan gaskets. How much work/time, roughly, do you think is being saved doing the oil pan gaskets while doing a harmonic balancer, vs a car going in for just the gaskets? From what I have seen, the front seal can probably only be done when you have removed the balancer, is that correct, please?
do everything you can afford when doing a harmonic balancer. I’d even replace the radiator with a dewitts, water pump, ac,
oil pump, etc. hb is a big job. Set a budget and do every thorn you can!!
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Old Mar 6, 2023 | 05:52 PM
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Originally Posted by sayerbloke
A related question on that, please. My car is having the harmonic balancer replaced soon, so I believe I'm correct in saying that they'll have to do some of that anyway in order to do that job. They've advised it may be wise to replace the front seal as well as the upper and lower oil pan gaskets. How much work/time, roughly, do you think is being saved doing the oil pan gaskets while doing a harmonic balancer, vs a car going in for just the gaskets? From what I have seen, the front seal can probably only be done when you have removed the balancer, is that correct, please?
I would replace the front seal and HB then clean it up and make sure you really need the pan gaskets done
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Old Mar 6, 2023 | 05:56 PM
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Lots of work to fix. I watched 2 men spend 3 hours to fix and they never stopped.
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Old Mar 6, 2023 | 05:59 PM
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Thanks for your thoughts. The additional things on the list so far are the Acc and A/c belts, plus associated tensioners and idlers, water pump, front seal, oil change with new oil filter... the oil pressure sensor is pegged at max, so I know that needs doing... and the aforementioned upper and lower oil pan gaskets have been raised as probables as well. With the car up in the air so you can walk under it, there's evidence of an oil leak from somewhere but I'm somewhat sure it's only when it's running; there's no sign of oil on the ground where it gets parked and based on the level on the dipstick whenever I check, it's not obviously going down much at all over time.

Is the lower oil pan gasket a less involved job than the upper one, please?
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Old Mar 6, 2023 | 06:02 PM
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When your buying parts like this, here’s the order:

1. Rockauto

2. gmparts direct (just slightly out of your state so the shipping is cheaper than the sales tax)

3. summit Racing (which is always the most expensive)

personally, i don’t trust Amazon. They sell fake Chinese parts.
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Old Mar 6, 2023 | 06:30 PM
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Originally Posted by sayerbloke
Thanks for your thoughts. The additional things on the list so far are the Acc and A/c belts, plus associated tensioners and idlers, water pump, front seal, oil change with new oil filter... the oil pressure sensor is pegged at max, so I know that needs doing... and the aforementioned upper and lower oil pan gaskets have been raised as probables as well. With the car up in the air so you can walk under it, there's evidence of an oil leak from somewhere but I'm somewhat sure it's only when it's running; there's no sign of oil on the ground where it gets parked and based on the level on the dipstick whenever I check, it's not obviously going down much at all over time.

Is the lower oil pan gasket a less involved job than the upper one, please?
Yes, you can do the lower pan gasket with out dropping the front sub frame. Your OPS is most likely going to be your leak while running
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Old Mar 6, 2023 | 06:31 PM
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Originally Posted by Smoken1
Yes, you can do the lower pan gasket with out dropping the front sub frame. Your OPS is most likely going to be your leak while running
99 has a one piece pan
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Old Mar 6, 2023 | 06:45 PM
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Originally Posted by BJ415
99 has a one piece pan
I was just going by what he/she said in post #6. if it is a 1 piece pan I would leave it and do OPS and the front seal and HB
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Old Mar 6, 2023 | 06:52 PM
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Originally Posted by BJ415
When your buying parts like this, here’s the order:
1. Rockauto
Already been building a shopping list of parts on RockAuto . I'm mostly there but will have a couple more questions to ask the forum at some point soon. May start a new thread for those, rather than continuing to hi-jack this one as we go further off topic!

Originally Posted by Smoken1
Yes, you can do the lower pan gasket with out dropping the front sub frame. Your OPS is most likely going to be your leak while running
Thank you. So (and without holding you to anything!) would you suggest that even with the work being done to replace the HB, such as dropping the front sub-frame and removing the steering rack, etc, replacing the upper oil pan gasket is enough extra steps beyond that it's still a big job even from that point and not something to take on lightly, please?
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Old Mar 6, 2023 | 07:15 PM
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I did my HB and seal at 74k along with relocating the OPS because they leaked. I didn't have to drop the sub frame to do those you just need to move the P/S rack over out of the way.
Like I said before clean it up and see were it actually leaks
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Old Mar 8, 2023 | 03:20 PM
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Hey guys not to butt in i have the same problem the pan leaks from the oil pan gasket im almost sure. What oil dye additive and black light are you talking about that will show where oil is leaking from?

Does the dye harm the oil or have to be changed directly after or run the length of the oil change intervals?
You're saying its possible to leak from the oil pressure sensor?

Last edited by Justin Raney; Mar 8, 2023 at 04:17 PM.
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Old Mar 8, 2023 | 04:31 PM
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Should I have a oil leak that has been confirmed that it is from an oil pan, before I spend thousands to fix, I would try putting in an oil stop leak product. I had a oil leak in my DD Murano that to replace the gasket, it was $2000 +. I put in Titan Oil Stop-Leak and it fixed it. Not cheap but under $100. No leaking for several years with oil changes.
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