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C5 base 2000
Oil leaking pretty bad. Noticed a few puddles before but now im getting smoke from the engine bay. I can see its coming from the back of the engine. Ive seen some threads about the oil pressure sensor location leaking. Mines is bad and reads 80 all the time so i know its broken should i start there? I noticed my engine is gunked up in oil recently but didnt notice sooner because of the engine covers.
The oil pressure sending unit is a common problem. On my first C5, it didn't leak but the gauge was not accurate. Changing the sender requires removal of the intake manifold and lots of old hoses and connectors. Like many, I removed the wiper blades and the cover beneath them. The I drilled a hole in the upper the upper overhang of the firewall allowing easy access to the sender. Covered the hole with aluminum tape and replaced the cover, nobody knows. No regrets and this procedure is well documented. Purists and other mechanic suggest manifold removal is simple, I disagree. I'll do it again on my current C5 when the time comes. Unfortunately, the photos and my first C5 were lost in a hurricane flood. A u-tube video suggest you can do it without drilling or manifold removal, but my hands were too big to make that happen. Good luck!
Your car is 25 years old which how many miles? Maybe you haven’t had the car long yourself? Do what I did and pull the intake anyway for peace of mind, you can see what’s going on, inspect under the manifold for any surprises replace some gaskets, do a good clean up on everything and then even add an oil pressure sensor extension if you are so inclined. One thing I found out about my car when removing the intake was some of the manifold bolts were just hand tight while a few put up a little resistance when backing them out. I’m bypassing running the steam port lines through the throttle body too, and I eliminated the AIR system too. You can pic and choose what you want to do. I’m considering replacing the pcv piping just due to age since mine is older than even yours.
My oil pressure sensor was inoperable but not leaking, I hope that or something equally easy turns out to be your problem.
I also did mine the "wrong" way through the cowl. No clue that it's been done that way. I shake my head ruefully at the guys saying R&Ring the intake is "easy." I wonder how many days it would take me to do that.
The first time I did the sensor change cutting through the cowl, it took about 1.5 hours. Next time it might take about 30 min.
You have oil everywhere. I would replace all of the gaskets up top. Valve covers, valley cover, intake gaskets, and your pressure sensor. Cutting a hole in the cowl won't fix the rest or potentially any of your oil leaks.
Oil leak
