Had a customer bring in a 2003 he'd bought a couple of weeks ago with 13k miles, always garaged kept. After driving it daily since purchase it now has:

Leaking water pump, leaking trans, rear main seal(probably) and leaking oil pan

Owner said it was COMPLETELY dry underneath the day he got it

 

That's what happens when a car is stored and rarely started and/or driven. Seals dry out, and leaks inevitably develop. May have been clean on day 1, but when subjected to daily use that's far from the norm, everything reared it's head. He's just going to have to bite the bullet and start sealing things back up.

 

I SEROUSLY doubt that the oil pan is leaking. Its an aluminum frame & rubber embossed seal.

If it were me, I would look at the OIL PRESSURE SENDER on the back of the manifold. They have a tendency to fail and leak at a moments notice regardless of mileage...

Also make sure that the PCV two in to one coupler at the back of the intake manifold is not deteriorated and cracked.



BC

 

That car must have sat for years at a time without driving.

 

Oil pan is leaking, oil pressure switch is completely dry, I'd guess as much oil is leaking from around the bell housing it's more than likely a rear main/rear engine cover that's the biggest problem , he's taking it to the dealership

 

Car is around 13 years old, things do go wrong even on low mileage cars. Hope some of the problems are not difficult, or expensive, fixes.

 

I mentioned this last year, but FWIW, I'll mention it again. Last fall, as I was getting my C-5 ready for winter storage, I noticed the oil pan was "wet" with oil. I feared the worst, but hoped for the best, and thought I'd check the lower oil pan bolts. (IIRC, the torque spec is 106 INCH/pounds) Anyway, they were ALL loose! I snugged them to spec, and as I was looking under there a couple of days ago, everything looked dry.


Just something to check, before pushing the panic button....

 

An 03 with 13K miles is going to bring a premium price. So what is the price on the fix? Asking anyone with any of the issues.

 

Just had a leaking rear engine cover fixed(also replaced rear main seal since they were right there at it) $800

 

Year and a half ago I bought a bone stock '99 coupe base A4..222300 on the clock..got it real cheap and it sounded good, so I figured if it had that many miles already chances are a few things had already been fixed. Trans went before I got it off the lot, so dealer got me a rebuild from a reputable shop.

Since then...

replaced hood struts

new headlight motors installed+1 turn signal socket

after owning it 8 mos and 1500 mi woke up to a clackety-clack..aarrghhh..turned out I needed new cam and lifters..

good part was we discovered the block looked perfect (mech said looks like 10-20K motor) heads looked like new, also discovered someone installed a new radiator no way 222K+ mi..(whew)

Then a complete tune, plugs wires, etc etc. Had to go to the dealership to flash for final tune.

repaired factory airbox (clips were busted)

correct factory stereo installed (got rid of Alpine crap)

new shift cable

power steering hose leak fix (still drips a tiny bit)

new wipers

well more to come but the big stuff is done..I haven't touched the brakes yet and there is some more small fixes easily addressed. My Vette is probably not worth much more than I originally paid for it, and actually with the repairs that I have had to pay for I realize I'm in it more than I will recoup dollar-wise. But even with a jillion miles already I pretty much know what's under the hood..Bottom line I've had nothing but smiles from my car so far and that's priceless..

 

Saxyvette:

With 222K miles on the clock you may be interested in these threads...
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2512259
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2825794

 

Thanks I replied to the first thread..

 

my car is not a low miles, but having battery replaced as it was not keeping a charge, but mines had a few things wrong w/ it nearing 100K for miles....

i was asking the mechanics that we take our other cars to (our vovlo) about my corvette, and his first comment was: letting a car like that sit is probably the worst thing for it. it was made to be driven and driven hard (i guess i'm not driving my car hard enough!)

my dad also years ago told me the same thing: cars sitting and not in use, they will develop all kinds of problems.

i'm not sure why people advertise as some "good thing" that a car has been stored, etc etc, and expecting that to be worth more money in some way.
sure it may not get normal wear and tear things, but other things will wear out very quickly. i guess people think these cars will be like the 1979 lamborghini contach that i saw on some car show not long ago: owner bought it, hardly drove it (only had a few 1000 miles on it), stored it, then 30 some odd years later puts it up for auction. sure it got a pretty penny for a sale, and it DIDN'T RUN, but was advertised "untouched".

 

One thing harder on a car than storing it, is driving it in the winter.

 

I don't let mine sit more than a few days...but also lucky to have year round driving conditions..

I'm guessing you guys that store them run the engine a few times while she's hibernating.

 

You'll get a LOT of varying opinions on this, but I've been "winter storing" cars for about 40 years, and yes, I will start it up 2-3 times during the winter.

 

Nope, Best not to introduce moisture into the crankcase which condenses into water which can cause sludge. Most experts do not recommend starting during cold weather storage. Not to mention idling for long periods is not good for anything and most wear occurs during startup. My '01 has hibernated for 6 months in Wisconsin winters 14 times without starting. Uses no oil, has no leaks and runs like new.
Problems can arise if you drive them or store them.

 

I will usually start mine a few times over the winter just because I want to hear it. I do keep it stored in a heated garage though.

 

I couldn't agree more.

 

Great info here..It seems storage conditions might dictate to run or don't run.