[TA Midlife]

Hi All,

I have oil dripping and received some ideas for where it may be coming from on these forums, thanks. I'm going to start by replacing the valve cover gaskets and was wondering if there was anything I should be aware of prior to beginning the job. Any suggestions for the gasket or will Advance Auto or Rock Auto parts be alright?

The passenger side is my main concern since the oil seems to hitting the starter as well as dripping from the rear of the motor by the tranny . It may also be flying to the back and hitting the rear end because I also have a drip back there or the pinion seal is leaking.

Thanks,
Doug

 

[djfirebird93]

Use Fel-pro gaskets. And be patient, the valve cover gaskets can take a lot of time, and the bolts can be tricky. All in all it's pretty simple.

 

[Injuneer]

The center-bolt valve covers on the LT1 aren't that bad. It's unusual for them to leak. The gaskets are recessed in a groove in the edges of the cover, with tabs to hold them in place. Once you get them in the groove, it's easy to get the covers back on.

To get to the passenger side, I think the alternator and the AIR piping needs to be removed, and on the driver's side just the AIR piping. If you have traction control, that mess has to be pulled off the valve cover.

Tighten the center-bolts to 110 LB-IN (pound-INCHES)

 

[TA Midlife]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback!

Do you think I am barking up the wrong tree with the valve cover gaskets? This car is very clean under the hood so I'm not so sure they are leaking especially since the plugs were free from oil.
I'm going to try and take some photos from the under side of the engine to see if there are any indications of where it is coming from.

 

[96TA]

I would degrease the motor, use brake parts cleaner, purple power ect... clean it all and then watch it over the next oil change to be certain where the oil is coming from.

 

[GaryDoug]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback!

Do you think I am barking up the wrong tree with the valve cover gaskets? This car is very clean under the hood so I'm not so sure they are leaking especially since the plugs were free from oil.
I'm going to try and take some photos from the under side of the engine to see if there are any indications of where it is coming from.

I posted this a while back. Might be a slight possibility: The oil dipstick tube is right next to and above the starter. And they are prone to leak, since I don't think there is a real seal on it (just some RTV maybe). When the oil was overfilled, the crank would have thrown a lot of oil at the side of the pan where the tube is located. Anyway, it's something to consider.

 

[TA Midlife]

I posted this a while back. Might be a slight possibility: The oil dipstick tube is right next to and above the starter. And they are prone to leak, since I don't think there is a real seal on it (just some RTV maybe). When the oil was overfilled, the crank would have thrown a lot of oil at the side of the pan where the tube is located. Anyway, it's something to consider.

Good point Gary, thanks! That certainly looks like a viable cause given the overfill and the oil all over the starter. I had washed the starter and that section of the motor down with brake fluid so I will investigate.

I'm going to put some real effort into determining where it is coming from after reading the comments I've received in this post. I've taken the car off the road until spring so now I can focus some attention to this oil leak and the smell of gas I get after re-fueling.

It's great to have this beautiful car but a bummer when you are sniffing gasoline vapors and burning oil off the exhaust!

I'm going to jack stand the car up as high as I can and get some photos to analyze before I start replacing parts.

Thanks again!!

 

[96TA]

You mean brake parts cleaner and not brake fluid, right?

 

[TA Midlife]

Lol, good catch! Can you imagine me hosing it down with brake fluid and wondering where all the oil is coming from.......... sadly it could happen! lol

It was brake cleaner and I looked again today and there is fresh oil on the starter and on the bottom of the oil pan so I'm going to have to pull the starter and see whats up.

Btw, did I miss the mechanical rule that says these types of things MUST happen on the side of the engine that is a pita to get too? Just sayin........

 

[Injuneer]

the problem with brake fluid isn't that it's oily. The problem is it eats the paint off everything it touches.

 

[96TA]

Btw, did I miss the mechanical rule that says these types of things MUST happen on the side of the engine that is a pita to get too? Just sayin........

No, you chose to ignore it, lol...

Brake fluid can make a very nice engine compartment fire too