i took my car in to a transmission place today because apparantly the oil gaskets are leaking. they said to replace both the higher and lower would be with parts and labor 389! I honestly think the guy is trying to rip me off. how much should it be for parts alone, and for labor?

'oil gaskets' is pretty vague. Do you know which ones or have the names of them? Or where they are specifically located?

Like it could be:
- the main crank seals (one on each end of the engine)
- valve cover gasket(s)
- oil pan (two parts and gaskets to this).
- axle seals

If its the main crank seals, specifically the rear one, it will cost a bit to change it since the whole transmission has to be dropped to get to it. If thats the case and your clutch is nearing the end of its life, it should be replaced as well (save on labor).

The front crank seal is real easy, just remove the belts and the crank pulley. Same with the valve cover. Definately NOT a $400 job.

If its the lower oil pan gasket, there are no parts involved other than a tube of gray rtv. It is bitch to get it off though. The upper oil pan, now, thats even more difficult to get off. These two could easy run $400.

If its the axle seals, then the axles will have to be pulled out, usually involving some suspension disassembly. Still, I think $400 is too much.

Regardless of where its coming from, parts should not be greater that $40 (if its just gaskets/seals).

Aaron

ok today i first went to the place where i took my car to have the clutch job done. When i had the job done, he asked me i should replace the axle seals and rear main seal to save on labor later on, which i did. Here i am now where i take my car back to that place with an oil leak. The guy shows me that, coming from the upper oil pan its leaking oil and it then drips along down towards the drivers side and ends up where the rear main seal would be around(basically where the transmission and engine meet). They said it wasnt the rear main seal. Anyhoo they wanted to charge me 389 to replace the upper and lower oil pan gaskets due to the labor.

i didnt like the osund of that price so i then took it to another place where they told me that it was leaking from the main seal. He also said it was leaking from the lower and upper oil pan and something about the timing chain or something like that.

anyway, what i want to know is the first place i took it to lying to me? about that its dripping from the upper oil pan down to the trnasmission?? Can it do this? or is the second place i took it to telling me the truth about the rear main seal?

thanks for any info, greatly appreciate it.

I have never heard of a upper oil pan gasket leaking in my life. It is most likely one of the crank seals that is giving you problems. If it was installed improperly it will leak. It "could" also be your lower oil pan gasket leaking, or the front cover. You should clean of the suspected area with brake cleaner and a rag and find out for yourself where the oil is leaking from. Then post with your results.

there are no gaskets!! there is only silicone on either of the oil pans on any sr20 engine. sounds like a rip off.

i know one guy who had his girl take his sr20 car to some shop and they said his fan belt needed to be replaced. some places are just straight shady.

Okay, here's an update.

I took my car to the car wash and washed all visible oil from the oil pan and under the transmission. Drove the car for a good ten miles. Came back and saw only oil leaking from the seal of the transmission to the rest of the engine. Which is seen here.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid26/p2c518e86cc053e6de1917d927bd8bfca/fd8255fb.jpg.orig.jpg

What is causing this oil to leak from around the transmission? I saw absolutely no oil on both the lower and upper oil pan gasket(Liquid Gasket). Could this be the rear main seal? or a crank seal?
If u look in that picture too u can see that there is oil around that round metal plate with a screw in it, but i dont think that is a major leak.

I really need to know where its coming from because i just had a 786 dollar rip off clutch job done from this place and now they want to replace two oil pan liquid gaskets that arent even leaking. The manager told me that the oil is coming from the upper oil pan gasket and running down to the transmission and that he can have both gaskets replaced for $389. That is when i washed the pans and found the real leak.

Here is the pics of the lower pan
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid26/p8bb235dfb4b9baf4f1f4e4acdcd626d9/fd8255fc.jpg.orig.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid26/p68ae261f78b87eda32b5142be50f7ca7/fd8255fa.jpg.orig.jpg

TIA I really appreciate any info you guys can give me, Im in need of second opinions.

if the pics dont show up heres the link to my album

http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4291781791

That is your rear main crank seal leaking. The front main seal is the one right behind the pullies. The shop most likely did not press the seal in properly. Good luck.

YES!!!! VIctory is mine. I'm going back to that damn shop early monday morning and telling them that they didnt put the seal on right. It makes me so mad that he wanted to charge me 389 bucks to fix something else that wasnt broken. Arggg. I just hope he'll believe me and not have me complicate things more.

Okay, but what if he insists that it is something else and he will not give in to admitting they were wrong? WOuld i have to contact the better business beauro???(BEE-yuh-ROH) sorry i cant spell.

thanks again

sorry for posting in this thread but I just registered and i cant post a new one anyway here goes...

Ok I removed my old chain tensioner and gasket then installed the new redesigned one. Then I tightened the bolts but when the engine was on it still leaked oil so I figured I musnt of tightened it properly (oil filter was tight!). I must of over-tightened and threaded the bottom bolt/stud and I cant get it off or tighten it and it still pisses out oil !! I dont think it will make it to a mechanics!

Any help or suggestions ?
Thanks in advance!

hey my car leaks in the same spots looks like a new main seal for me and tranni and clutch

Originally posted by eliterit
Okay, but what if he insists that it is something else and he will not give in to admitting they were wrong? WOuld i have to contact the better business beauro???(BEE-yuh-ROH) sorry i cant spell.

thanks again

Was it leaking before you took it into the shop?

If it wasn't, and then all the sudden it is after your new clutch, then regardless of where its coming from, it is their fault and they should fix it without charging you. Its kinda hard to argue with that.

I'd stick by that. Oil leaks can develop by themselves over time, but not an upper oil pan seal in under a week or two.

If they say it is, tell them that a mechanic friend who knows these engines said they never leak, let alone that quickly. Unless they dropped your engine on the oil pans or used the oil pan as the sole support for the engine when installing the clutch!

Aaron

ok, i took the car to the shop today and i told them my story. The guy couldnt argue with me and he is going to do the job for free. Thanks again for everyone who helped me out with this post. I really appreciate it and it saved me a ton of cash.

the guy called me from that transmission place and he told me that the oil leak is comiing STILL from the upper oil pan gasket(GREY RTV). He said they leak because its not a gasket but just silicone. HE said that i was wrong about the rear main seal not leaking and that it's the upper oil pan gasket leaking because it goes through the bell housing and the gasket is leaking from inside the bell housing. IS THIS POSSIBLE? He said he can prove it because he took off some sord of dust cover that i guess would let u see inside where the gasket is and with a special microbe light he saw the oil leaking from the gasket.

I told him that i got 2nd opinions from the internet that it was the rear main seal from guys who work on their car themselves and he was like "Where did you find this out?" and i said "The internet" and he's like "Exactly, how can you believe someone on the internet?"

Also, if there was a oil leak from that gasket before i took it to ge tthe clutch fixed, wouldnt the mechanic also notice that it was leaking and ask if he wanted me to go ahead and fix it?

I REALLY dont know what to do up to this point because now he's telling me something that if i want to prove i have to pay someone labor for taking apart the transmission. RIGHT???

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!???? I DONT KNOW WHAT TO Do. This is very frustrating and it involves money that i do not have.


Plus to top it off the main supervisor to the place wont even give out his last name! All i know is his name is MIKE, he only has a first name.HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If he said "they leak because its not a gasket but just silicone" then the guy is a moron, or is making it up to cover up something.

What happened about him saying he'd do it for free?

Now, I haven't seen it, and I'm not an expert on sr20s, so who knows, maybe it is leaking. But what gets me is that according to you it just started leaking after the clutch job. Very suspicious.

You did say they replaced the rear main seal? Well, there is an aluminum piece (sort of a bracket) that goes around the seal that mates with the upper oil pan and the block (the seal doesn't sit directly in the block). If the rtv seal around this aluminum piece was messed up when he either installed or removed the rear crank seal, then it could be leaking there.

I don't have the service manual with me, but I remember that it is possible to remove this bracket during the install of a new rear crank seal. Its not necessary (I didn't), but if it is, then it has to be resealed. The bottom edge of it lies along the upper oil pan, and the top and sides mate with the block.

When he said "Exactly, how can you believe someone on the internet?" I would have said: "Well, exactly, how can I believe you?" :)

Aaron

I'm not exactly sure what you should do, but I might talk to the manager (in person) and stick by the fact that it wasn't leaking before you brought it in, and their shop should do what ever is necessary to stop the leak. If you're talking to the manager about this, I'd avoid the subject of where its leaking, and stick by 'you broke it, you fix it'

Aaron

Now that I'm thinking about it, he most likely is lying about being able to see the rear crank seal or the source of the oil leak. Its all covered by the flywheel. I can't remember right off the top of my head, but I think there was very little room between the flywheel and the block. Can anyone here confirm this?

ak

There is an access panel by the transmission and upper oil pan. you have to remove this panel and then remove the two 10mm bolts under the panel to remove the upper oil pan. I believe the access panel is supposed to let you see into the area where the rear main seal is. Its pretty small and in an akward position, so I don't know how much you could actually see in there.

Ben

Originally posted by NXBen
There is an access panel by the transmission and upper oil pan. you have to remove this panel and then remove the two 10mm bolts under the panel to remove the upper oil pan. I believe the access panel is supposed to let you see into the area where the rear main seal is. Its pretty small and in an akward position, so I don't know how much you could actually see in there.

Ben

Good to know, I might very well be wrong about not being able to see in there.

ak

i take my car out from the shop today and i have to pay another 45 dollar "diagnostic" fee, and i took it to a friend of mine who is a mechanic and he said to take my car with his son in law because he works at a chevy dealer and for him to do a flourescent die test with the engine oil and if it shows up on the flywheel when we take off the dust cover to the transmission, that means that its the rear main seal leaking? Correct? Will this work for sr20 engines? Thanks again