Oil is leaking

[Camaro3800v6]

So the snow has finally melted, and about 3 days ago I re- sealed my egr tube because it was leaking again. Since then my car has been running great no more egr leak. Well today when I started up my car I noticed a ticking noise again. So I assumed it was my egr again, and drove to church.

Then when leaving I noticed a puddle of oil under my car. I couldn't see where it was leaking from, So I drove it home and then tried starting the car and heard the ticking sound again and looked and I can see where the oil is leaking from. It's the plug in thing above my oil filter. It's leaking right on top of the oil filter onto the ground. Looks like some oil leaked onto the lower part of the engine also. The oil only leaks when the engine is running.

When I turn the car off the oil stops leaking. I looked at the oil gauge and its moving a little at idle and when I rev the car the oil gauge moves quite a bit. Pretty sure a while back, the needle on the oil gauge never moved at all. Any ideas what it could be? or what to do?

[ssms5411]

Oil pressure sender, about $40 , unplug the sensor, they make a socket to go on which I have but you can use a wrench, unscrew it and put the new one in, pretty easy.

[LETZRIDE]

Do you have a photo of where it is leaking from?

I wouldn’t run the car while it is leaking oil like that- you’re at risk for spinning a bearing

[Camaro3800v6]

Yeah it has to be just a new oil pressure sender unit. I ended up taking it to my mechanic yesterday before I knew that it was an easy fix. Looks like no t-top drive today. I really hope it's just that.

Do you know if the oil pressed sender alone can cause engine noises? hopefully it didn't cause somthing else to break, cause that noise was pretty loud. I'm thinking the engine noise is either just from the oil pressure sender or maybe need a new water pump or somthing.

I didn't get a pic of it. Yea I was concerned with having to drive it and doing damage, I kept it at low rpms.

[ssms5411]

Did you check the oil level? If you ran it low on oil you could of damaged something . is it still making noise? Mine went out and started leaking about 3 years ago but I was parked and saw the oil, so caught it right away. Changed it right away and everything was good. Is it still at the mechanic?

[LETZRIDE]

Tough to say without hearing the noise... Steve is right, if you ran too low on oil you may have spun a bearing.

When I spun a bearing at the track my car sounded like a bag of marbles had been sucked into the intake and were bouncing around.

Your mechanic should be able to tell if it is rod knock if it is in the shop. If it is something in the motor I would say don’t rebuild it and swap in another 3800- wrecking yards have them for about $500 usually and you can sell off a few parts you won’t need.

[Camaro3800v6]

Yes I checked and the oil level didn't say low, but I may not have given it enough time to let the oil go back into the oil pan and i wasn't on a level surface. Yes it's still at the mechanic he's getting the part right now. I hope the noise will be gone.

That's great that you caught it right away Steve. I wish I had just checked the oil right away on a level surface, saw the leak and not drove it. I had drove it for around an hour total, including to the mechanics. The ticking noise it made sounded pretty similar to the egr noise so I just figured it was that.

The noise would come and go. It mostly happened when first starting my car and then during driving the noise would stop at times. But I later realized it sounded more like a engine/belt sound than a egr noise.

yea probably wouldn't want to rebuild it, I'd find a good condition 3800and swap it in.

[Camaro3800v6]

Got my car back today and the oil leak is now fixed. Mechanic said It was about a quart low. They also said the engine noise should stop. So I brought some oil and filled it. It still made ticking sounds at first, but after I added around a quart of oil, and some oil and fuel treatment the noises stopped completely and my engine ran very smoothly.

Took it for a long highway drive and it did great. Felt powerful and the exhaust sounded better than ever. Checked the oil level and it was perfect.

[ssms5411]

Good to hear.