oil pan gasket

[kirk98]

Hello everyone. When I got my car inspected the mechanic told me my oil pan was leaking. I need a new gasket. I heard somewhere that there are two different kinds of gasket materials: cork and plastic- is that correct? Which is better and where can i purchase a new gasket online? Thanks for the help. Merry Christmas.

[3.4 slow to go]

only one kind for the 3800, and it also sorta resembles a louver too. About $35 iirc. bought it when I was down @ Keesler MS. that dealership is probably gone still.

[BobbyZ72]

the inspection guys dont know anything how do they know its not your main seal or valve covers. its hard to tell until you get the transmisson off and out of the way. all of mine were leaking. they are all a pain in the butt to do. Dont try to do any of them your self. As long as its not leaking bad bad, just take a can of degreaser, spray it, and wash the area off. Polish the underside up a bit. Take it back over there and tell him you had a new gasket put on.

[kirk98]

Hey BobbyZ72- The mechanic I went to is actually a personal friend. He has his own shop- he does all kinds of work, not just inspections. My car passed inspection, he just advised me to get a new oil pan gasket and install it. Hmm, I hope its nothing major now.

[BLLDOGG]

Originally posted by BobbyZ72:
the inspection guys dont know anything how do they know its not your main seal or valve covers. its hard to tell until you get the transmisson off and out of the way. all of mine were leaking. they are all a pain in the butt to do. Dont try to do any of them your self. As long as its not leaking bad bad, just take a can of degreaser, spray it, and wash the area off. Polish the underside up a bit. Take it back over there and tell him you had a new gasket put on.

:rolleyes:
thats right, just clean it up. who cares your leaking oil. you can always just add more huh? [img]graemlins/twak.gif[/img]

[glen]

not to mention it's really not that hard to tell if it's your pan gasket or not. the others might be harder but to find out if it's that gasket clean the whole area run you engine for abit and then check and see if oil looks like its coming from the gasket area. worked on my celica.

"they are all a pain in the butt to do. Dont try to do any of them your self" oil pan gasket isn't that hard

"As long as its not leaking bad bad"
if it's leaking then it ain't good therefore it needs to be fixed the longer you leave it leaking the more probable more problems will arise.

[BobbyZ72]

It has to be pretty bad before you should replace it. You have probly never degreased the underside of your car and the build is normal im sure. All american made cars have oily oil pans, if not cleaned off every now and then.

[ December 23, 2005, 12:34 AM: Message edited by: BobbyZ72 ]

[BobbyZ72]

OIL PAN GASKET ISNT THAT HARD???? [img]graemlins/slap.gif[/img] I had to remover my starter, transmission, engine mount bolts and lift the engine up about 2 inchs. I can tell you i was cursing all day lol.

[Camaro Dom]

mmm.. mine aint oily #1 and the longer something leaks the more it leaks #2. last year my p/s rack and pump were both leakin a little, so i was topping off about once a month, then it got to 2 times a month, and after 6 months of leaky i was toppin it off at every gas stop. might as well fix it b4 it gets nasty. dont complain too much about time if you're on this site you probably dont consider time working on the car for WHATEVER reason time wasted. and at 35 bucks its not a bad hit on the wallet.

[ma4life]

I would definately replae it if I were you ... yes, it's a pain in the $^% ... did mine and it took probably close to 4 hours, but it's better than dripping oil all over the place ... just my opinion.

[kristen]

while your getting that done you might as well do the rear main seal also. since your right there. i did my oil pan gasket a few months back and now have to go back and do the rear main seal. are you doing the work? if so god''s speed son!!! heheh. it's the biggest pita

[BobbyZ72]

hell yes...do the main seal at the same time [img]graemlins/banana.gif[/img] you will thank your self.. i promise

[kirk98]

I unfortunatly won't be doing the work. I wish I could, but I have no one to help me walk through it. The most mechanical thing I've ever done is change my oil, haha.

My girlfriend bought a brand new Cobalt a few months ago so she gets free oil changes at the dealership. While we were there yesterday I talked to the Service Manager about doing my oil pan. He looked in a book and said it would cost around $350 to put a new gasket on. I'm guessing it would cost about that much to get it done anywhere, does that sound about right to you guys? I could always take it to my friends shop, but if he'll charge basically the same thing I'll just let GM do it since they KNOW what they're doing.

It's not that I don't trust my friend, but his specialty is Ford's. And since the guys at GM are trained specifically for my car I'd rather have them do it if I'll be charged the same. Guess I'll just have to talk to my friend and see what his estimate is.

And yes- my rearend is slightly leaking, I forgot to ask about how much that would cost to get done also. Can't wait until both gaskets are replaced- cuz then my car will have NOTHING to fix on it anymore haha. I went through hell trying to fix my one headlight motor, ending up being the loose wire on the connecter. I even went out and bought a whole another motor, AHH, At least I'll have a backup for later. Sorry if I'm talking too much, I just woke up and I have NOTHING to do today!

[ December 23, 2005, 10:08 AM: Message edited by: kirk98 ]

[Camaro Dom]

well dealerships ALWAYS charge a bit more for everything, parts AND labor so you'd get it done cheaper somewhere else and if hes ur friend i would expect some sort of discount. and honestly, while it may be a pita, its not hard to do. like, theres alot to do, but its not that complicated. hell most things arent on a car. i learned how to fix brakes by just takin the things off and having ready again b4 i had to go to work 4 hours later. all anyone does when they fix stuff is just go thru a step by step procedure. check out a haynes manual. if ur not confident going in and takin the motor apart thats fine, but try to get ur hands a little more dirty there. you gain a different kind of appreciation for your car and knowing how to do that kinda stuff will never hurt. its just a matter of finding a free day and taking something apart. really, worst case scenario, a mechanic can fix whatever you screw up if you do...

[ma4life]

Just keep in mind that if you have them do your rear main seal also, that the price is going to dramatically go up 'cause now they will have to pull the tranny where as with the oil pan gasket they do not touch the tranny...just food for thought.