oil leak, help please!!!

[Spades95formula]

hey guys, my bird leaks oil like crazy,and i was wondering where in the heck should i start. i tried to see where its coming from but everything is covered with oil, i was wondering what is a common problem for the 95 birds as far as seals and gaskets. i dont have money, bacause of a baby on the way. my wife says i should sell the damm thing. but honestly i love my car too much to let it go. do you guys think its hard to maybe replace head gaskets,rear main seal, etc. on this car.i mean changing the plugs was a pain,now i can imagine changing gaskets and stuff,with all those sensors. any help i always appreciated thanks!!

[Joe 1320]

The intake manifold is prone to leaking along the rear edge near the EGR tube. I would degrease the engine, especially the rear of the block and verify the location of the leak. There are also leaks that occur from the front cover optispark seal, the water pump seal and the front crank seal. As far as changing gaskets, the only thing that is really a pain is removing the spark plugs and exhaust manifolds. The rest is relatively easy.

[Spades95formula]

thanks joe, thats what a mechanic told me, but i wanted to do more investigating before i did anything.

[N20LT4Bird]

When you check for that leak along the back of the manifold, use a mirror. Start the car up and watch the edge of the manifold. Often times this is the only way to see back there.

[N20LT4Bird]

Also, rev it up. At idle, the engine has too much manifold vacuum and it doesnt allow the oil to leak out; when you rev it, it will leak as manifold vacuum decreases.

[wolfdogs]

what? the man who discovered the intake manifold leak on lt1's....invented the cure for it......got GM to admit it......and made a site about it..... is not good enough anymore to post the link to it?????????

hussies!!!!!!!!!!!


http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/4013/ol.html

[N20LT4Bird]

The last time the leak happened for me, it was leaving a puddle about 4 inches in dia. on my driveway. I just smeared some high temp RTV in the crack thinking "its worth a shot", but I expected the leak to be back in 2 days. That was 3 months ago and not a drop yet. Probably the "butcher" method, but its working. Well see about next season.

[Spades95formula]

thanks for the help fellas , damm oil leak made my trns mount break in less than 3 months. good thing it was still under warranty. thanks again guys

[Rancid Crabbtree]

Originally posted by Spades95formula
thanks for the help fellas , damm oil leak made my trns mount break in less than 3 months. good thing it was still under warranty. thanks again guys

Some more advice for you:
Do not believe you have to sand the block surface for sealant to adhere. That is very dangerous due to the scuffings off the block can work their way into the oil valley, into the oil pan and onto your bearings. There have been a few cases of people "scuffing" the block and it ended up screwing their main bearings.
Do not believe the EGR is soley to blame for the intake leak. The intake leaks I have encountered have also been on the drivers side where the pass. side (where EGR is located) was dry. The manifold bolts will come loose after being heat cycled. When oil starts to leak all depends on how strong the barrier is (sealant).
There is no need to heat wrap the EGR tube. As long as there is a generous supply of sealant and it is applied properly it will do the trick. If you want, request your mechanic to use Ultra Copper which is a higher temp sealant used for exhaust.
Personally I would use either Ultra Black or the GM sealant.

[N20LT4Bird]

Originally posted by Rancid Crabbtree
Some more advice for you:
.

You sound like you work at the dealership?

[wolfdogs]

Originally posted by Rancid Crabbtree
Some more advice for you:
Do not believe you have to sand the block surface for sealant to adhere. That is very dangerous due to the scuffings off the block can work their way into the oil valley, into the oil pan and onto your bearings. There have been a few cases of people "scuffing" the block and it ended up screwing their main bearings.
Do not believe the EGR is soley to blame for the intake leak. The intake leaks I have encountered have also been on the drivers side where the pass. side (where EGR is located) was dry. The manifold bolts will come loose after being heat cycled. When oil starts to leak all depends on how strong the barrier is (sealant).
There is no need to heat wrap the EGR tube. As long as there is a generous supply of sealant and it is applied properly it will do the trick. If you want, request your mechanic to use Ultra Copper which is a higher temp sealant used for exhaust.
Personally I would use either Ultra Black or the GM sealant.

yes you do. ive done, seen this done......a hundred times. you can do it witout getting stuff in the block. the rtv likes to "walk off" if you dont........

scuff it up.

[N20LT4Bird]

Use a vacuum cleaner.

[wolfdogs]

Originally posted by Rancid Crabbtree
Some more advice for you:
Do not believe you have to sand the block surface for sealant to adhere. That is very dangerous due to the scuffings off the block can work their way into the oil valley, into the oil pan and onto your bearings. There have been a few cases of people "scuffing" the block and it ended up screwing their main bearings.
Do not believe the EGR is soley to blame for the intake leak. The intake leaks I have encountered have also been on the drivers side where the pass. side (where EGR is located) was dry. The manifold bolts will come loose after being heat cycled. When oil starts to leak all depends on how strong the barrier is (sealant).
There is no need to heat wrap the EGR tube. As long as there is a generous supply of sealant and it is applied properly it will do the trick. If you want, request your mechanic to use Ultra Copper which is a higher temp sealant used for exhaust.
Personally I would use either Ultra Black or the GM sealant.

EVERY single intake leak that ive encountered was the pass side. there are two types of egr tubes/pipes.. one is the flex type..and some lt1's go the solid type. the solid type is the one that caused the problem. its sits less than .25' from the left corner seat of manifold on block.. the diff. in matials and cooling rates of the two metals caused by the high heat of the egr causes constant movement.... the rtv can only stand so much. ive seen a few not wrap the pipe... the fix last for 9k to 20k..but it comes back... it hurts nothing to wrap the pipe if you cant move it farther from the seat. its good insurance.

[Spades95formula]

good to know guys thanks

[Rancid Crabbtree]

Originally posted by wolfman
yes you do. ive done, seen this done......a hundred times. you can do it witout getting stuff in the block. the rtv likes to "walk off" if you dont........

scuff it up.

The RTV will not "walk" anywhere as long as it is applied proprely w/ a generous amount. I have no reason to lie about anything I have said and witnessed as well as fixed.
I can't imagine sealant "walking" anywhere after the time I've spent scraping it off a smooth block surface w/ a putty knife because it was clearly held fast.

EVERY single intake leak that ive encountered was the pass side. there are two types of egr tubes/pipes.. one is the flex type..and some lt1's go the solid type. the solid type is the one that caused the problem. its sits less than .25' from the left corner seat of manifold on block.. the diff. in matials and cooling rates of the two metals caused by the high heat of the egr causes constant movement.... the rtv can only stand so much. ive seen a few not wrap the pipe... the fix last for 9k to 20k..but it comes back... it hurts nothing to wrap the pipe if you cant move it farther from the seat. its good insurance.

I've read your page, have been familiar w/ it for years and understand what you are saying, but the fact remains it is not necessary to wrap anything. If you think the manifold is only suseptible to coming loose around the EGR tube then why do you suggest to re-torque all the intake bolts?
I remember seeing the re-torquing technique" done and shared on CZ28.com long before you inserted it on your page and it was given because someone decided to see how tight the intake bolts were only a week after doing the fix and found that ALL intake bolts had backed off and were only had about 15ft. lbs on them. Why do you think that is?
It's just weird to think that if you only feel the intake leak will only come from that side of the manifold that the trouble should be gone through to tighten all bolts. Here's another twist for you.. have you ever seen an intake leak on the front of the manifold? It happens.