camkos10101 Posted December 4, 2002 Report Share Posted December 4, 2002 what is the most likly component to leak oil on the 3.1L's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted December 4, 2002 Report Share Posted December 4, 2002 Oil drive o-ring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 4, 2002 Report Share Posted December 4, 2002 When I do an oil change at work, most of the leaks that I find come from either the filter, the drain plug, or the oil pump drive. When you do an oil change, you are suppose to change the gasket on the drain plug at EVERY oil change, and make sure that you do not double gasket the filter. Taylor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPRACER Posted December 5, 2002 Report Share Posted December 5, 2002 oil/coolant leaks at the lower intake manifold are also quite common, I could do these with my eyes closed I've done so many. Not only the w-body's either, very common in the u-vans, mostly the 3100/3400, but also the 3800, and the older vortec engines 4.3 5.0, 5.7, and 7.4 the newer vortec 199 and up does not seem to suffer from these leaks. as a general rule, I always change the oil punp drive seal when I do an intake, that's also very common as stated above.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camkos10101 Posted December 5, 2002 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2002 it appears to be running down my oil filter, so the leak is either above OR actually is the oil filter...is there anything above the oil filter that leaks commonly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian P Posted December 5, 2002 Report Share Posted December 5, 2002 that's definetly the oil pump drive. My sister's 3.1 had been leaking there immensely. When you park it after a drive, the oil runs down the back of the block, hits the tranny (I think) then exits next to the oil filter. I didnt even change the O ring, I just lifted the drive up, cleaned it, smeared a load of high heat gasket making RTV on it and twisted it back in. Did this to my car as well and the fix has held up in my car for 2+ years. Just had to remove the throttle body and intake hose. thats IT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian P Posted December 5, 2002 Report Share Posted December 5, 2002 oil/coolant leaks at the lower intake manifold are also quite common, I could do these with my eyes closed I've done so many. Not only the w-body's either, very common in the u-vans, mostly the 3100/3400, but also the 3800, and the older vortec engines 4.3 5.0, 5.7, and 7.4 the newer vortec 199 and up does not seem to suffer from these leaks. as a general rule, I always change the oil punp drive seal when I do an intake, that's also very common as stated above.. Ive seen the design of the current lower intake manifolds. I think it's ridiculous. If the gasket goes on my dad's 2002 after the warranty is up, Im going to back the gasket up with RTV (where there would be normally just thermoplastic) What's your take on them? Is there a TSB for this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camkos10101 Posted December 5, 2002 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2002 its not dripping off by the oil filter, its actually dripping OFF the filter. still the pump? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian P Posted December 5, 2002 Report Share Posted December 5, 2002 hopefully! Look under your throttle body and see if there's any oil pooled up. Next thing to check is the filter itself, see if the filter gasket is correctly seated, then check the valve cover gasket maybe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpse3200 Posted December 5, 2002 Report Share Posted December 5, 2002 Another place that might leak is the oil pressure sender or the oil filter adaptor. The adaptor does use a gasket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camkos10101 Posted December 5, 2002 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2002 no puddle under throttle body Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPRACER Posted December 5, 2002 Report Share Posted December 5, 2002 Ive seen the design of the current lower intake manifolds. I think it's ridiculous. If the gasket goes on my dad's 2002 after the warranty is up, Im going to back the gasket up with RTV (where there would be normally just thermoplastic) What's your take on them? Is there a TSB for this? No TSB's for this problem that I'm aware of, I have access to the GM tech site and I've never ever read about a bulletin for this problem. I don't think that the gaskets are the problem either, GM stresses that the lower intake man. should be torqued to 10ft/lbs, I think that they are installed with too much torque at the factory and that's one of the factors that causes them to leak, they collapse prematurely, Lack of frequent oil changes or low quality oil can also cause the gaskets to break down prematurely. If you are doing this repair at home, get an inch/lb torque wrench, it's the most accurate way to torque light loads, torque to 120 inch/lbs (=10 ft/lbs) also, tighten in the proper sequence, first the 4 long bolts in an X pattern, then the outside 4 short bolts also in an X pattern. clean the bolts so that they have no debris on them at all, also, use the correct sealants. Use a medium strength loctite on all the lower man. bolts(the blue stuff), and as for rtv, I'd use the black stuff from GM or equivalent. If you over torque the bolts, they WILL leak again, count on it. Make sure everything is clean, and DO NOT contaminate the blue thermogasket with rtv, you do not want any of that stuff getting into the cooling system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian P Posted December 6, 2002 Report Share Posted December 6, 2002 excellent, thanks for the info. I had heard from someone that it was the design of the gaskets that were the problem, and after seeing them I started to justify it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclipse5302 Posted December 6, 2002 Report Share Posted December 6, 2002 Another place that might leak is the oil pressure sender or the oil filter adaptor. The adaptor does use a gasket. Exactly what I was thinking... Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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