Oil leak, fix or leave it.

[scottg918514]

Checked today and so far no leak. I put the filter on extra tight yesterday, I'm guessing that might have been the issue. The last 2 oil changes I put it on tight, but maybe not enough, will monitor closely the next few days.


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[992dr]

I agree with 07, great post and awesome pics.

Not to get off subject but, crashtest. How'd the autocross event go?

 

[CrashTestDummy]

Actually, we finished first and second in class! But honestly, we were the only two in our class. We normally run C Prepared, but were finishing up an engine change, and the car wasn't quite ready, and it was threatening rain. Since we run registration for the Region, we had to be there, and took the then-new-to-us Tahoe. Since it would mean year-end points, we grabbed some tape, put numbers and class letters on the car and had some fun. I'll note here that the PPV is the only vehicle in the GM900 family that passes the height/width ratio test so we were allowed to compete. It kind of helped our cause that we were running at the Houston Police Academy track, and out front were a bunch of Tahoe PPVs in Houston Police trim.

It was a hoot. The truck was on the factory GoodYears, so we weren't expecting much, and it didn't dissapoint. I think we finished near the bottom in PAX (that's a class-based multiplier applied to your time so you can see how you measure up against other competitors in other classes), but part of the blame there was the fact that we were in CP, and got a CP PAX.

We still smile about that event. It was actually more fun than the first event we had with the new engine (there I was worried about how it would run) in our regular race car. At that event was a brand new C7 Vette, a late model Viper and a Lamborghini. Those cars didn't get anyway near the attention the Tahoe got!

 

[scottg918514]

Leak is back, I must have need to get engine hot first. Changed oil/filter on Fri and when done just out back on my inclined driveway. Sat, no leaks. But drove a go distance on Sun and now some drips on driveway. Still getting the 2 spots, 1 on pan right near filter, and 2 from the inspection plate for transmission bell housing. But that second might be from being on a slight incline.

I need to clean again and park level to get accurate look. But, my current guess is either the filter seal, or the plate above it that was already pointed out on this post.

More to come.



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[08grey]

This is the oil cooler adapter on the side of a 5.3. I'm laying on my back, so the angle is weird. The filter is to the lower left corner of the picture. The leaking plug I am talking about is between the right-most bolt that holds the adapter on, and that blackish plate:







A little more closer up here:







If your truck has the oil cooler, that plug may be leaking. If not, you may just have an aluminum cover (it has a port sticking out the side of it where an oil pressure switch can be drilled and tapped into, if it's otherwise stock). The gasket between that adapter and the block may be leaking. The gasket is probably available separately from the dealer, I purchased that metal gasket with an oil pan set from a local parts house.

I have this leak it's on the cover gasket... I don't have a oil cooler. It shows in the same place you speak of yours showing. Mine dosent leak enough to drip yet is why I am ignoring it.

 

[992dr]

Leak is back, I must have need to get engine hot first. Changed oil/filter on Fri and when done just out back on my inclined driveway. Sat, no leaks. But drove a go distance on Sun and now some drips on driveway. Still getting the 2 spots, 1 on pan right near filter, and 2 from the inspection plate for transmission bell housing. But that second might be from being on a slight incline.

I need to clean again and park level to get accurate look. But, my current guess is either the filter seal, or the plate above it that was already pointed out on this post.

More to come.
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When I had my Tahoe on the dyno while they were tuning it (or lack there of) after they pulled it off I had three spots similar to yours. There was another guy waiting for a tune as well with a swapped 60something GTO.
He had mentioned that there is a fitting on the top of the motor in the back that tends to leak. I believe its on the drivers side. Grab yourself one of those extendable mirrors and check it out. Its worth a try.

 

[BirchyBoy]

You can go to the auto parts store and buy a bottle of oil dye. Add it to your engine and then after a couple days it may help you determine where the actual leak is.

 

[CrashTestDummy]

When I had my Tahoe on the dyno while they were tuning it (or lack there of) after they pulled it off I had three spots similar to yours. There was another guy waiting for a tune as well with a swapped 60something GTO.
He had mentioned that there is a fitting on the top of the motor in the back that tends to leak. I believe its on the drivers side. Grab yourself one of those extendable mirrors and check it out. Its worth a try.

That's an oil pressure switch port. It's on the deck behind the lifter cover. It's at the back of the block by the head in this picture;

http://s33.photobucket.com/user/sexbomb1307/media/Snapbucket/F207DBCD_zps8df0f1a5.jpg.html

Not sure if a Tahoe has a pressure switch, or a plug there.

 

[376ci]

Calling rear main seal.

 

[CrashTestDummy]

Rear main seal could be bad, too. It's possible. There's also an oil plug at the back of the engine that could be leaking. The rear seals on these engines are pretty decent, so I would tend to look elsewhere first.

It's definitely time for the oil dye, though, as the filter change didn't fix the problem.