Oil Leak
- Thread starter Zo Cole
- Start date
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bill1013
Full Access Member
Enjoyed all of your stories and some hit close to home. I grew up in a rural area of Southern New Jersey and a farm way up in the mountains of Western Kentucky. I've worked since I've been able to walk and I had plenty of help and guidance along the way. Everyone works on a farm, we were raised to be a "Jack of All trades" kind of person. My Dad, Step Dad and Uncles taught me how to fix things, the theory behind their design and how to troubleshoot the problem. I try to pass that concept on to my kids and even the apprentices that stumble into my shop.
My oldest daughter, Sarah, used to always give me grief when I tried to show her how to fix things or regal her with one of my "Air Force" stories. Well, 22 years later she's married to an army officer. Her mother & I have done our parts and she's on her own. Whew! Then, out of the blue, I get a call from her late one night. The car won't start and it's making a weird sound. She has her own ideas as to what's wrong and she runs them by me. I was floored! She was actually listening and learned. I could hear her husband, who is a great guy...doesn't know squat about mechanics, bitching in frustration in the background. She wants my spare battery because you need to eliminate the possible weak battery (Her words, not mine!) So I get up and grab my spare battery and head out. I get there, install the spare battery, while Chris is giving me his theories, and after a few attempts it starts right up. Her husband, Chris, asks her, "How did you know it was the battery?" She replies, "My Dad is a mechanic and he taught me everything I know." She looks at me and winks and whispers, "I was listening Dad." I was so proud of her. That was a life experience I'll never forget.
They're finishing up their tour in Korea, but she calls every now and then. She kids about how "futless" Chris is when it comes to fixing things. And he still gets frustrated when he can't fix something, yet his wife can. But she's trying to teach him! It's an ongoing process. Aloha!
Bill1013
My oldest daughter, Sarah, used to always give me grief when I tried to show her how to fix things or regal her with one of my "Air Force" stories. Well, 22 years later she's married to an army officer. Her mother & I have done our parts and she's on her own. Whew! Then, out of the blue, I get a call from her late one night. The car won't start and it's making a weird sound. She has her own ideas as to what's wrong and she runs them by me. I was floored! She was actually listening and learned. I could hear her husband, who is a great guy...doesn't know squat about mechanics, bitching in frustration in the background. She wants my spare battery because you need to eliminate the possible weak battery (Her words, not mine!) So I get up and grab my spare battery and head out. I get there, install the spare battery, while Chris is giving me his theories, and after a few attempts it starts right up. Her husband, Chris, asks her, "How did you know it was the battery?" She replies, "My Dad is a mechanic and he taught me everything I know." She looks at me and winks and whispers, "I was listening Dad." I was so proud of her. That was a life experience I'll never forget.
They're finishing up their tour in Korea, but she calls every now and then. She kids about how "futless" Chris is when it comes to fixing things. And he still gets frustrated when he can't fix something, yet his wife can. But she's trying to teach him! It's an ongoing process. Aloha!
Bill1013
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iamdub
Full Access Member
@Zo Cole
Sooo...
What exactly are your concerns about your Tahoe again? An oil leak or low oil pressure? They are not related, at least not directly, by a longshot. Also, if you questioned your mechanic about low oil pressure and he "guessed" a leaking rear main seal, regardless if it was over the phone or in person with his nose up the inspection hole, then you need a new mechanic.
Sooo...
What exactly are your concerns about your Tahoe again? An oil leak or low oil pressure? They are not related, at least not directly, by a longshot. Also, if you questioned your mechanic about low oil pressure and he "guessed" a leaking rear main seal, regardless if it was over the phone or in person with his nose up the inspection hole, then you need a new mechanic.
Agree completely. I was confused thru most of the original posts because of the "Oil Leak" title for the post and the first thing talked about was the pressure.
We aren’t really concerned about either anymore, we just like telling stories man. This thread has drifted farther than Tom Hanks in Lost. Do we really have to get back to an oil leak/ oil pressure on the 5.8 flex? I like the stories better.
iamdub
Full Access Member
I enjoyed the stories as well and my reply wasn't intended as an attack toward them nor to bring them to an abrupt halt. My tagging the OP in my reply was meant to politely butt in aside the thread's alternate subject to address him directly for his reason for starting the thread, at the very least for some clarification if not closure. But, if he's no longer concerned, then I guess he'll ignore my reply. No harm, no foul.
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I was messing with you. We kind of got off topic and weren’t being of any help. I was actually going to bring the original topic back into focus but I’m glad it was you that ruined the fun.
normally when there is a pressure issue it's the oring in the pickup tube , that ha a blow out
According to his posts, he has two problems then. Oil pressure and a leak.
You've already heard about the common problem regarding the pressure. One more thing to consider is the oil filter, but if you've replaced it already, that's probably not the issue. At this point it would be a good idea to drop the pan, and replace the oil pickup tube o-ring. At this point you should be able to peer around and find other sources of leaks. Your mechanic may be right about the rear main, but these LS engines have a rear cover in addition to the rear main. Often, the rear cover is what is leaking instead. But, if you are doing the rear cover, you already removed the transmission to get to it so you would do the rear main at the same time. I took 6 days working evenings only to change the oil pan gasket. BUT, I work slowly. A lot of guys here would have it done in an evening.
Here's my experience starting from Post #56: https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/rear-main-oil-seal.117639/page-6
In the end, I definitely had leaks from the oil pan and rear cover. I think my oil pickup tube o-ring was probably in good shape, but I wasn't going to take any chances and replaced it regardless. The rear cover gasket material gets permanently compressed and fails to seal over time.
You've already heard about the common problem regarding the pressure. One more thing to consider is the oil filter, but if you've replaced it already, that's probably not the issue. At this point it would be a good idea to drop the pan, and replace the oil pickup tube o-ring. At this point you should be able to peer around and find other sources of leaks. Your mechanic may be right about the rear main, but these LS engines have a rear cover in addition to the rear main. Often, the rear cover is what is leaking instead. But, if you are doing the rear cover, you already removed the transmission to get to it so you would do the rear main at the same time. I took 6 days working evenings only to change the oil pan gasket. BUT, I work slowly. A lot of guys here would have it done in an evening.
Here's my experience starting from Post #56: https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/rear-main-oil-seal.117639/page-6
In the end, I definitely had leaks from the oil pan and rear cover. I think my oil pickup tube o-ring was probably in good shape, but I wasn't going to take any chances and replaced it regardless. The rear cover gasket material gets permanently compressed and fails to seal over time.
bill1013
Full Access Member
My 1999 Tahoe 5.7 V8 4X4 oil pan seal leaked too. I ended up buying some really thick gasket material and made one myself (after a few failures with the OEM gaskets). I put two washers on each bolt, a little extra torgue helps a lot, and a light coating of RTV to make sure it stopped leaking. After that I did't have any trouble with it.
