Need real advice- Oil Leak

[Sprinkle]

So I took a 2009.5 G8 GT in today that I am really interested in buying to get a pre-purchase inspection. Has 55,000 miles on it and body is in great condition. Everything was fine except for an oil leak and oil covering the bottom of the oil pan. Tech said it could possibly be the oil pan gasket but I am terrified that it is the rear main seal/gasket and will need to drop the transmission. The car no longer has a warranty and there is no way I have 2-3 grand to pay to get it fixed. I am really hesitant to buy it without knowing if it needs major repair. I tried to find pictures of what I saw today but could not find any so if you have some I would really like to see them. I have a week to decide whether or not I want the car. As a mechanically challenged person I need you're guys unbiased advice/opinion on whether or not G8's are a good purchase for a person that does not want to do a shit ton of maintenance to keep it running. Again oil leak pictures are appreciated. Thanks.

[toedrag]

I'm convinced that every single oil pan leaks on these cars. The GM gasket goo they used in the corners is just too brittle after it cures & ages. Granted, that leak is usually just at the corners, so it seems like your target car has more going on. Maybe the filter wasn't on tightly enough, or maybe the actual oil pan gasket had an issue. Or maybe the oil cooler bypass cover gasket on the oil pan has a leak (it's a little cover on the side of the pan near the oil filter which on certain LS engines, such as Camaro LS3, is used to route oil to an oil cooler, but on G8's, there simply a metal cover with a gasket); that's a cheap gasket and easy fix, and I think the gasket is known to be problematic on Camaros.

I don't think you'll know if it's the main seal until you check the filter, replace the oil pan gasket & oil cooler bypass cover gasket, reapply proper gasket maker goo in the oil pan corners, and then wait & see.

If you're in an area with some mechanically inclined G8 folks, I'm sure one or more could lend a hand if the rear seal was the problem.

Here is a picture of oil seepage at the corners caused by failed gasket goo; all 4 corners looked like this. The bottom of the pan was clean-ish.
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[Crazy Paul]

Everything was fine except for an oil leak and oil covering the bottom of the oil pan.
Oil travels down and rearward with vehicle movement.
So if the engine oilpan is covered in oil it's come from above and forward of where you see the mess.
Engine rear main seal would put oil mess around the bellhousing and towards the gearbox area.

[Crazy Paul]

A defective Crankshaft Rear Main Seal would make a mess around the Orange positions indicated and run to the left of the picture (rearward).

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/PerthPurplePenguin/car%20parts/L76/ADSC05068_zpsf6e6769e.jpg (http://s2.photobucket.com/user/PerthPurplePenguin/media/car%20parts/L76/ADSC05068_zpsf6e6769e.jpg.html)

[-Ray-]

There is a couple things you need to do. One, put your location in your profile. We can't advise locations when no one knows where you live. Two, was this a private party sale?
I have a very friendly dealership here in town. I had my rear main seal replaced for less than $500 and they towed the car both ways.
There are a couple ways to get the oil pan out that doesn't use the GM book.

[Sprinkle]

A defective Crankshaft Rear Main Seal would make a mess around the Orange positions indicated and run to the left of the picture (rearward).

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/PerthPurplePenguin/car%20parts/L76/ADSC05068_zpsf6e6769e.jpg (http://s2.photobucket.com/user/PerthPurplePenguin/media/car%20parts/L76/ADSC05068_zpsf6e6769e.jpg.html)

Ok the above picture. It was the bottom of the transmission oil pan that was covered in oil which means it was traveling rearward. Profile has been updated to show my location and yes it is from a private seller. He has owned for 2 years but it has sat for the past 3-4 months.

[Sprinkle]

These pictures show exactly how it looked. Looks like oil was forming at the inspection cap...and a light oil coating on the bottom of the oil pan.

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[-Ray-]

It looks like a rear main seal, but there is a TSB on oil pan porosity as well. Either way, it should be under $600 to repair. Maybe you can negotiate that with the seller if you are set on this car.

[Phil@PnP Tech]

Mine had a very similar leak as well. I was sold it was the rear main and would deal with it when I do the converter. When I had the pan off while doing the cam, the rear main was dry and it was quite evident the pan was leaking at the filter ports. It's been dry since.

Either way... rear main, pan porosity, or pan gasket, they are fairly straight forward repairs with negligible long term effects to the drive train.

Good luck with your negotiating!

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[Sprinkle]

It looks like a rear main seal, but there is a TSB on oil pan porosity as well. Either way, it should be under $600 to repair.

I've heard several people say it shouldn't be more than $600-800 to fix but the dealer quoted me 3 grand. I know dealerships mark up prices but that seems like a huge difference. Is $600-800 just to fix it on your own?

[-Ray-]

I already posted my dealership did it for $500 and that included a tow both ways.

[drumsbh]

These pictures show exactly how it looked. Looks like oil was forming at the inspection cap...and a light oil coating on the bottom of the oil pan.

22196

22197

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Mine looks the same but worse. I replaced the rear main seal when I did a stall and no change. I think mine is the pan but I'm not worried about it.

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[Sprinkle]

I think I'm gonna pull the trigger but I'm worried about driving the 400 miles back home. Anybody drove long distances with the rear main seal leak? Debating on paying the extra 200 and having it transported back.

[Phil@PnP Tech]

I'm pretty sure you could drive that car another 100,000 miles. It's not leaking enough oil to hurt anything between oil changes. Drive it home and enjoy it.

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[todds87ss]

I'm pretty sure you could drive that car another 100,000 miles. It's not leaking enough oil to hurt anything between oil changes. Drive it home and enjoy it.

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this.

[AuuuSSSIII YA' LATA]

Agreed.

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[terryscott621]

Maybe you can negotiate that with the seller if you are set on this car.

I'd also try and get some money off the price of the car to help cover some of the repair cost.

[waltjrUM]

I'm pretty sure you could drive that car another 100,000 miles. It's not leaking enough oil to hurt anything between oil changes. Drive it home and enjoy it.

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X2 on this, but make sure to check the oil level before you drive off. ;)

Also, try to talk the seller down $500-$1000. That way, even if it somehow costs you a little more to repair, it still won't be too bad. :)

[gear7979]

Did this get bought? Any updates? Did you run the VIN and see if there is any powertrain warranty? Oil pan gasket under warranty pays the tech 4.3 hours labor, (using GM SI labor guide) if customer paid, it is 13.1 hours (using AllData labor guide) that is a huge difference/ I was like WTF myself. Mine was leaking too, but the dealer I work at replaced my oil pan gasket, I still have powertrain however.

[mooredata]

OK, this past weekend I changed my oil and noticed oil on my oil pan and bell housing. About a year and a half I noticed the same thing but it wasn't near as bad. I asked my local dealer to look into this and they added some color dye in the oil and asked me to come back in a week or so. When I brought it back they shined a black light on the questionable area and didn’t see any issues. The car had about 27k on it then and now it has 40k. So am I out of warranty on this claim? 22395223962239722398

[mooredata]

looking over these pictures do you think a rear main seal is the issue?

[mooredata]

Well I took the car into the local dealership today. I'm Glad I did too, I found out my warranty ends on Sunday. I showed them my pictures and the one Paul posted about the general area of a possible crankshaft issue. I hope they can do this under warranty and I hope they don’t give me any hassle about the TQ I installed.

[mooredata]

Well Dealer denied my claim. said it was not enough oil on the pan to make the claim. Yah....