Hey y'all! I bought an older Deville back in September. It's got a really clean body but is starting to seem like a money pit. I've done some throttle body work on it and gotten the dealership to fix some electrical issues. I just got a new PCM put in to take care of a high idle issue. I took it in for an oil change (too cold up here to do it outside by myself) and they told me the bottom of the engine is soaked in oil. I know these engines are notorious for their oil leaks.
My question is, Should I just make sure it's topped off every week, shell out more money to get the engine resealed? Does anyone know how much it would cost to reseal the gaskets? Would it be worth the extra money to replace all of the gaskets or just take them on one at a time?
Yeah I remember your high idle issue from a week or so ago... that's what happens with these old cars.
Did your mechanic say where he thinks the leak is coming from? If its a rubber component like the rear main seal, some AT205 may work. Scotty has mentioned it alot, and I've personally used it on my 2000 Camaro and it stopped dripping entirely. If its a gasket somewhere then AT205 wont work.
Should I just make sure it's topped off every week
Is any oil actually dripping on the ground? If not then you probably wont notice the oil level go down quickly, unless youre burning some also.
Would it be worth the extra money to replace all of the gaskets or just take them on one at a time?
Probably just live with it. Not worth the thousands it'll cost to do all the work
I'll have the mechanic find the leak and if I can use something to seal it for cheap I will otherwise I'll just keep topping it off. I haven't noticed any pooling under the car but the leaked oil does burn off. I'll slide a piece of plywood under her and see what shows up.
Why don't you do it right, get a leak dye test kit and find out where the leak(s) are actually coming from. You might be saving yourself a ton of money doing it this way.
I totally forgot dye kits exist! thank you. In the future if nothing else goes wrong with her I'll probably have the job done to seal everything back up. It's so cold up here these days I'll have my shop do the dye test.
I haven't noticed any pooling under the car
That's good, means its not excessive at least.
Costs really depends on what it is.
Valve cover gaskets are usually cheap, because they're easy to get to.
A rear main seal is a very cheap part, but the labor will costs a ton of money (have to pull engine or trans). In that case try AT205.
Timing cover gasket is also a costly job due to labor.
Could be a bad oil pan gasket, or potentially a head gasket.
to seal everything back up
To seal everything back up involves many hours and alot of labor. It definitely wont be cheap. Could cost well over 2k to do everything right (prices vary alot, dont hold me to that).
So, is it worth it putting a few thousand dollars into a worn 26 year old engine?
I'm not trying to knock you or the car, I'm saying that sealing everything back probably is not the best idea.
As someone else who has an older car that I still use, some issues I live with, some I put money into.
I'll get it to the shop and have them use dye. It popped a p0507 code "IAC running at high idle" could this be a code related to my oil leak? OR do you think this is likely a regular old vacuum leak in an old line or tube? for the oil leaks as long as nothing NEEDS to get resealed to get rid of the P0507 code I'll be adding oil leak stop additives.
Do as @Doc says and check for the source of leaks via leak dye. Oil leaks between the engine and transmission are typically rear main seal leaks, but not always. Oil flows downwards, making it look like a rear main and it could be a valve cover gasket. You could have a timing cover leak, they're more rare, but you could even have a pan gasket leak. You could have a front main seal leak, camshaft seal...
Realize old cars are going to leak some oil. Your car is 26 years old, that's pretty old. My '99 Ranger seeps oil from the rear main. It's not enough to drip to the pavement, so I don't really care about it. It has 289k miles. I check the oil once a week, over 5k miles it doesn't drop to minimum. Some leaks you live with or fix yourself, unless you have and endless supply of money.
I'll get it to the shop and have them use dye. It popped a p0507 code "IAC running at high idle" could this be a code related to my oil leak? OR do you think this is likely a regular old vacuum leak in an old line or tube? for the oil leaks as long as nothing NEEDS to get resealed to get rid of the P0507 code I'll be adding oil leak stop additives.
No.
Posted by: @volvofordgmc
It popped a p0507 code "IAC running at high idle" could this be a code related to my oil leak? OR do you think this is likely a regular old vacuum leak in an old line or tube?
It's not related to your oil leak. You either have a vacuum leak somewhere or the IAC on your throttle body is wearing out/ dirty. Not unheard of on a 26 year old car. Do Scotty's video on checking for vacuum leaks.
Posted by: @volvofordgmc
for the oil leaks as long as nothing NEEDS to get resealed to get rid of the P0507 code I'll be adding oil leak stop additives.
Don't use additives. Fix it the right way or just add oil every once in a while.
Heard, It doesn't drip oil which is great. I'm hoping the vacuum leak is just a cracked hose or tube. My "A/C refrigerant low compressor off" warning comes on pretty often. Is it possible that the P0507 "IAC idling high" code is stemming from the A/C system? Or are those two separate components under the hood?