Feelin lucky.
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12 Second Club
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 146
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From: Mpls. Mn.
Feelin lucky. My '98 SS started leaving intermittent small oil puddles upon start up, it began last fall as I was prepping the car for winter storage and I kind of forgot about it until today, when oil was literally pouring out from the back of the engine. My first thought was rear main seal, so I jacked it up and crawled under while it was running, which I hate to do, and sure enough burned my chin on the header. On the lucky side, it appears to be the oil filter o ring that is leaking. Is this common for a stored vehicle? While I was under the car, I didn't see anything running out like it had been 10 minutes before. Happily, it doesn't appear to be coming out of the bell housing/engine mating surface, and I'm feeling fortunate to be replacing an oil filter as opposed to a rear main seal. I've never in 40 years of owning cars seen such a severe oil leak appear to stop as quickly as it started.
Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
Was the oil filter properly tight? I store mine every year from Oct/Nov to April/May, and it's never behaved like that. Storage should have nothing to do with it. But if the filter is loose, I could see oil blowing past the seal until maybe it expands a bit as it heats up.
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Joined: Dec 2017
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Never really have seen an oil filter leak unless it wasn't installed right. On any kind of motor. Not saying it's impossible, just, highly unlikely.
OTOH the oil cooler line bypass plate/block is right immediately above the filter, and is a VERY common leak.
The 2 bolts that hold it on are 6mm x 1.0; very small, very fine. VERY easy to strip the threads out of the aluminum of the oil pan. I just got through repairing that leeeeek on my truck's motor. I used Heli-Coils. The 2 long oil pan bolts that go up into the rear cover have the same issue.
OTOH the oil cooler line bypass plate/block is right immediately above the filter, and is a VERY common leak.
The 2 bolts that hold it on are 6mm x 1.0; very small, very fine. VERY easy to strip the threads out of the aluminum of the oil pan. I just got through repairing that leeeeek on my truck's motor. I used Heli-Coils. The 2 long oil pan bolts that go up into the rear cover have the same issue.
