Bad Oil Leak from pan, won’t go away

[TCBRacer77]

I have a 1997 4.3 c1500 and I’ve replaced the oil pan gasket 2 times and still have a bad leak, pretty much from everywhere around the pan. Mostly coming from the front of the pan as well as on every bolt head. I took my time the 2nd time with making sure everything was clean and I went back and re torqued all the bolts after a few heat cycles. Any suggestions? Also I’m now in a position where I can’t really work on it since I now live in a nicer apartment complex. So would this be worth taking to a shop? Or dealer? Any input is much appreciated!

 

[Hipster]

You sure it isn't the rear main or timing cover seal leaking and looking like a pan gasket? What do you mean re-torqued? There is a torque figure for pan gaskets in a service manual. I try and pay attention to that number so as not to squeeze the gasket out and ruin the pan during the installation process.

 

[TCBRacer77]

im wondering if my pan is in fact the cause, I followed the original torque specs and the thing leaked like crazy, I tightened them down a bit more and it got better for a while and now it’s worse, lol I’m learning as I go but I’m just tired of chasing ghosts, want a clean truck that doesn’t drip.

 

[F4U-1A]

Warped pan? All old vehicles and old men leak ( my best auto teachers quote Circa 1976). Talking ml or liters? With Hipster on this one. Not the friendly Ghost you are chasing.

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[Hipster]

Other things to look at: valve covers, oil sending unit, distributor gasket, front or rear intake sealing surfaces. Oil leaks can run down a block and drip from the pan from a higher location. There's are dye's for the oil available but an old school trick I use to locate an oil leak is puffing baby powder out of a trial size bottle of it. Spend a couple bucks at the car wash on degreaser mode, clean it up, drive it a couple miles and check it out to see if you can get a better idea where the oil is coming from.

 

[TCBRacer77]

Thank you very much, I’ll get under it and double check everything once over to know for sure where it’s coming from

 

[Schurkey]

Other things to look at: valve covers, oil sending unit, distributor gasket, front or rear intake sealing surfaces. Oil leaks can run down a block and drip from the pan from a higher location. There's are dye's for the oil available but an old school trick I use to locate an oil leak is puffing baby powder out of a trial size bottle of it. Spend a couple bucks at the car wash on degreaser mode, clean it up, drive it a couple miles and check it out to see if you can get a better idea where the oil is coming from.

To amplify--car wash to remove 90%+ of the oil slime. Drive the vehicle, then blast the baby powder, which sticks to the new oil traces (and the greatly-reduced old oil traces.) You'll have to interpret what's "new" versus what's "old" and repair accordingly.

First Guess: Oil leak from higher-up, that drools down and looks like a leaking oil pan gasket. There's two dozen possibilities, maybe more.

Second Guess: Cracked or rust-pin-holed oil pan.

 

[tpass]

I would imagine the pan now may be deformed from over tightening the bolts. My 93 has "load spreader" bars for the pan bolts. did they continue using those into the vortec motors?

 

[Donald Mitchell]

A bad pcv valve will make everything leak more.

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

I would imagine the pan now may be deformed from over tightening the bolts. My 93 has "load spreader" bars for the pan bolts. did they continue using those into the vortec motors?

They did on the 5.7(350), so you'd think the 4.3 would have them, since it's on the same architecture.