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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Aug 16, 2018 - 03:37am PT
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I had an oil leak in the astro that I could not pin point. mechanic nailed it quickly. it was the oil cooler. was nice to be on our big trip without oil spots on the back window. I look at the back window, licence plate etc every time I exit the vehicle on a long trip. you will see oil spots on the window and licence plate etc if you have any kind of real leak.
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Happiegrrrl2
Trad climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 16, 2018 - 09:02am PT
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A few years ago I had one mechanic who said "We'll start with the Valve Cover Gaskets." I should have gone for a second opinion, but I was lazy. The leaking continued.
Then I took it to the mechanic I used up until this latest work was done. The owner worked with me - had the glow-in-the-dark additive put in and a week later come back. He pulled the dog house, and pointed to the areas where the leaking was occurring, and showed me where the main one would be on an engine that his shop had torn down to rebuild.
At the time, I recall him saying he felt the leak was not a normal place for this engine to spring, and that in his opinion it was more a symptom of something else; that being a 1990 it was not "worth" repairing(engine replacement or rebuild), and that even if I did have it fixed, there was no guarantee the oil wouldn't find a different place to escape.
It's a 1990 van - I have no problem checking the oil and topping it off. So log as it doesn't begin to leak fast and furiously, it's manageable. The downside is the leaked oil into the road/parking area surface. However - I have seen bigger patches oil under newer rigs than mine, and so it just is what it is.
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JLP
Social climber
The internet
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Aug 16, 2018 - 10:14am PT
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So your "main" is leaking - the crankshaft seal - and/or mechanic thought it was an unusual place? Always been this way for you? It may be why it was sold at 65k, then. Yeah - fix for that is a new van.
Good news is leaking oil is not really a fatal issue unless it gets too low. IMO - a quart per tank of gas - kind of not out of the ordinary for those big older american V8 motors above 100k miles.
You can buy a metal drip pan for like $15 at Napa, for your regular parking spot. Or some scrap cardboard...
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Happiegrrrl2
Trad climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 16, 2018 - 10:29am PT
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The mechanic thought it was an unusual place - inside the engine. I cannot recall exactly what he said though. And it was doing the Blow by, and getting into the air filter.
It was not doing this when I got the van though. I noticed the leaking when I was in Texas one day, parked at a roadside rest area, I think the second year I had it, which would have been late November 2013. Had been cross country the previous year, and would have noticed the drips.
I don't think it has gotten any worse, really, over the years. I would guess I am using a quart every 500-600 miles, but haven't really taken notes.
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JLP
Social climber
The internet
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Aug 16, 2018 - 12:45pm PT
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Sounds like 2 "leaks", then, because if 1 qt per few tanks of gas was blowing through the PCV system into the air cleaner and then onto the ground, that thing wouldn't be running very well at all. So - some is dripping to the ground from who-knows-where, and you're getting some blow-by, and the mechanic didn't tell you to sell or junk the thing - still sounds typical for the american V8 at 100k.
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