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WOAH! Massive Oil Leak!

CSteen85

CSteen85

New member
I bought my GP a week ago today and brought it to my mechanic today for an oil change.
He's a trusted family friend, so I'm not worried about unnecessary repairs.

He told me there's a very bad oil leak and he's recommending I replace the intake manifold gasket, valve cover gaskets & oil sending switch. He said this will be about a day's worth of work.
He also said I need new front brakes with brake hoses (starting to get dry rot splits) by next oil change.
Also, upper and lower radiator hoses.
I'm expecting all of this to cost about $1500, which is what I paid for the car.

Please don't lecture me on how I should have had him look at it before I bought it. I learned my lesson.

Basically, I'm contemplating whether I should keep the car. I'm really sad, because I love it and I never would have guessed all of this was wrong, but it is.

My question is: If I dump the $1500 into this car to fix all of this, do you think I'll be okay for a little while before I have to put more money into it or should I be expecting large amounts of money on a frequent basis for the upkeep of this car?

Basically, I'm asking if I should I cut my losses and try to sell it or keep it and put the money into it to get it in good shape and get another year or so out of it (which is all I'm wanting)?

He did mention that the Transmission looks like it's never had work done to it, and it has 143k original miles on it. How expensive is tranny repair? Is it worth it?

I'm sorry for all the questions. I've only ever owned leased vehicles before, so I'm not used to dealing with used car issues.

I'd appreciate any input. Thank you.
 


To be honest I would get rid of it. It has high miles and other stuff is going to start going on it as well. Tranny work is expensive no matter what kind of car. You can't get a guy to touch a tranny for under $500 and that isn't doing much work. I would try and patch it up and send it on it's way.
 
if you do all that work yourself i would expect to pay maybe $200. your 'family friend' mechanic is charging you more than you need to pay.

why do you need to work on the transmission if it runs and drives fine?
 
c002529 said:
To be honest I would get rid of it. It has high miles and other stuff is going to start going on it as well. Tranny work is expensive no matter what kind of car. You can't get a guy to touch a tranny for under $500 and that isn't doing much work. I would try and patch it up and send it on it's way.
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you call 140k high mileage?


Is it just me or was this thread already posted somewhere else...
 


If 140K isn't high mileage then what is? It isn't crazy high but at that mileage things can start going bad and have already, that was his question.
 
1500 is way too high price to pay..also does this guy know for sure its leaking really that bad? Oil will collect in and on crevices ,then run down the side of the engine,the sending unit he is talking about is a common thing,over time the switch will get worn out and the plastic where the terminals are for the plug will crack causing oil to seep through causing a leak... Don't be fooled,even by a trusted family friend, he is a mechanic and is out to make a little bit of money too(not saying that he is for sure taking advantage of you) I used to be a mechanic so I know what the rates were/are and its ridiculous for some of this stuff... I replaced my valve cover gaskets,upper and lower intake gaskets and upper intake on my car for around 200,.... my upper intake with the upper gasket included was 130 from the parts store. I just did my brakes all the way around on my car for around 150 or so. I wouldn't worry about your transmission unless you are having some problems with it. Also to put it to you this way, if you keep this car, you know what you've got,the parts are new,it doesn't cost much to insure....etc. You buy something else or lease it, do you know for sure what could be wrong with that vehicle or how well its been taken care of?? As long as you keep up with your maintenance on the car it will last you a long time.
 
If you are able to do the work yourself, rollup the sleeves and get at it, parts should run you ballpark of $500. Thats your gaskets, brake lines, pads, and such. And I agree with matt, do a filter change on the tranny, and I would suggest a fule filter while you are at it. BUT guessing from the fact that you took your car to a mechanic for an oil change, Im thinkin this is outta your comfort zone. You could look for a "backyard mechanic" that would probably do the work for $1000-$1200 (just a guess).
 
1500 is very high.

We have a 2003 Grand Prix GT that has 130k, we just did wheel bearings, other than that its been great. It's currently leaking a little oil, but i'm not too concerned at this point. Maybe i'll fix it this summer. Keep it, got plenty of life left in it.

We have a 1995 Bonneville pushing 250k miles, runs great...

And a 2000 Silverado 2500 with a 6.0, with 170k, and my 96 Blazer with 198k.
 


c002529 said:
If 140K isn't high mileage then what is? It isn't crazy high but at that mileage things can start going bad and have already, that was his question.
Click to expand...

i think 175k is high, but these motors tend to be really reliable in stock form. so at that point it would mean that the car is past the point to modify without a major rebuild, you'd just be driving the car until the body or chassis rots out from under it. honestly, in stock form, i think you're better off fixing a 3800 than a lot of other motors. that's my 2 cents
 
I was told cracks in the front brake lines were meaningless due to it just being an outer jacket. I drove my 92 pickup with lines like that for 7 years.


I'm not sure how bad the intake is to do on that car, but we had a mechanic do the intake on a 95 Lumina with the 3.1 for $400. Same guy did the intake on my 92 350 for $180. I have to assume the one on the 3.1 was a lot worse to do :)

Sadly, that Lumina ended up having a cracked head as well and I junked it shortly after we did the intake.

But as others have said, 140K isnt that much. My truck had 226K with original timing chain and still ran strong. Altho after my Lumina experience. I'd be cautious with a 3.1 as i've heard they are known for head problems. If its a 3.8 i'd fix it and drive it into the ground.
 
MrTube said:
I was told cracks in the front brake lines were meaningless due to it just being an outer jacket. I drove my 92 pickup with lines like that for 7 years.


I'm not sure how bad the intake is to do on that car, but we had a mechanic do the intake on a 95 Lumina with the 3.1 for $400. Same guy did the intake on my 92 350 for $180. I have to assume the one on the 3.1 was a lot worse to do :)

Sadly, that Lumina ended up having a cracked head as well and I junked it shortly after we did the intake.

But as others have said, 140K isnt that much. My truck had 226K with original timing chain and still ran strong. Altho after my Lumina experience. I'd be cautious with a 3.1 as i've heard they are known for head problems. If its a 3.8 i'd fix it and drive it into the ground.
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I would've fixed the brake line of yours, just for good measure.

Valve cover gaskets are VERY easy to do. Do it yourself.
 
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