are oil pan gasket leaks easy to repair?

[Adam]

I just had my oil changed 10 days ago and now my oil is almost empty. I did about 1200 miles already within 10 days, lot of driving, stops and go’s and the weather had been hot. It’s an old car. I had been informed before of some leak on the oil pan gasket. How is this repaired? Is there some type product I can pour into the engine oil tank to “seal” it? Jiffy Lube had offered me a product of this type before for $20 a bottle. I passed on it. I’m sure I can find this elsewhere cheaper and pour it into the engine oil tank myself. This may not completely fix the problem but is it helpful? I usually get a free oil top off from Jiffy Lube. I do it every 1000 miles but for some reason I was busy and ended up doing 1200 miles and the oil is almost empty as I could feel the car unusual. It does this when engine oil is low, but when it’s almost out, the engine oil sign pops up on the dashboard to warn me.

Topic

[Roy French]

Some oil pans are impossible to remove with the engine inside the car. Others are very easy to change. If you can see all the oil pan bolts,and the exhaust or something isn’t in the way, they come right out. Those leak seal additives swell up seals to make them seal better. It may be a temporary solution, but probably not in your case.

[EricTheCarGuy]

How difficult something is is relative. Also, don’t go by the diagnosis of others. Oil leaks can show up in a number of places not just the oil pan. In fact I recommend starting your search high when looking for the origins of an oil leak as oil travels downward as it leaks. I’ve written an entire article on this very topic you may find helpful.

I will also recommend against the use of ‘sealers’. In my experience there is no such thing as a mechanic in a bottle.

http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/finding-and-fixing-leaks

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Adam]

would telling you my car make/model allow you to determine if the car’s oil pan gasket is easily replaced and or sealed. The car is a 2001 Toyota Celica GT (automatic).

[quote=”roywrench22″ post=96511]Some oil pans are impossible to remove with the engine inside the car. Others are very easy to change. If you can see all the oil pan bolts,and the exhaust or something isn’t in the way, they come right out. Those leak seal additives swell up seals to make them seal better. It may be a temporary solution, but probably not in your case.[/quote]

[Adam]

Not even to see if those “sealers” actually work? Is it not worth a try? Any recommended brand or type then?

All I know is that those liquid fuel injection products (Lucas brand) that were supposedly to give you better gas mileage may have given the spark plugs of my car “molds”. I was told this anyway. The mechanic who replaced my spark plugs advised me to avoid those fuel injection products. Different issues but I thought i’d mention it.

[quote=”EricTheCarGuy” post=96647]How difficult something is is relative. Also, don’t go by the diagnosis of others. Oil leaks can show up in a number of places not just the oil pan. In fact I recommend starting your search high when looking for the origins of an oil leak as oil travels downward as it leaks. I’ve written an entire article on this very topic you may find helpful.

I will also recommend against the use of ‘sealers’. In my experience there is no such thing as a mechanic in a bottle.

http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/finding-and-fixing-leaks

Good luck and keep us posted.[/quote]

[EricTheCarGuy]

I do not recommend the use of sealing products to cure an issue like this. That was outlined in the article I posted for you. It also covers how to find and fix leaks.

[Author]

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