My 2002 Forester is nearing 200k miles and I took it in for a regular oil change. When the guy went into the pit and looked, he came back up and told me I would need to replace my oil pan gasket, told me it should be fairly easy, and even took me down into the pit to show me the work I would need to do.
However, I'm not entirely convinced it is the oil pan gasket, and I figured I would check with some experts to see what else it might be (or in addition to the oil pan gasket). There is a lot of oil all over the bottom of my engine, and the reason the oil change guy was so concerned is there's a decent amount accumulating on my exhaust. The oil is in places I wouldn't expect it to get, if it is only the oil pan gasket, which makes me wonder if it's somewhere further from the ground, on/in the engine.
It does not appear to be a head gasket issue, as I have had none of the problems associated with head gasket leakage, even though this is one of 'those' models.
The oil could be all over because this has been an ongoing leak for years (*hangs head in shame*), but noone had ever proposed something as 'easy' as this to fix it, or even mentioned it would be fixable, when having it looked at. To be fair, I always assumed it was a head gasket, and I was driving by sheer luck, and didn't want to tempt fate or a $2000 repair bill.
I can get under and take some pictures to show where the oil is, if that will help with the diagnosis, but it's pretty much everywhere, and cleaning it all up (suggestions?) and then driving a little might pinpoint where it is coming from, if needed.
Like I said, she's 12 years old, nearing 200k and has been totaled (thanks to a collision with a semi-truck merging into my lane), so suggestions for least effort / cost to keep her going are appreciated. I love my baby, but I have wrung much of her value out over the years, and I'm not ready to scrap her, but I am wary of spending too much money when catastrophic failure might be around the corner.
Also, I have been quoted $170 for the oil pan gasket repair, if that sounds reasonable / a good deal, let me know, otherwise I'll look into finding another shop or getting the parts and doing it on my own.
However, I'm not entirely convinced it is the oil pan gasket, and I figured I would check with some experts to see what else it might be (or in addition to the oil pan gasket). There is a lot of oil all over the bottom of my engine, and the reason the oil change guy was so concerned is there's a decent amount accumulating on my exhaust. The oil is in places I wouldn't expect it to get, if it is only the oil pan gasket, which makes me wonder if it's somewhere further from the ground, on/in the engine.
It does not appear to be a head gasket issue, as I have had none of the problems associated with head gasket leakage, even though this is one of 'those' models.
The oil could be all over because this has been an ongoing leak for years (*hangs head in shame*), but noone had ever proposed something as 'easy' as this to fix it, or even mentioned it would be fixable, when having it looked at. To be fair, I always assumed it was a head gasket, and I was driving by sheer luck, and didn't want to tempt fate or a $2000 repair bill.
I can get under and take some pictures to show where the oil is, if that will help with the diagnosis, but it's pretty much everywhere, and cleaning it all up (suggestions?) and then driving a little might pinpoint where it is coming from, if needed.
Like I said, she's 12 years old, nearing 200k and has been totaled (thanks to a collision with a semi-truck merging into my lane), so suggestions for least effort / cost to keep her going are appreciated. I love my baby, but I have wrung much of her value out over the years, and I'm not ready to scrap her, but I am wary of spending too much money when catastrophic failure might be around the corner.
Also, I have been quoted $170 for the oil pan gasket repair, if that sounds reasonable / a good deal, let me know, otherwise I'll look into finding another shop or getting the parts and doing it on my own.