So I have been losing a quart of oil a month and finally got under there and checked it out



There is oil drips on the back bolts of my oil pan so Im assuming its leaking from the pan gasket??

If so how much of a bitch is this to replace?


Although I remember someone saying oil leaks from somewhere above the pan and flys back that way when the car is accelerating??



Also I have always had oil slowly come out of head gaskets like to where the engine is all oily but like dried up oil.... how much oil am i losing here???


any ideas

 

I would have to say, um...A quart/month?


Take it up to the carwash and steam clean the engine, then drive around and look for the leaks. Gravity comes into play here so, follow it up to the highest point that oil can leak from.....thaat will be your source.

 

a side note is that my gaskets are that cork rubber ****.... not sure if this is crappier?

 

I am going through this right now with my 170, so I have the manual open right in front of me to the page for your car..
Here's what it says:

1. Drain the oil, remove the dipstick
2. disconnect the Stabilizer bar from the lower control arms and pull the ends down.
3. remove the oil pan bolts and position the pan on the front cross-member.
4. Remove one oil inlet tube bolt (inside the pan) and loosen the other to position the tube out of the way to remove the pan.
5. turn the crankshaft as required for clearance to remove the pan.
6. install in the reverse from above.

If your gasket set is anything is like mine, it is 2 side gaskets and 2 oil seals for the moving parts, front and rear, all included in the gasket set. If it is close to being the same, then it may be the rear oil seal.
Mine seemed like a lot more trouble, getting it off.. still haven't got around to putting it back together yet! hehe.. Also, I'm not sure if this is the exact instructions for your car, so be sure to look up the ones for your year and model... but it will give you an idea what may be involved.
I agree with the cleaning. get some degreaser and check for where the leak is coming from before working on it (no grease/crud makes the work much easier as well! ) It would be nice if it was just stripped threads on the drain plug and the oil was blowing back there!