Oil leak

[Yogidog]

[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif] Have a 2000 gmc sonoma  2 wheel drive, 80,000 miles. Mechanic said yesterday.[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif] pads rotors 446 .00[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Trans filter kit, filter, oil 160.00[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Fuel filter 161.00[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Oil pan gasket leaking a little said I should be OK if I watch it. Said in Sonoma 2000 they have to go  to engine to fix. Would be like 1000.00[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Wondering how u all would proceed with limited monthly income? [/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Mostly wondering is it probable that oil leak will get bigger and bigger till things happen, can't drive it? He advised against stop leaks.[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Thanks[/font]

 

[highdesertranger]

first off sometimes your post display like you used a super size font. makes me nauseous, I usually don't read them and skip over them.

how bad is the leak. got a pic? when you park how long before you get a drip? how often do you have to add oil? what is the location of the leak? is it the drain plug? rear main? highdesertranger

 

[Yogidog]

Will do, working on how to change font size.

 

[ccbreder]

Mechanic said oil leak is not bad. Avoid synthetic oil as they can leak. Check your oil daily. The brakes are the priority. Over $200 in parts if rotors are needed. I was always surprised by how bad rotors can be if the pads are new. A mechanic shop will not just replace pads, you can, or a friend. Fuel filter must be in the tank to be that much. Why does it need a fuel filter? Transmissions need service, are you having problems with it? Usually just a fluid change at that millage should be good.

 

[GotSmart]

Something seems a little off.  I would ask another mechanic.  :dodgy:

 

[29chico]

Here is a link on replacing that frame rail mounted fuel filter:

http://www.ehow.com/how_7637312_replace-filter-2000-gmc-sonoma.html

Not totally sure the link is right for your rig as you did not state if you have a 4 or 6 cylinder engine.

 

[Sameer]

I don't know your circumstances but you can do a lot of this work. Replaced the oil and transmission pan gasket and the transmission screen last October at a campground outside of Winslow, Arizona. That was easy. Now I am back in Winslow and replaced all the brake pads and master cylinder in a abandoned restaurant parking lot across from the auto supply. Took two days because I am old, but easy too. I am grateful to have these skills and hope you have them too. It saves a lot of money to do the work myself.

 

[SoulRaven]

Shop around and get some more estimates... I would even check at a GMC dealer.

 

[SternWake]

Synthetic oils do not cause leaks, they reveal them. Synthetic oils clean engine internals better, they can remove the crust inside near a gasket which was keeping the oil from seeping past. Early synthetic oils in the 70's did actually attack some gaskets, and 40 years later there is still the myth that synthetic either attacks seals or causes leaks.

A High mileage oil could slow down or perhaps even stop the leak as it has seal 'conditoners'

Lubromoly/Liquimoly motor oil saver is a respected additive from a rescpected additive company which sould also slow/ perhaps stop the oil leak.

But no mechanic in a can is going to be 100% effective for a long period of time.

Be sure any transmission fluid used is the specific fluid recommended by the manufacturer, not the universal fluids most shops carry and put into everything no matter what.

Dodge Overdrive transmissions are especially sensitive to the incorrect ATF. For these, nothing but ATF+4 is acceptable, no matter how much the shop tells you their fluid is just as good when they add such and such an additive.

Other makes are less sensitive, but still a transmission is expensive, so the specified fluid is always paramount, and shops these days simply do not care about maximum longevity, they care about maximum profit, and their bulk universal ATF's ring the maximum profit bell loudly.

 

[Yogidog]

Thank u all, I will work on them this week. If I want to live in a vehicle it would be wise to learn to diagnose and fix. Will save alot of money, steep learning curve. Thanks so much!

 

[travlinman and wife]

how I learned to do my own work./ first find out what problem is. 2 buy parts. 3find parts on car.4 look at how new part is mounted and bolt holes. 5 look at what has to be removed too get to old part. if fill I could not do it I would find a shop that will use my parts and led me watch.

 

[ccbreder]

cause leaks, reveal them, nit pick. My experience is increased leaks. the "high mileage" oils are mostly blends and are better in my old dodge 318. If I ever get the ambition to change the gasket set I will use synthetics. The guy that is typing ""synthetics are not really synthetic because they are made from petroleum"", just stop. .

 

[Yogidog]

Any one know how to change font size? It only happens on new posts. Looked and looked. On Samsung phone.

 

[GotSmart]

how I learned to do my own work./
first find out what problem is.
2 buy parts.
3find parts on car.
4 look at how new part is mounted and bolt holes.
5 look at what has to be removed too get to old part.
if fill I could not do it I would find a shop that will use my parts and led me watch.

 With me #2 is the last thing. It keeps me from getting the wrong part.

 

[Yogidog]

Traveling man, wife and gotsmart. Really helps to break it down like this, thanks

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Well, I've gotta say that there's been some unlikely advice posted in this thread.

I sold auto parts for 20 years full time, back in the 70s and 80s, and for another 10 years part time on weekends after that.  Never saw a GOOD garage that would let you bring your own parts in.  The profit from selling you parts is figured into their margins.  If they let you bring your own parts, they'd have to raise their labor rates.

Would you expect to be able to buy a dozen eggs and a pound of bacon in a supermarket, and then take them to a diner and ask them to cook them for you?

I remember one time, a guy bought a complete exhaust system from us.  A day later he brought it back, very angrily, and told us we had sold him the wrong parts.  Turns out that he'd talked a garage into installing his own parts, so he could save some money.  They smiled and said, "Sure".  When he took the car in, they cut the old system off, then announced he had the wrong parts, and ordered their own system from some other store and charged him for it.  He had to pay or they would keep his car. (It's called a mechanics lien.)  We were able to show him in our catalog where we had given him EXACTLY the right parts for his car.

As far as watching while the work was done, the insurance companies have very stringent regulations against that.  If a mechanic allowed you to be in the bay with him, and you were injured, the insurance company wouldn't cover it and the mechanic would be personally liable for your injuries.  What mechanic is going to take THAT chance?

I'd guess that any mechanic who'd let you bring your own parts and watch while he worked was pretty desperate for work, which means he probably isn't a very good mechanic.  Not the guy I want working on MY car.  Just my opinion.

Regards
John

 

[Gigi]

Thank u all, I will work on them this week. If I want to live in a vehicle it would be wise to learn to diagnose and fix. Will save alot of money, steep learning curve. Thanks so much!

Keep us posted DharmaGirl!  We are gonna get these vans running smooth!  

Hugs!

 

[user 2252]

befriend a vandwelling mechanic with tools!

 

[GotSmart]

Well, I've gotta say that there's been some unlikely advice posted in this thread.

I sold auto parts for 20 years full time, back in the 70s and 80s, and for another 10 years part time on weekends after that.  Never saw a GOOD garage that would let you bring your own parts in.  The profit from selling you parts is figured into their margins.  If they let you bring your own parts, they'd have to raise their labor rates.

Would you expect to be able to buy a dozen eggs and a pound of bacon in a supermarket, and then take them to a diner and ask them to cook them for you?

I remember one time, a guy bought a complete exhaust system from us.  A day later he brought it back, very angrily, and told us we had sold him the wrong parts.  Turns out that he'd talked a garage into installing his own parts, so he could save some money.  They smiled and said, "Sure".  When he took the car in, they cut the old system off, then announced he had the wrong parts, and ordered their own system from some other store and charged him for it.  He had to pay or they would keep his car. (It's called a mechanics lien.)  We were able to show him in our catalog where we had given him EXACTLY the right parts for his car.

As far as watching while the work was done, the insurance companies have very stringent regulations against that.  If a mechanic allowed you to be in the bay with him, and you were injured, the insurance company wouldn't cover it and the mechanic would be personally liable for your injuries.  What mechanic is going to take THAT chance?

I'd guess that any mechanic who'd let you bring your own parts and watch while he worked was pretty desperate for work, which means he probably isn't a very good mechanic.  Not the guy I want working on MY car.  Just my opinion.

Regards
John

Why should we listen to the opinion an unemployed mechanic with only one speed???     (Just kidding!)  Excellent points, shiftless.  

At $80 to $130 an hour, A person needs all the brakes they can get. 

I found a new mechanic.  The wait area is in the service bay.    $80 an hour, and they are happy to stop working and explain everything to you if you ask questions.   :huh:  The clock keeps running.  

I just read while waiting.    Next time I bring Doughnuts!

 

[Yogidog]

Thanks all, did get the manual to work on it at the library yesterday