2001 Impala - Oil Leak above drive axle

[aanderud]

OK, I have an '01 Impala with the not-so-reliable 3800 engine in it. Boy, if it was like the old days I could get 250k miles out of that sucker, but not now. And btw, please hold the jokes about buying Chevy. It won't happen again. But, since it's paid for and it gets reasonable mileage, I like to use it to commute, and I'd hate to put him down quite yet.

Here's the symptom of the day:

Yesterday while on the river I got a txt from my wife with a pic of a large puddle of oil from where I parked the car -- "this normal?" she asked...heck no! Ouch. Well, my car was at the boat ramp where the other guys picked me up. Drank enuf beers while on the river that I figured I'd just leave the car at the ramp and look into stuff today. Wife got home from work this evening and we went to get the car. I drove my truck back home and immediately hooked up the boat to go out after dinner -- the oil leak could wait, I figured. I would just drive the truck to work tomorrow and dink around with it in my spare time. My wife drove the impala home and parked it in the garage. When I finish hooking up the boat and walk toward the garage, I notice a streak of oil coming all the way down the street, up the driveway and into the garage. I mean almost a SOLID line of oil -- very few gaps. I look under the car and it's dripping slowly, but not enough to cause that kind of trail. I figure it must only happen with the car running. I turn it on and HOLY MOLY!! -- there's a steady stream of oil coming down between the engine and the passenger side wheel.

I get the ramps out, back up the car, throw the ramps down, drive it up, and start investigating. The oil comes out in a steady stream from somewhere above the drive axle on the passenger side any time the engine is running. Unfortunately I can't see exactly where it is originating, other than I know it's somewhere above the drive axle -- it actually drips off of some sensor with a greenish clip, onto the drive axle, then onto the frame and to the ground. I can't see it from the top either, because it's under the power steering fluid reservoir.

Anyway, question of the day is what does anyone here think is leaking? Is there something simple to replace over there? Or is this indicative of some major engine issues? I really don't think I can drive this sucker very far. At the rate it's leaking, I'd say it's gotta be leaking about a quart per mile. I'm inclined to have it towed somewhere, and that somewhere might be the junkyard. I have 3 active codes right now, but I don't believe any of them are causing an oil leak -- P0300 misfire, P0742 torque converter clutch solenoid, and the P1404 EGR something.

[Scott K]

Is it coming out of the oil sender right up from the oil filter, or even the oil filter itself? Double gasketed?

[aanderud]

The oil filter is over about 6 inches more toward the wheel than where this leak is. No oil on the filter.

[Scott K]

The oil sender is to the drivers side about 6 inches from the oil filter, and would leak while running.

[aanderud]

I have a crappy haynes repair manual, it doesn't list any oil sender anything. Is this just the oil level/pressure sensor, or is it something that actually sends oil to the oil filter, or what?

Oreilly came back with this when I search for oil sender.

[Scott K]

That looks like it, it screws to the oil filter housing.

[aanderud]

OK, Cool. Thanks, Scott.

To be honest, my initial impression was that it was this sensor-looking thing with a greenish clip on it that was leaking, but then I thought "what kind of sensor could actually be leaking this much oil". It wasn't making sense at the time, so I assumed it was something ABOVE this sensor that was leaking, driping onto the sensor, and thus just making the sensor appear to leak.

Well, I guess if it's the OIL PRESSURE sensor that is faulty, then it's easy to see how it could be leaking OIL

I'll try picking one up tomorrow and replacing it. Should only take a minute or two. Should I use some kind of locktite or a gasket or something when I replace this?

[Scott K]

[Scott K]

The sensor should have sealer on the threads already.

[aanderud]

Yup, that's the one. I just went out and re-checked to make sure I wasn't on crack. The oil was streaming off the wires that come off this sensor, drippinng onto my drive axle, and then to my frame.

It's a RIDICULOUS amount of oil. Starting/stopping it a half dozen times for just a few seconds must have leaked at least a quart or two. The "low oil" sensor on the dash started saying "hey dude you're low on oil" toward the end of my investigation.

OReilly is closed, but tomorrow night I should be a happier camper.

[Scott K]

More then likely it is leaking through the pins in the sensor, and it more then likely has soaked into the connector and the electrical wires. You may need to replace the pigtail, or at minimum, clean it out well with brake clean.

[aanderud]

Wow, just googling around for oil sender unit stuff and here's something I saw.

Quote:

Our local Mercedes dealer noticed the Oil Level Sending Unit on our 2000 S430 was leaking and they would be happy to fix it for $740. Seems like a lot of money for a seal. Is there someone out there willing to describe the repair process. I would be most appreciative.

Sounds like highway robbery!! Maybe it's much harder to replace on a benz. Who knows.

[Scott K]

Nothing special about yours, half hour job, and about a $25 part.

[crothmeier]

I replaced the same thing on my 2007 Impala! Same symptoms.

[aanderud]

Thanks for the tips, Scott. Worked like a charm. Seems stupid to me that a SENSOR is designed such that a failure will drain all of your oil in about 10 minutes or less. Glad I wasn't on the road when that happened (or more glad that the WIFE wasn't on the road, as she tends to ignore warning lights or at least figure they won't kill her if she just drives it home that way).

[Jeremy airjer W]

Thanks for the tips, Scott. Worked like a charm. Seems stupid to me that a SENSOR is designed such that a failure will drain all of your oil in about 10 minutes or less. Glad I wasn't on the road when that happened (or more glad that the WIFE wasn't on the road, as she tends to ignore warning lights or at least figure they won't kill her if she just drives it home that way).

That's the least of your worries. There are a half dozen things that will fail and just leave you stranded. I'd consider a little oil leak a blessing compared to the other problems.