I have a 2000 SS and basically the valve cover gaskets are leaking oil and the pin seal on my differential needs to be replaced... i dont have the money as of right now to get all that fixed. This is the only car i have to drive right now, but would it be too risky to drive it for the next two weeks in the conditions its in? I mean will it cause more damage to other parts of the engine?

 

How bad are the leaks? Dealer should have the valve cover gaskets in stock - and easy to replace yourself. F-body pinion seals are notorious for leaking, mine does, but not enough to drip on the ground so just ignoring it for now. If the leaks aren't bad go ahead and drive it IMO.

 

The leaks arent that bad at all...the differential doesnt leak whatsoever but the service rep said it needed to be replaced. As far as the valve gaskets they leak a bit everytime i park the car...i would say some drops here and there. I was told that it was fairly difficult to replace the valve covers but Ill try taking a wack at it. Thanx

 

The valve covers are no big deal at all.

The rear pinion is not that hard. Pull the driveshaft, pull the yoke, replace seal, put back together. I have done a dozen of these without whine nor any other issue. Book says to mark pinion nut and return to exact same locatioin.

If nothing else, do the valve coves your self.....

 

If the rear is not leaking now I would not replace it. Just because they have a habit of leaking ther is no reason to change the seal if it isn't.

The valve cover gasket is easy. Hardest part is removing all the ignition coils which have to com off first.

Re'

 

And the valve cover gaskets are a rubber o-ring in a groove type. If you can afford new gaskets then get them but if you're really strapped for money just remove the covers, clean both surfaces up really good, put the gasket into the cover with a thin coat of sensor safe silicone on it (effectively gluing it into the cover), then wipe another thin coat on the mating face of the gasket and re-install.

 

I'll second that. Even if it's just a minor leak, you're better off cleaning the housing and topping off the fluid regularly than replacing the seal. These rears are EXTREMELY sensitive to pinion bearing preload, and the only correct way of replacing the seal involves a lot of teardown to replace the crush sleeve.

 

Thanks for all the info guys that really helped a lot. One last question i had was if the SES light is on and the code says catylic under threshold does that mean that i gotta replace the converter or someone else told me it could be the O2 sensor.

 

could be the sensor. switch the rear O2's left & right. if the code follows the sensor, it's the sensor. if the code stays, it's the cat.

 

P0420 or P0430 by any chance? If so, your catalytic converter(s) have failed. GM has extended the warranty coverage on these to 120K miles. DON'T CLEAR THE CODE! Take it to the dealer and have them replace the failed converter(s) free of charge.