There are numerous links in my sig.

 

seven hours does seem way to long but it is a chore to take the intake off, clean the surfaces and again reinstall the intake and install all the parts. I took me 2 1/2 hrs just to get it off. I labeled everything and didn't hurry at all but it still took awhile. If your intake is leaking, stick your hand back there and feel. If it is leaking you'll have oil on your hands. When the intake leaks most likely it is the rail that is leaking. Depending on year , there is a fitting in the back for an oil pressure switch. It could be leaking also. It shouldn't be to hard to figure out where it is leaking.

 

Well I spent about an hour wedging myself under the car last night taking pictures and I could only find oil on the black thing (guessing it's the oil pan) and whatever the silver thing is behind it. I looked all around under the hood and couldn't find oil anywhere. Where are you telling me to feel around though? Do you mean under the hood at the very back of the engine? (remember, I don't work on my car, so please dumb down the explanation if possible.)

 

The big silver thing on the top of the engine is the intake. On the very back of it, under the hood, where the intake mates to the engine block. That is a common point for an intake to leak. It will be on the sections that are horizontal. Rarely do they leak on the heads unless the bolts come loose. Try that.

 

Ok, I just checked, I wiped around the best I could (how the heck do normal people get their arms back there?? My arm is skinny and barely fit) and it is bone dry. Nothing got on the paper towel except a tiny bit of dirt or dust. There is probably more dust in my keyboard than on the back of the manifold. So, I guess that is a good thing, what else could it be now? I checked the paper I laid under the car last night (after wiping the bottom of the oil pan and the silver thing directly behind it) and there's no oil on the paper. Maybe that will give one of you guys a clue as to what is wrong. I'm still confused as heck and don't want to pay a mechanic $70 an hour to find something else wrong.

 

Looks like you have some oil above the oil filter. That could be caused by leaking valve covers dripping down. Since you find no oil on the back of the intake, it could be the oil pan gasket or rear main seal. The front of the pan might be leaking a little, too. The only way to prove where leaks are, is to clean things off and watch the areas regularly.

BTW, the pic of the date code on the air baffle under the front of the car is when that plastic part was manufactured, not when the car was made. You can find plastic parts all over the car with different date codes.

 

Hey shoebox, can you please dumb your post down a little for me? Or link me to pics from your site that describes what you are talking about (for example, what do the valve covers look like, and where are they?)? I'd really like to learn what you are talking about, but right now they are just words I don't understand. I tried looking around your site a little (I just noticed that you are the person I emailed several months ago about my car smelling like gas when parked (probably because of the evap emissions canister- no, it isn't fixed yet )) but it is too technical for me to comprehend.

How did you guys learn all this stuff?... they don't teach you this stuff in school

 

There are 2 valve covers. One on each side of the engine. If looking at the engine from the front of the car, directly in the middle of the engine will be your intake manifold. To the left and right sides of this are "metal boxes"...these are your valve covers. They are black and will have I believe 4 bolts going into them. They are rectangular in shape about (guessing) 3-4 inches wide and maybe 15 inches long or so. If you go to a local auto parts place (advance auto) you can buy a HAYNES Manual for your car, this will have pictures of most parts and you can look them up to find out where they are in the book.
Bill

 

Valve covers

See this thread? http://web.camaross.com/forums/showthread.php?t=333526
Buy a manual. You need one.

 

I have the Haynes manual, but the terminology in it is a little above my car education. The pictures usually help, but sometimes it is hard to find what they have pictured when you don't know what you are doing. It also lacks a glossary of terms which would be very helpful. For instance, I thought the intake manifold was the black plastic thing that brings air from the air intake at the bottom of the car to the engine .

Thanks for the explanation of valve covers All4Chevy, I checked them out and they are completely dry. They are extremely dirty, and there's even some rust on there, but no oil at all coming out. I took a pic of each side. The side with the hose plugged into the top of it may look like it is leaking a bit but that is because I wiped a portion of it and whatever leaked a little out of it is extremely old. Whatever that thing is definitely isn't the source of the leak. I added the pics to my "oil leak" gallery here:
http://community.webshots.com/user/brangeta3

What else can I check? (By the way guys I REALLY appreciate all the help you are giving me.)

 

That "thing" on the top of the valve cover with the hose would be a pcv valve. There are 2 on the lt1. There is also one on the drivers side. It should connect up to the throttle body. The throttle body is what meters the air coming into the engine. The throttle body is connected to the intake manifold. You were sorta right as to what the intake was. A manifold is (in general) a distribution piece. In your cars case, the intake MANIFOLD has 8 runners that feed all 8 cylinders air. What you were refering to, feeds the engine air from the air filter. It would be called the intake duct, or similiar. Don't let this stuff intimidate you. You will only make this harder for you. It isn't hard to understand once you know how everything works. Pay attention and don't be afraid to ask questions. Definately check out shoebox's site. I learn something new or use (almost religously) it all the time. Do some searches and just read up on it. It'll come, I promise

 

To track my oil leak down this is what I did...put your car up on ramps and get underneath it. Wipe down EVERYTHING. Make sure there is NO oil anywheres. Start the car and let it idle for awhile (if the engine doesn't get too hot and overheat, mine has a 160 degree thermostat and the fans are always on so overheating is no longer an issue), maybe 10-15 mins if you can. If not, go for a short drive and come back home. Look under the car again to see an oil. Remeber, while driving the oil that leaks will go down and towards the back of the car due to the wind blowing on it. This means that maybe your entire underside of the engine (extreme case of leakage) will be covered in oil, however the front most sign of oil has to be the cause. If you can't narrow it down the first time or don't see oil, check later or repeat the process to get a more specific location. That's how I found mine leaking at the very front around a pulley.


Also, the air intake is yes that black plastic thing, however the "manifold" is the metal part.
Bill

 

Thanks for the links Shoebox, I'll be buying one of those shop manuals after I finish my homework tonight.

I forgot to mention, my mom tore around the neighborhood in the car "to see if the car still had any pep" after I checked the manifold for leaks and I checked the paper beneath the car and there aren't any drips yet.

I don't have ramps to raise the car, but would be interested in buying some. Where can I get them relatively cheap? It doesn't matter if it is an online store or physical, the leak isn't so bad that I can't wait a few days or couple weeks for delivery.

Something else to note is that there isn't any oil spattered on the underside of the car particularly. It seems to be (what I am guessing) a leak that happens after the car has been driven about 15 minutes and then sits. I only drive to and from college on a regular basis, and that's only a little over 2 miles each way at 30 mph and the car seems to leak maybe a combined 3 to 8 drops a night. I checked the dipstick last night and even though it is difficult to read exactly, my oil level is definitely near full. (oil gauge in the car is useless, stupid thing hasn't worked in a long time)

 

Any auto parts store should have ramps, I can't remember if stock height camaros can make it up regular ramps, (somebody else might give some input on that)without the front end rubbing. Rhino Ramps are slightly lower and less steap to allow for an easier incline. However my car still will not make it up them with the body kit it has so I use standard ramps with some 2x10 planks that I drive up to the ramps. I believe the ramps were roughly 30 bucks.
Bill

P.S. The car may not "drip" oil down to the ground for awhile, i.e. it may drip but the oil ends up running all over the motor or down a line and would take forever to actually be enough to drip to the ground, that's why it helps to get under and look.

 

Umm...that is incorrect. There is only one PCV valve and that is in the center of the driver's side of the intake. The hose going into the valve cover is part of the PCV/CCV system, but there is no valve there.