I bought my 1997 Z28 convertible last spring. It has only 20,000 miles on it. Went to the Chevy dealer last weekend for an oil change and they informed me that the "cylinders" were leaking oil. They showed me that the oil pan was covered with oil. Not from the pan gasket but above it. I have only noticed a few drops of oil on my garage floor. The car sits most of the time, I have only driven it a few hundred miles. They said it may be loose head bolts or cylinder gaskets and estimated $2300to repair. Is this a serious concern, a problem with this model, something that needs to be taken care of right away or can I wait and see if it gets worse? I dont intend to put a lot of miles on this car.

 

Could also be the intake manifold, as that is a common problem on the LT1. Stick you hand on the engine between the block and firewall. If it comes back oily, the intake is the problem.

 

Could be just valve cover gaskets. I'd get a second opinion, fast.

 

does it run fine?
and if so the heads gaskets are good lol there trying to make money is it on the back of the engine or front of the engine wet with oil.

on the back there 4 spots it could leak. the rear intake manifold, oil presure sensor. and rear main. and the valve covers

with the engine could put your hand behind the intake manifold and wipe your hand acroos on the heads and block and see if the oils there. if so the intake gasket or oil sender unit.

 

It runs fine. They had it up on the lift and showed me where it was leaking but I am not familiar and not sure what I was looking at. It was the right side rear looking straight up and I could see a seam where there was a gasket with oil around it. I assume that was the head where it meets the block. I was concerned about the opti ignition and he pointed that out to me, that area was dry with no oil. As I mentioned in my initial post, there are only a few oil drops on the garage floor since April. Could this have been caused from not being driven and the gaskets drying out? It was not driven much before I bought it.

 

just get some grubs on and wipe your hand on the back of the intake manifold on the heads and block on top of the tranny i bet its wet. its a really common issue. to bad you live far away i do it for 100 bucks

 

Do yourself a favor and stay away from that dealer and any dealer for that matter.

That is atrocious. You could buy a high mileage Z28 that runs great for 2300. You could buy a new LT1 engine and have it put in for $2300.

The oil leak is most likely coming from the intake or one of the seals on the front cover. I'm sure you have a handy friend who could get in there and look at it if you are not comfortable doing so yourself.

Those dealers make me sick.

 

$2300 will buy a lot of K-Y Jelly. There are a few common areas of oil leaks on the LT1, most notably at the rear of the intake manifold and the seals in the timing chain cover. If you're mechanically adept, and have the time, you could diagnose and fix them fairly easily yourself. In the process you'll learn a bit about your car, get the satisfaction of fixing something for yourself, and save about 2250 bucks. This website is a great resource.

 

Thanks for everyones advice. I guess for now I will just clean the area and keep a watch on it.

 

Here's an LT1 engine like your yours. The guy's right hand is on the front of the engine. He is holding the intake manifold. The back of the manifold is a common place for leakages. Reach your hand back there and see if it comes back oily or not.

The black pieces are the valve covers. They are directly on top of the heads and are another common place for oil leaks. Run your finger around the edges where they meet the heads and see if you come back oily (especially in the back.) If the leak is starting from about 4 inches blow that, THEN it might be a head gasket.

If you're dripping from the front of the engine, it's probably one of the timing seals.

The folks on these forums have been super helpful, they'll steer you in the right direction. At the very least, I'd ask around town for some reputable shop to make a second opinion. 2300 bucks sounds pricey even if it were the head gasket. Dealers are usually VERY expensive. Ask the managers at the local parts stores whose good in town.