I saw some oil in my driveway a few days ago. I looked under the car and noticed there was a LOT of oil in my engine! I can't believe I didn't notice this before... anybody have any idea where could all this be coming from...? are there any common oil leak problems with LT1 engines? It seems to be coming from above the balancer pulley... you can see in the pictures...

http://www.velocidad-maxima.com/uploads/oil/

 

My timing cover leaks ever so slightly. Thats gonna change this 31st when the 306 goes in . Check the dipstick tube too.

 

Front seal around the crank snout behind the balancer? Had to change one before around the timing cover on an older SBC once...just a thought

 

one of the timing cover seals, could be water pump, distributor, or crank hub seal. Timing cover is very not likely to leak. If you change the seals yourself, find out about the special way for changing the water pump seal, if not you will have to do it again

 

Looks higher than that, but I donno. Looks like it maybe comming from above the opti, which would probably be one of the seals tanker said. Good luck.

 

take off your throttle body and look at the seal between the throttle body where the intake meets the block, i'll put $20 down saying your intake manifold is leaking.

 

Its your front crank main seal..all of our sbc leak from there 50 miles from the dealership..no biggie (i have it) just clean it off well and keep an eye on it. ive had that miniscule leak for 5 yrs now and it leaks 2 drops a month

 

my bet is either the front seal/timing cover or the intake manifold.

 

Man thats nasty. Because its an LT1 I can probably guess the intake gasket is leaking, The most comon LT1 leak. With that said it may not be the entire problem but it is the best place to start. Pull the TB boot off along with the MAF sensor to get a clear shot at the front of the intake and I bet you find a good place to stop the bleeding.

 

I agree with 94zLT1. I have the same problem. It leaks very little. Just keep an eye on the oil level. I check mine every now and then to make sure everything is good.

 

that certainly doesn't look like a small leak ...


i'm still putting my money on intake manifold gasket. pull the throttle body off and take some pics for us.

 

I'll do that tomorrow... thanks for all your replies

 

take some brake cleaner and wash all that crap off and go drive for 10-20 miles and take a look at it again. That should make it easer to find the leak.

 

Mine did that too. I changed all the seals when I installed a cam and it stopped. It's not a big deal, just watch your oil level closely. I just got tired of staining everyone's driveway.

 

I have a very slow leak as well. An intake manifold leak sounds really really bad, and expensive. If it IS the opti/waterpump etc., get a new opti/waterpump/timing covergaskets?

Tell me what I'll need if my intake manifold is leaking, and if my opti is bad.

So what I'll need is?:

Opti
Waterpump
Timing cover gasket
Intake manifold gasket