Oil Leak. There’s A Puddle Of Oil On The Pavement.


FREE Shipping on Truck Accessories!Our modern cars cost more these days to buy, but the mileage can be fantastic. It is common to get 200,000 miles or more, if we change oil regularly and keep up with the auto maintenance. Our reliable cars do go down occasionally. This time it was the oil sending unit gone bad.

I started noticing puddles of fluid on the pavement. Upon further observation, the fluid turned out to be motor oil. This could be serious. The opinions from local mechanics equipped me with what I was dealing with here. I narrowed it down to three items that was causing my oil leak: oil sending unit, valve cover gasket,  or the oil pan gasket — Fel-Pro OS34308R Oil Pan Gasket Set.

When the car was idling, I saw smoke and smelled it. The smell was inside and outside of the car. I was leaving a trail of smoke behind me as I motored down the highway. I was using too much oil, as previously I wasn’t.

I immediately chose to get an oil change, along with the replacement of the valve cover gasket. This is the gasket on top of the engine, next to where the oil is poured in at. The valve cover gasket was inexpensive, and so was the labor to get it replaced. Even if this wasn’t the main leak giving me the trouble, it needed replaced anyhow.

Replacing the valve cover gasket seemed to help, and the first day I thought my oil leak problem was solved. The next day would prove me to be wrong. I was still getting puddles of oil on the pavement after stopping in town. My oil leak wasn’t cured just yet. At least my engine looked clean after replacing my valve cover gasket.

I thought it must be the oil pan gasket, which is located at the bottom of the motor. I was told that it could take a few hours to replace this item, and the labor would be somewhat expensive. The price of the oil pan gasket was cheap. The oil pan gasket turned out not to be the source of my leak. I felt lucky.

The problem turned out to be the oil sending unit.

This is a very small part that would fit in the palm of one’s hand. The price of the oil sending unit is cheap and the labor charge wasn’t bad at all. It took only a few minutes to replace the part.

The mechanic was asked if he needed a flashlight to see the part; he replied that this one is a reach and feel type of mission. Nevertheless, he found it and replaced it in a jiffy.

We lowered the car on the ground and started the engine. The oil leak was solved. The problem was the oil sending unit. Relief at last!