Ok, I took it to my local Ford dealer (because they are cheap, we know them, and they do a damn good job on all our cars) to have my tranny leak looked into and fixed. While on the checkup, they said I had an oil leak. Now I was thinking, how could I get a leak if about a month ago the level on the dipstick was right at the level where I found it 7,000 miles ago using Mobile 1? I checked when I took it home and sure enough, in about a months time it lost about a quart since its just below the crosshatch area.

The mechanic who worked on it said it was a minor leak coming from the oil pan gasket, and since its a $400 dollar fix, its best to leave it alone and contributed the low oil level for the engine burning the oil. Now how in the hell could it burn up 1 quart in a months time when before it barely burnt any on top of the fact the engine rarely sees the RPM go anywhere above 3,000 RPM! Apparently he is forgetting that a Bonneville aint no Honda. On top of that they did the oil change. While I appreciated the gesture, I was not notified since i wanted to put synthetic in. So now instead of doing Sea Foam this weekend as I planned it, I have to wait for the oil to be old enough (read: Wait another 3,000 miles to clean my engine) so that I wont be dumping out perfectly good oil after I do the clean.

With that aside, I just did the PCV so hopefully some of the pressure will be relieved so the oil wont seep out. What do you think, could the engine SUDDENTLY be burning 1 quart of oil in a month in addion to a minor leak, or is it really what I always thought it was, a bad oil pan gasket? Is the price to fix it worth it or should I change it myself? How "pain in the ***" is it to replace this gasket?

Sorry for the long story but I like to talk about stuff.

I need to clarify, the 1 quart defecit was before they did the oil change while I still had the 7,000 miles of synthetic. I am now tracking it and will see how much I will have lost a month from now, with this new oil change the level is just above the crosshatch.

Im still looking at the cardboard since I had to swap out the last one, it was SWIMMING in tranny fluid before. So far its just a couple of oil drips. Mayby it leaks while im driving.

I know my engine isnt burning much if not no oil at all because after 7,000 miles of synthetic it was at the same level I found it at when I first put the oil in. Even our 87' Taurus with 155,000 miles burns no oil at all (and the car starts with one stroke of the ignition after sitting on the dirveway below freezing after 7 weeks of inactivity!)

Changing the oil pan gasket is a very easy repair. It will cost about $20 for the gasket and add a couple of bucks for some petrolium jelly if you don't already have some. This helps hold the gasket in place as it is raised into place and you start threading the bolts in.

It'* as easy 2 beer job.

Extremely steep. This is what the repair manual says for time:

Skill level: B
Warranty: 0.8
Standard: 1.4

It would make more sense if it were a rear main seal problem.

$400 for anything is too much for me.

Yea, its a Vulcan. This Taurus has been a sweetheart and had barely any problems. The steering system was swapped out for a new one last year, but given its sitting outside exposed to the elements its no surprise that the axel doesnt just pop off. :P