Loose rubber piece on undercarriage near oil pan?
 

Hey All,

First time poster, long time lurker here. I've got a 1995 Bonneville, and I'm writing because I've been leaking oil for a while now, which hasn't been a huge deal since it hasn't leaked a lot. However, it seemed to be leaking more than usual this week, so I took a look under the car to see if it was noticeably dripping from anywhere. That's when I noticed a small piece of rubber, about 2 inches long hanging from a metal cylinder thing in the front of the undercarriage, kind of near the oil pan.

The cylinder looks like a spool; kinda like a fishing reel. It has a round part with two flat parts on each end, and next to one of the flat parts is hanging a piece of what seems to be rubber. I touched it, and it seemed to be slightly wet with thick, dirty oil.

Anyway, I looked through the online Haynes/Chilton-esque repair manual at AutoZone and couldn't find anything that looked remotely like this (my Chilton is at home, and I'm at work now). Any ideas what this is? If so, is it easy to fix? I'm definitely not a master mechanic or anything, but I do change my own oil, and have replaced my own thermostat, O2 sensor, air filter, PCV valve, etc.

Thanks in advance for your help,
Ryan Graham

Sounds like the oil filter. How long has that oil been in the car? I would change it and put a new filter on.

Bassplayincrowe,

Nah, unfortunately it's not the oil filter; that'd be too easy, right? Just changed the oil and filter about 800 miles ago. This is further towards the front center of the car, like right in between the oil pan and the transmission pan. A little smaller than the filter, too, and the curved part is parallel to the bottom of the car, not half-perpendicular like the oil filter.

Thanks for the response, though!

Ryan

Re: Loose rubber piece on undercarriage near oil pan?
 

What exactly is it attached to? I was thinking it might be a low-oil sensor in the side of the oil pan, but I didn't think the LE or SE models had one.

acg_ssei,

I'm not sure what it's attached to.... When I get home I'll jack the car up and take a good look. How big is the low oil sensor? This thing looks little smaller than one of those 8oz V8 cans. Of course, it could just be the bottom end of some huge component, but I guess I won't be able to tell until I get under the car.

Thanks,
Ryan

If I recall right, that would be a large-ish plug screwed into the side of the oil pan. If your mystery object is not attached to the oil pan, that's not it.

Keep in mind also that the oil may have just dribbled down to the lowest spot from someplace higher up, such as a rocker cover or front seal.

acg_ssei,

Okay, I'll give that a look when I get home in a few hours.

You're right, though, the oil might not be coming from the mystery object, but I'm still a little disturbed by the hanging piece of rubber coming off of it. I know for a fact it wasn't like that the last time I changed the oil, so it just happened recently. I'm just worried it might be a torn/rotted gasket of some sort.

Thanks,
Ryan

Okay, I got under there, and it looks like an engine mount of some sort. It's actually a cylinder in a bracket, with rubber cushions between the bracket and cylinder. One of the rubber cushions has split. Doesn't seem like a huge deal. Definitely no oil coming from there.

Anyway, I've just cleaned off the engine, so I'll look for the source of the leak tomorrow. I'm pretty certain it's the valve covers. How hard of a job is that to do?

Thanks again,
Ryan

Not very. Just clean off all remnants of the old gaskets thoroughly so you've got a smooth sealing surface. New gaskets will probably come with instructions. I like to use K&W CopperCoat as a gasket adhesive; others swear by other products (and will probably pop up here to recommend their favorite stuff).

<pet_peeve>I know what everyone likes to call them, but they're not valve covers; they're rocker covers. When you take them off, you'll see rockers, not valves.</pet_peeve> :wink:

One thing that I learned the hard way from doing the valve covers, is to be careful not to overtighten those bolts... they can break in half far too easily. When that rubber ring on each bolt just begins to compress, that's when you need to stop.

Good luck :-) hope it fixes your problem!

- Uri