Seamfoam possible oil leak

[iwantatta]

Used seafoam for the first time on my GN. Car has about 70,000 miles on it. As i was doing it i noticed a small leak from underneath the car. It looks like where the bellhousing has a little hole at the bottom, oil is coming out from there. Did i just screw something up?

I understand the oil may thin out due to using seafoam. Could this have been the cause of my problems? I'm wondering if i should try adding oil. Help Please.

 

[TurboDave]

I doubt you did anything with the Seafoam. With that many miles, your rear main seal is likely starting to seep.

 

[iwantatta]

I doubt you did anything with the Seafoam. With that many miles, your rear main seal is likely starting to seep.

Wondering if i should try changing the oil with cheap stuff or trying running it some more to get all the crap out. Car hadn't been leaking this much before as the driveway its been parked in is dry.

 

[dsapper]

Seafoam helps remove sludge. There may have been some old oil caked up there that it dislodged

 

[TurboDave]

You can change the oil, but I doubt it'll stop the leak, nor do I think the seam foam started it. It's just age.... 70,000 is a lot of miles for a rear main. Some have gone longer (mine) some have not.

 

[iwantatta]

After changing the oil and driving it around a little. It seems to have stopped a lot. Right now there is a very small drop after sitting for a few hours.

I've tried googling seafoam and rear main seal and others have reported leaks right after using seafoam. While seafoam may not have started it, i think it did aggravate things and make it a lot worse.

 

[mearly65]

I used seafoam in my GN last year and it worked so well that the next day l had a ruined turbo. I put it in the oil, the gas tank, and directly through a vacuum line. I believe it broke loose so much crude that it sent some chunks through the turbo oil feed line and wreaked havoc on the bushings. I mean it was smoking so bad that l was embarrassed to drive it. THICK white smoke pouring out of the tailpipes. People thought my car was on fire. Now l know some people will say that it was purely a coincidence and that my turbo was on its way out anyway but l don't believe it. That turbo never gave off even the tiniest puff of smoke before the seafoam treatment. I still use it in my car's gas tank as a fuel system cleaner and stabilizer and l also use it in the crankcase of everything else l own that has an engine, but l will never add it to the oil of anything that has a turbo ever again.

 

[iwantatta]

So, i tried taking it to a shop and telling them my rear main seal was bad. They told me it was fine and ended up replacing the valve covers instead.

Took my car home and noticed as soon as i turned off the car, it started leaking again. Everytime i started and stopped the car it would begin leaking. After only a few minutes a puddle forms. Is there any way to know if the rear main seal is bad?
Have some pictures i took when i got home. Gonna call the place on Monday to let them no what is going on.

Any advice?

 

[mearly65]

Could be the intake or oil pan gasket

 

[SHADOWII]

Find a new mechanic. Best thing is to locate other tr owners in your area to get their opinions. In the mean-time, take a paper towel and wipe around the valve covers, specifically near the firewall and see if you get any oil. It could be the mech. lacks experience w/the tr's. But the leak you are experiencing is typical of the rear main seal. Mine went out when I brought it to the dealership for a slight leak in the same spot as yours. they gave me a "no problem" response, in the mean-time they had left the car running for me to drive it away. When I got out to the car there were about 1 1/2 quarts of "no problem" on the ground. They quickly took the car back in the shop and repaired it.

 

[iwantatta]

The sad thing is, the place i take it too owns a shop and is familiar with these cars (he has a couple of GN's). He actually frequents these boards also. I've been taking it there ever since i got both cars and i've had them for years. I'm seeing signs though that they may just be tired of working on these type of cars. My pontiac still needs to be returned to them for a unconnected Alchy injection low level light which they did not connect when i had them install some gauges. The mechanic told me it wasn't connected before, so when he relocated it he left it unconnected . Luckily i had the timing dialed back on the chip but was still picking up knock. Went under the hood and no alchy. Seems like i have no guarantee that he himself is working on them. Usually try to do as much of the work myself, but don't trust myself doing this big of a job without help.

Right now i'm just in between having them try to fix it or just try and fix it myself.

 

[GNICETRY]

You have 2 issues; 1-you either trust your mechanic or not. They are humans though and they do make mistakes. VERY FEW mechanics will treat your car like you though, so you ultimately have the final say on what to do. Ask him if he does the work himself. Ask him why did he think it was the VC gaskets. Nicely of course. If not satisfied find a new one.
2-oil leaks. I have been told by reputable mechanics that various things on my car were leaking. Most times they were just being reasonable. My whole engine though and undercarriage was coated with oil. Kind of hard to find the exact leak with that scenario. Wash the whole engine down, drive it and see where it's leaking from. That oil goes/drips everywhere so don't assume anything. They have a dye you could put in too. I would start with that.

 

[Jeff B]

I actually just purchased an 87 GN with 46,000 miles. I have an oil drip and it looks to be the exact thing you have going on. Hell i coulda took this same pic 10 minutes ago. Any suggestions?

So, i tried taking it to a shop and telling them my rear main seal was bad. They told me it was fine and ended up replacing the valve covers instead.

Took my car home and noticed as soon as i turned off the car, it started leaking again. Everytime i started and stopped the car it would begin leaking. After only a few minutes a puddle forms. Is there any way to know if the rear main seal is bad?
Have some pictures i took when i got home. Gonna call the place on Monday to let them no what is going on.

Any advice?

 

[iwantatta]

Just got the rear main seal fixed and the leak has stopped. Seems to have been an intermittent problem too so they had trouble finding the problem, so be prepared for that.

If it turns out to be something else, be careful with the seafoam. I'm not sure its worth the risk using that stuff.

 

[Jeff B]

Just got the rear main seal fixed and the leak has stopped. Seems to have been an intermittent problem too so they had trouble finding the problem, so be prepared for that.

If it turns out to be something else, be careful with the seafoam. I'm not sure its worth the risk using that stuff.

Got an oil change today and asked them to look and the guy said the same thing "probably rear main seal". So how extensive was the repair and the cost?

 

[iwantatta]

Got an oil change today and asked them to look and the guy said the same thing "probably rear main seal". So how extensive was the repair and the cost?

Cost me around $400. They also did not use the rope seal which was common to leak, instead they used a neoprene seal. You may want to recommend them not to use the rope seal even though it may come up on their parts list to use it.

I'm guessing it was something like this that they installed instead
http://www.kirbanperformance.com/Buick/product/165/NEOPRENE+REAR+MAIN+SEAL+#6548.html

 

[Jeff B]

Yep was rear main. The cleaned everything, replace with rubber seals and silicone. Aint had a drop of oil since, knock on wood!

 

[billy 420]

I would be very cautious adding anything to your oil supply ever and i do mean anything .Seafoam fuel treatment works great, but it makes your machine smoke like your tires are on fire . why mess with something as important as your engines lubrication? If you ask for trouble youll find it and with these cars you dont need to ask for it

 

[Dabigguy]

Seafoam in the crankcase is meant to be left in there for a VERY short time. It does thin out the oil, so no boost until you change the oil.

Someone said that it caused the car to smoke heavily. Hopefully it only smoked for a few miles due to burning all the carbon removed from the engine. The instructions state that it will smoke for a few minutes after use. Hope it was just the Seafoam burning off and not your turbo going bad. Please let us know how your turbo made out Mearly65.