1994 Olds Cutlass leaking oil BAD

texastami · #1 05/13/07, 12:18 PM

My parents are having trouble with their car -

1994 Olds Cutlass Cieras
v-6
leaking oil behind the starter when it warms up and has been driven or is idling

Seems like its leaking from behind the starter.... maybe wrong... but its leaking ALOT of oil when its warmed up....

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

moopups · #2 05/13/07, 06:34 PM

The starter does not enter an oil filled area, but its close to the rear main seal of the crankshaft. This can be replaced by dropping the oil pan, assuming a conventional rear wheel drive here, the new engines that set sideways are not on my radar scope. Some times the steering linkage has to also be dropped to make the repair.

fordy · #3 05/13/07, 07:28 PM

..........................I was going to suggest a rear main seal but the transmission , on this vehicle is probably bolted directly to the back of the engine as I'm assuming it is front wheel drive . Probably should seek the advise of a good mechanic , If you know one . fordy...

idahodave · #4 05/13/07, 11:04 PM

Did you check the oil level to make sure it's not over filled?

**clovis** · #5 05/14/07, 07:26 AM

94 Cierra is a front wheel drive car.

cfabe · #6 05/14/07, 08:10 AM

I'm with the others here, if oil is coming from near the starter it's likely the rear main seal. A cheap part but quite a hassle to replace. On this vehicle it requires removing the transmission and flexplate. An advanced driveway mechanic could get the job done, but it's going to be a weekend long project. And it's probably not worth paying someone to have the car fixed at a shop. Mitchell's lists the part as $37 and 7.9 hours of shop time.

Depending on what you want to do with the vehicle and how bad the leak it, it might be time to junk it or go into limp mode, if you could find a source of used engine oil, you might consider just refilling the engine with dirty oil to get you by for a while.

cfabe · #7 05/14/07, 08:34 AM

double post

texastami · #8 05/14/07, 08:42 AM

Limping along or junking isn't an option... this is their main car....

I will pass this information on to my dad...

My DB's bil is a mechanic... maybe he can fix it for them!!

Thanks for all the help!!

Yeti · #9 05/14/07, 07:21 PM

just a tip, before you tear everything apart why not look at the oil presure sending unit? its right above the starters on those cars and they fail like clock work. they are about $40 for a new one and whole lot cheaper then guessing which part is bad.

by the way if you look at the sender and the oil looks like its coming from around the plug for the wires its because thats where they leak when the diaphrams go bad.

Herb · #10 05/15/07, 07:41 AM

94 Ciera V6 FWD.
I am going to assume that it has the 3.1 or 3100 series V6 as I think that was the only engine available in that model year.
If that is true, the oil filter is near the starter, facing the front of the car. Check around the oil filter. I once had the gasket from an old filter stick in place and when I screwed the new filter on, I had a leak.

Gideon · #11 05/18/07, 05:28 AM

If you cannot readily tell where it is coming from take it to a car wash and clean it good. Then get under/over with a strong light-will be much easier to find. A can of engine cleaner applied correctly will help cut the grease/oil. Gunk makes some orange foamy but I think the old white works better. wc

Herb · #12 05/21/07, 08:33 PM

What was the final outcome?

texastami · #13 05/27/07, 09:13 AM

Just wanted to say you folks ROCK! THanks so much for all your help!!

Finally got the car into the mechanic and turns out it was the oil sending unit!! HOORAY!!!

$65 parts and labor in about 2 hours time!!! YAHOO!!

*you should have seen the look on the guys face when, after my mom's worried "its leaking oil and I have no idea" statement --- then I followed with- "Could possibly be the oil sending unit - diagaphram is probably bad".... The one guy stood there with his mouth open... My mom just giggled... when we walked out, one guy even opened the door for us!!!