# possible real main seal leak at 99k miles



## CruzeEcoBlueTopaz (Jan 5, 2012)

*possible rear main seal leak at 99k miles * update * 3/14 repair results post # 16**

*updated with pic at the bottom of the page *

I took my cruze into the dealer for my last ( 15th ) " free " oil change and they told me I had an engine oil leak. I was scheduled to bring the car back in 2 days later to diagnosis and possibly fix the leak. After the car had been at the dealer for 3 hours I was told it was a " sloppy " oil change and the engine area and under panel had been cleaned. * keep in mind I declined the recall so any oil not in my engine is dangerous*

I wanted to take a look at what they were talkin about so I took it down the street to a pro oil shop they lifted it up and showed me where the oil was coming from. They told me it was a rear main seal near the wheel house bearing I believe which is basically at the bottom of the engine and really only visable from undernearth. So we wiped down the bottom of the rear main seal the top and everywhere else was dry. I brought it back to this pro oil shop the next day to take a look at it again just to make sure it wasnt leaking and sure enough there were 2 fresh oil spots pooled at the bottom. It doesnt look like the oil is dropping I dont have any spots on my concrete but it looks like instead its blowing along under the panel area near the flex pipe. I dont know exactly how much of a leak it was it seems slow but I have no way of telling. 

I would like to point out the engine bay area did have signs of spilled oil that was cleaned under the oil cap area and down into the engine. So my thinkin was the oil traveled down and pooled onto the bottom of the rear main seal. Im not sure really if its a leak or just oil they didnt clean from the spilled oil change. I cleaned the rear main seal area one more time today and im going to take it to this pro oil shop have it lifted and looked at one more time and if I see fresh oil I will know for certain its a leak.

What causes a rear main seal leak ? Im concered they might have been putting to much oil in the engine which I blame myself for trusting them and allowing them to change the oil and not check the levels myself. From now on im finding a pro oil shop that will allow me to bring in my own oil that I have measured out to 4.25q and allow me to watch. 

Im at 99k miles so I want to get it into the shop before the powertrain warranty expires. My service agent did make a note about this and said since I did bring it in before the 100k and they did note the leak that even if I go a few hundred or thousand miles over the warranty they will cover it. My question is is this true can they still cover the cost of the repair once im over 100k miles if they noted the leak in their shop before 100k miles ? What should I do if they want to tell me its not leaking ?

I have a hard time believing both the spill and leak happening at the same time. I think it is an actuall leak and it happened sometime during the previous 6k miles before this last oil change.

** mods please correct the thread title spelling error ** thanks


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## CruzeTech (Mar 23, 2012)

I figured you'd be at 70k ish. Never would have thought you'd be at 99k already. Incredible. As far as the oil leak goes, unless you have something in writing saying they will cover it after 100k, I'm not sure I'd trust that. I mean, they write so much stuff into the comment section on the receipt. I don't see why they can't write a little disclaimer. One thing for sure, I would be sure the service writer and service manager are both on the same page about the warranty. Even if you have to rent a car for a week or two until you get a definitive answer, before your car hits the 100k mark, it may be worth it. 


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

I'd lean toward the possibility of a sloppy oil change rather than a rear main seal leak. One oil change I did, I spilled just a little bit of oil, maybe 1/4 cup. It looked like I had doused the front of the engine in oil. There were oil stains under the car too, from just that little bit spilled. From where the oil fill cap is located, it's a short path down the backside of the engine and transmission bellhousing to the ground.

If you can, you might want to find some cardboard and park over that for a few nights. Then if it's consistently dripping/leaking, the spots will be the same size. If it's a sloppy oil change, the spots should diminish in size. 

"When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras". I'm going with the "horse" of a sloppy oil change instead of the "zebra" of a rear main seal leak. I hope it's the former, not the latter. 

Keep us updated!


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

Interesting description.......a 'sloppy' oil change.

A few possibilities.......once the oil and filter were changed and engine started it may have ejected oil onto itself from the oil filter housing cap seal (left loose or 'o' ring fell off) or the engine was started with the oil fill cap off.
Either situation will throw oil all over the engine and underhood in just a few seconds.
If not washed down with degreaser, you will have oil that was sitting in every crevace seeping out for the next week or two.

As a result, if there is a leak point, it can't be diagnosed.
To help you figure it out, consider removing the shield (the one you haven't modified) for a rew days.....this will help you see the leak source point.
Oil leaks are tough.....obviously gravity is involved and then a lot of airflow adds to moving the drip offs all over the place.

As far as what makes a seal fail: Lots of could be/would be on that one......the seal could be simply age hardened and that would be the most likely case based on your mileage......a lot of heat/cool cycles in 100k.
It may not even be the seal.....a oil pan seep can occur at the interface of the pan gasket to rear main cap and that one will always look like a seal failure.

Regardless, it will not repair itself and if this leak is persisting over a couple of weeks it can be assumed that whatever mess was made during the oil change has finished drooling off of the block.

BTW, even if the oil was overfilled, say to five quarts even, the oil level in the pan would only be at best 1/4" higher than designed......this still keeps the oil well below the crankshaft throws so there would be no long term problems.

As long as some documentation has been provided by the dealer you will have no warranty concerns.
That same documentation is required by G.M. to allow reimbursement to the dealer......so it will protect you and the dealer from a payment standpoint.

Rob


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## Dale_K (Jul 16, 2011)

You might want to check out whether the car's PCV system is working right. There should be a slight vacuum within the crankcase when the motor is running. Any kind of pressure within the crankcase would increase the potential for a seal leak. I'm not too sure how you'd check the PCV. Possibly putting your finger over the dipstick tube and comparing that against a known good engine.

This is just a guess on my part. I'm no expert.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

I have had warranty work done after the expiration when I had documentation of an issue. It really depends on the dealership whether or not they will call GM and say "hey we found this issue before the warranty ran out but couldn't isolate it to fix it. We have now isolated the problem and want you to pay for it."

I agree with Rob that you need to remove your engine shield and degrease your engine and then look for the leak reoccurring. However, unless the last oil change was really sloppy I would suspect a leak.

99K - wow. Other than this how did your Cruze handle the winter.


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## bci26401 (Jun 25, 2012)

Don't trust the dealership. Have them put it in writing because if the person u talked to happens not to work there anymore when u decide to take it back, you'll have no way to prove that they said you'd be covered. Never ever..ever..ever trust a dealership shop!! They're in the business of making money. My dealership charges $160 an hour!! Needless to say when I need work done on my 2006 Impala, I never let them fix it because of they're outrageous rates!!


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## CruzeEcoBlueTopaz (Jan 5, 2012)

Here is a picture of the leak from this morning before taking it to the dealership to be repaired.


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## Mick (Dec 31, 2011)

I'm surprised I haven't come across more of your threads. Awesome seeing this car hit 100k. 
Keep us updated on the outcome and also your review after that many miles.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Looks like a real leak. I'm glad you're taking it in. Please keep us posted. I'd like to know how many hours this takes a dealership to repair in case any of us run into this issue a few years from now.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

+1; definitely check out the PCV system to make sure it's venting properly. Too much crankcase pressure and it starts coming out the seals. Unfortunate that the RMS would start leaking first, but check the cam seals for leaks as well. 


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

CruzeEcoBlueTopaz said:


> *updated with pic at the bottom of the page *
> 
> I took my cruze into the dealer for my last ( 15th ) " free " oil change and they told me I had an engine oil leak. I was scheduled to bring the car back in 2 days later to diagnosis and possibly fix the leak. After the car had been at the dealer for 3 hours I was told it was a " sloppy " oil change and the engine area and under panel had been cleaned. * keep in mind I declined the recall so any oil not in my engine is dangerous*
> 
> ...





CruzeEcoBlueTopaz,
I would like to apologize for the issues that you are experiencing with your Cruze. I would like you to keep me posted on the progress with your dealer. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me anytime. 
Thank you,
Stacy Chevrolet Customer Service


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## cruze01 (Mar 25, 2011)

I had a sloppy oil change once! Looked just like this one but it turned out to be the main seal on the transmission!


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Let us know. I have some crow ready to eat. All it needs is a toasted rear main seal as garnish.


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## UpstateNYBill (Jan 14, 2012)

Mick said:


> I'm surprised I haven't come across more of your threads. Awesome seeing this car hit 100k.
> Keep us updated on the outcome and also your review after that many miles.


He doesn't have time for threads... he's always driving!

To CruzeEcoBlueTopaz, did you ever get that higher mileage route you were talking about?


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## CruzeEcoBlueTopaz (Jan 5, 2012)

Allright just picked up the cruze from the dealer this afternoon and I have the offical results of the diagnosis and repair.

And I quote from the dealer invoice straight from the tech. " Oil leaking from rear of engine 0.00 warr 1.6L turbo ( oil pan reseal ) diag found oil leaking from rear of engine oil pan. installed leak trace dye and cleaned area road tested 5 miles rechecked found dye dripping from bell housing weap hole removed oil pan and resealed due to lack of sealer at rear of pan cleaned out bell housing and reinstalled oil pan road tested and 20 miles no more leaking oil at this time thanks."

Im glad to know the tech put effort into diagnosising the leak first instead of taking my uneducated word about a rear main seal leak. My trust and confidence still remains while under the care of my service agent and her experienced and professional techs. I expressed my graditude to them for taking care of me as quickly as possible and they assured me if I my cruze shows signs of a similar leak within the next 1 year or 12,000 miles they will guarantee their work and repair it. Needless to say I will be looking for this and other leaks I might encounter on a weekly if not daily basis until I feel comfortable that the repair was sucessfull.

So for now all is well, im a satisfied with the service I received and relieved to know I dodged a major open heart surgery repair.


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## CruzeEcoBlueTopaz (Jan 5, 2012)

UpstateNYBill said:


> He doesn't have time for threads... he's always driving!
> 
> To CruzeEcoBlueTopaz, did you ever get that higher mileage route you were talking about?


Still on my same 365 mile daily route for now. Im waiting for the day my miles will increase to 600 per day.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Awesome. Glad to hear it wasn't something too major. 100k miles and a gasket leak is all that came up? I can live with that.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

CruzeEcoBlueTopaz said:


> Still on my same 365 mile daily route for now. Im waiting for the day my miles will increase to 600 per day.


If you get that route you may want to have your service department swap out the fuel pump assembly to get you the extra three gallons.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

obermd said:


> If you get that route you may want to have your service department swap out the fuel pump assembly to get you the extra three gallons.


Indeed. That would save a decent amount of time.

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## CruzeEcoBlueTopaz (Jan 5, 2012)

Actually the day I take on this 600 mile daily route I will be investing in a brand new cruze diesel bookmark my words.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

CruzeEcoBlueTopaz said:


> Actually the day I take on this 600 mile daily route I will be investing in a brand new cruze diesel bookmark my words.


Haha, don't say that just yet. The Cruze Diesel will be great, but it will still be an automatic. I'll get excited when I see one offered with a manual transmission that has some long gearing.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Glad to hear it was a simple oil pan leak. 

The fact that it took 100k miles and thousands of operating hours to show up is good to hear.


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## CruzeTech (Mar 23, 2012)

Relieved to see it was only the oil pan too. I took mine in today and was very pleased with "most" of the repair. The tech actually put about 15 miles in my car locating what I had described in another thread. It ended up being a loose fender liner. I complained about the sticky steering and the way the wheel loses slack at times while holding the wheel to the right or left. They tightened some clamp. Sounded worthless to me. They did nothing about the slight hesitation under boost. And I had the tires rotated for $9.95. 


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## firehawk618 (Feb 24, 2013)

Keep a close eye on it for the next week or so. Still a chance it's the rear main leaking.

As stated a few times on here, before replacing ANY seals check the whole PCV system out first.

A faulty PCV system on any forced induction engine can cause oil to push past seals.

I wouldn't sit there and watch any shop measure out 4.xx quarts of oil. All that's really going to do is make them think *ugh REALLY*. Keep in mind, there's always a small margin of error with oil quantity. Think about how accurate a dipstick is and just how precise the "ok" area on the stick is. Don't worry if it's .5 quart over full.

As far as jumping on a Diesel when they're available. A Cruze diesel will be motivation for me to get rid of my TDI but only IF it is offered with a manual trans AND has a couple years on that engine to prove it's not full of issues.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

@CruzeTech, thank you for sharing the update with your vehicle. How are things going with it today?

Michelle, Chevrolet Customer Service assisting Stacy


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