I have noticed off an on leaking the past few months in my car. I decided to have it checked out and the repair man told me I need my oil can gasket replaced. I don't doubt that, but he told me it was very labor intensive and was around $330. The part itself costs 47 dollars. I looked online and most people said it's not too tough. Does anyone know exactly what price is appropriate or does it really cost that much?!? Thanks in advance.
Car advice
- Thread starter mj4cy
- Start date
That's not out of line. Anything between $200 - $400 to replace an oil pan gasket would not surprise me. That said, I would slide underneath you car to see if you can do it yourself without much trouble.
What kind of car is it? Do you have a jack? If you have some decent mechanical skills you should be able to do it, just make sure your drain your oil first!!!!
Also, if it's a very slow leak, it's not the end of the world. Sometimes you can get away with tightening things up a bit to get by if you don't want to spend the money right now. It's not as if you're going to lose quart overnight.
If he doesn't, at least make sure to have someone around to take a picture of it :wink:
Getting a jack is no problem. My mech. skills are however. I'll check with my buddies who are good with cars and see what they think.
How do you keep the ladies from piling in that thing? :biglaugh:
Just kidding, I drive a 94 LHS since I can't afford the gas in my Dodge truck.
In all honesty, if you have some friends who have any mechanical skills you should be able to do it. Paying 330 bucks seem way high to me.
If the oil pan bolts are easy to get to, check their tightness around where it is leaking. Also, if it is a small leak (few drips here and there?), maybe put some silicone on the area as a short-time fix. You probably would be throwing wrenches and dropping f-bomb after f-bomb if you tried to change the gasket without a hoist.
Some oil pans can be a TOTAL ***** to get off.
For instance, to change the one in my van, you have to either remove the transmission, or at a very minimum, unbolt the engine mounts and jack the whole engine up out of the frame (gently) and then you have maybe 1/8" of clearance.
330 bucks for someone to do that would be WELL worth it. If the pan is just kinda there, you can do it pretty easily.
PM me and I can get you step-by-step instructions.
For instance, to change the one in my van, you have to either remove the transmission, or at a very minimum, unbolt the engine mounts and jack the whole engine up out of the frame (gently) and then you have maybe 1/8" of clearance.
330 bucks for someone to do that would be WELL worth it. If the pan is just kinda there, you can do it pretty easily.
PM me and I can get you step-by-step instructions.
It says it's around a 2.5 hour job for a shop to do. Figure shop labor rates of around 90-100/hour, and that sounds pretty reasonable.
Just looking at the repair, it's relatively simple with the right tools. Everything is pretty straight-forward, but there is some tinkering with exhaust parts that needs to be done to get access to the oil pan, and those nuts and bolts are always a major PITA to get on and off. With an impact wrench (and enough room) and a die grinder to just cut off what you can't get loose, it wouldn't be too hard to do. Aside from that, I would say you could probably do it with mostly hand tools and a torque wrench.
Remember that all quotes are from a book, even if it takes only 15 minutes to change they can/ and will charge what the book states it should take to change
you are correct-
I personally do it myself and If I can't ask on here for ideas adn suggestions and go from there. My last resort with a gun against my head is take it in
How much of a leak are you talking?
If you have a buddy with a torque wrench, figure what the torgue specs are for the oil pan gasket and go around making sure each bolt is at that spec or slightly tighter. That would take you all of 20 minutes to see if you have any loose bolts.
Also, if it isn't leaking very much, go to NAPA store and get a 12 oz bottle of NAPA Oil Stop Leak the next time you change your oil. I used it in a truck I had a couple years ago and it worked great. What it does revitalizes the seals and gaskets making them swell and seal back up again. If I remember correctly you use it every 2nd oil change and when you pour it in you let the engine idle for 25-30 minutes and it will seal the leak. It won't work if a chunk of gasket is gone, but if you say it don't leak much, I would highly suggest this before you pay that kind of money to change it out. I'm sure the other parts store have an equivalent product as well but I did use the Napa product and it worked good for me.
I was going to change the oil pan gasket in my S10 until I realized that you had to basically either drop the front axle about 4" to get to the oil pan and the shop wanted $350-400 too. That's when I tried to product above and it worked great. Look under the car and see what kind of room you have or if you have to jack up the engine or drop the front end to get to it.
If you have a buddy with a torque wrench, figure what the torgue specs are for the oil pan gasket and go around making sure each bolt is at that spec or slightly tighter. That would take you all of 20 minutes to see if you have any loose bolts.
Also, if it isn't leaking very much, go to NAPA store and get a 12 oz bottle of NAPA Oil Stop Leak the next time you change your oil. I used it in a truck I had a couple years ago and it worked great. What it does revitalizes the seals and gaskets making them swell and seal back up again. If I remember correctly you use it every 2nd oil change and when you pour it in you let the engine idle for 25-30 minutes and it will seal the leak. It won't work if a chunk of gasket is gone, but if you say it don't leak much, I would highly suggest this before you pay that kind of money to change it out. I'm sure the other parts store have an equivalent product as well but I did use the Napa product and it worked good for me.
I was going to change the oil pan gasket in my S10 until I realized that you had to basically either drop the front axle about 4" to get to the oil pan and the shop wanted $350-400 too. That's when I tried to product above and it worked great. Look under the car and see what kind of room you have or if you have to jack up the engine or drop the front end to get to it.
Adding any additive to your oil is a bad idea. Additives in your
gas = okay, but additives in your oil = :arghh:. Don't even get me started on trying to seal the leak with silicone. The price you've been quoted doesn't seem too bad, but if you've got a buddy that can do it, good for you. Remember a bad job could equal a fried engine.
gas = okay, but additives in your oil = :arghh:. Don't even get me started on trying to seal the leak with silicone. The price you've been quoted doesn't seem too bad, but if you've got a buddy that can do it, good for you. Remember a bad job could equal a fried engine.
