Oilpan Gasket

[Cthulhu]

Hey guys.. need some advice..

My truck is droppin quite a bit of oil in my driveway... Its not visibly down on oil and we are about 1/2 way to the oilchange mileage wise.... Last time I was under the truck I recall thinking it looks like the oilpan gasket was leaking... does $1366 sound fair for doing a job like that? Thats at a local Ram dealer whom I'm trying to get a feel for their pricing...

Is there a chance that a non-mech type such as myself would mistake an oil leak like this for the oil pan gasket but is actually something else?

Thanks

 

[KGBIGCOUNTRY]

Im wondering if they are pulling the motor to do it or just going to pull it up enough to clear the pan.

 

[HolyRamBatman]

Damn that sounds expensive just for a pan gasket and some oil.
Do you have to lift or take out the engine just for a gasket change?
You could always wipe everything real good and check if form time to time to see where it's leaking.

 

[Cthulhu]

Sorry for not replying back sooner..

I believe they either have to lift the engine or drop the axle to do the job... the gasket is only like $90 of that.. the rest is labour.. I got a price from another Dodge dealer in town for $1172 @ Varcity Dodge.. I'm trying to figure out which way to go.. I've got another shop in town quoting me on a price, but Cummins isn't their speciality.. Not sure if I want a newb doing the job.

And.. found a cheaper price.. Courtesy Dodge, also in Calgary.. $1044... I like having multiple dealers nearby.. Competition is good.

 

[HolyRamBatman]

Is it confirmed gasket leak?

 

[Cthulhu]

I took this pic while I was under the truck.. I'm no mechanic but thats what it looks like to me... I've got the truck booked in for Thursday for the work.. anyone disagree that its the gasket?

I called a couple other dealers in town and got it in at Courtesy Dodge for $1044.. a little cheaper... sounds like a PITA job to do.

 

[Cthulhu]

Sorry for not replying back sooner..

I believe they either have to lift the engine or drop the axle to do the job... the gasket is only like $90 of that.. the rest is labour.. I got a price from another Dodge dealer in town for $1172 @ Varcity Dodge.. I'm trying to figure out which way to go.. I've got another shop in town quoting me on a price, but Cummins isn't their speciality.. Not sure if I want a newb doing the job.
XxzS. W
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And.. found a cheaper price.. Courtesy Dodge, also in Calgary.. $1044... I like having multiple dealers nearby.. Competition is good.

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[Redtruck-VA]

I would blast it with some brake cleaner and tighten the pan bolts a little, see if that changes anything. But basically see exactly what the problem is and get closer to my normal maintenance cycle before jumping in at $1000. But that's me...

 

[BigSloth]

It books 9.7hrs, so that would mean it either requires pulling the motor up or the axle down, most likely its axle down. Every mopar straight axle 4x4 books a lot of labor, because the axle has to be dropped to remove the pan. Most of the time, you can get away with just unbolting the shocks, swaybar, and upper control arms, and just let the axle sag. Still, its a hell of an undertaking. 1044 sounds like an excellent price considering avg dealer labor is 120-150/hr, at 9.7hrs, you can do the math.

 

[Trupiano]

I say get some friends together, buy some beer, and tackle it in a weekend. Screw paying someone else a ton of money to do what you could do.

 

[smiley]

How about brake cleaner and then some RTV along the seam may be a solution if leak is slow but I realize not OEM method


$miley

 

[Cthulhu]

Damned I am bad at updating my threads.. I had the leak fixed by Tower Chrysler in Calgary... They found another leak on the rear main, apparently its a $2500 job.. The oilpan gasket leak is definately stopped.. It cost me ~$1200... I know.. coulda done it myself.. but relying on my mechanical ability to make sure oil stays in the truck is a bad idea...

 

[truckin151]

Ouch!!!

 

[Redtruck-VA]

Damned I am bad at updating my threads.. I had the leak fixed by Tower Chrysler in Calgary... They found another leak on the rear main, apparently its a $2500 job.. The oilpan gasket leak is definately stopped.. It cost me ~$1200... I know.. coulda done it myself.. but relying on my mechanical ability to make sure oil stays in the truck is a bad idea...

Repair and routine maintenance costs certainly should be taken into account when buying a diesel.

 

[Cthulhu]

Would 180,000km ( an acceptable lifespan of these gaskets?

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[Redtruck-VA]

Would 180,000km ( an acceptable lifespan of these gaskets?

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That's just over a hundred thousand miles, in my opinion "NO". Gas engines are going further without leaks and I would think a diesel should be good for well over 300,000 miles. What does a routine oil/ filters change costs?

 

[Redtruck-VA]

I took this pic while I was under the truck.. I'm no mechanic but thats what it looks like to me... I've got the truck booked in for Thursday for the work.. anyone disagree that its the gasket?

I called a couple other dealers in town and got it in at Courtesy Dodge for $1044.. a little cheaper... sounds like a PITA job to do.

I tried to move the picture down to this post but failed. Look at the picture closely.

Brother I think you probably got screwed on that repair. If you have a rear seal leak it is very likely the oil migrated along the pan gasket area and what you saw was just residual oil from the rear seal leak. I would talk with the mechanic and get a clarification of the repair and want to see the old gasket.

 

[Cthulhu]

That thought had crossed my mind... I did ask if that is in fact where the bulk of the oil was coming from when I picked it up.. And they were confident that the oilpan gasket was the bulk of the leak, however the other gasket (rear main?) was another source of concern.

I'm confident its a combined issue... The amount of oil being dropped is down significantly from before. Prior to changing the Oilpan gasket I'd have a significant puddle below the truck every morning... now its a couple small drips from the backside of the engine.

 

[Redtruck-VA]

That's good to hear, I hope it works for you.