Oil Pan gasket

Posted by: Anonymous

Oil Pan gasket - 10/10/05 04:16 PM

Anyone know how hard is it to replace an oil pan gasket for the X? It's got a minor leak but it is just annoying the hell out of me. If anyone has done it before, please give me some pointers...
Posted by: terrano

Re: Oil Pan gasket - 10/10/05 05:39 PM

I am curious where your oil pan gasket is leaking. Is it leaking near the rear of the engine? Xterras seem to have a problem with the rear main seal leaking, so I would suspect that rather than an oil pan gasket. :rolleyes:
Posted by: dezurtrat

Re: Oil Pan gasket - 10/10/05 05:54 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by terrano:
I am curious where your oil pan gasket is leaking. Is it leaking near the rear of the engine? Xterras seem to have a problem with the rear main seal leaking, so I would suspect that rather than an oil pan gasket. :rolleyes:
Yea, i just had my rear main replaced; thank God it was still under the powertrain warranty. I thought it was the gasket too. Some Xs did have a problem with air bubbles in the gasket sealant around the oil pan so don't rule it out.

I always noticed oil on the bottom of the trans bell housing when I would change the oil.
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: Oil Pan gasket - 10/10/05 08:39 PM

I hope you have your wrenches handy...
Remove front exhaust pipes, stabilizer bar, detach bell housing, remove front differential, support the engine with a hoist, unbolt the engine mounts, lift the engine to give clearance to remove the oil pan, unbolt the oil pan, scrape off the old gasket.
Then put it all back together. laugh
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: Oil Pan gasket - 12/10/05 05:20 PM

I checked underneath the engine and it was coming from the rear, between the bell housing and the oil pan. It all collects under the oil pan though (it's dry by the bell housing). The 60 month powertrain warranty just expired mad back in August. I'm gonna have to fork this repair out of my pocket. Any ideas on how much this will cost?
Posted by: Stonecoldchavez

Re: Oil Pan gasket - 12/10/05 05:41 PM

It is your Rear Main Seal. Gonna cost around 6 bills to fix.

I have had mine done twice now. Under the extended warranty though. frown mad

Stone
Posted by: Kaiser

Re: Oil Pan gasket - 13/10/05 07:17 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Xripdog01:
I checked underneath the engine and it was coming from the rear, between the bell housing and the oil pan. It all collects under the oil pan though (it's dry by the bell housing). The 60 month powertrain warranty just expired mad back in August. I'm gonna have to fork this repair out of my pocket. Any ideas on how much this will cost?
Two thoughts:
1) Maybe you can talk them into still doing the repair under warranty - obviously if it is leaking now then it was leaking 2 months ago while it was still covered - you just didn't notice it at the time. Ask around and find someone who has a service guy that they have had good experiences with (i.e. try not to just go to any crappy dealer and take whoever steps up first). The difference between smile and mad is ALL in the service advisor.

2) If it isn't leaking badly it really isn't that big a deal... just make sure your engine oil level doesn't get low.

Oh, and I agree with everyone else that it's 99% likely to be the main seal - it's not an Xterra if it doesn't have a cracked manifold and a leaking rear main seal.
Posted by: xterraintx

Re: Oil Pan gasket - 13/10/05 08:41 AM

I agree with the rear main seal evaluations. I have had mine done twice as the first time it was incorrectly done.

The Nissan mech explained about some aluminum housing on the seal that has to go into the oil pan. He said a lot of mechs either don't know about this or take shortcuts.

Since the second (correct) install all seems to be good < knocking on wood > and no leaks since.
Posted by: Kaiser

Re: Oil Pan gasket - 13/10/05 09:27 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by xterraintx:
I agree with the rear main seal evaluations. I have had mine done twice as the first time it was incorrectly done.

The Nissan mech explained about some aluminum housing on the seal that has to go into the oil pan. He said a lot of mechs either don't know about this or take shortcuts.

Since the second (correct) install all seems to be good < knocking on wood > and no leaks since.
ooh... maybe that explains why yours was leaking BADLY as opposed to the more normal slow drip.
Posted by: Anonymous

Re: Oil Pan gasket - 14/10/05 05:01 PM

I took the xterra to the dealership today to have them take a look at oil leak. They fixed the leak and told me that it was the oil pan gasket and not the rear main seal. I guess they were right cause it has stopped leaking. When I picked it up, I mentioned that the truck should still be under the warranty since the leak happened before the 60 month expiration date. At first, the service rep told me that the engine is not part of the powertrain warranty. I told him he was full of excrement (not actual word used). I asked for another service rep's opinion and he told me in a round about way, without hurting his co-worker's immage, that I was right. I showed him the warranty booklet afterwards just to make sure that they don't try and talk their way out of fixing it under the warranty. I drove off the lot without having to pay a dime laugh . They were also nice enough to fix the recall on the fuel sending unit, which I did not know about until today. Anyway, hope this problem is fixed. Thanks for all the advice fellas.....