Your car has many components, which include the engine block and cylinders as well as the spark plugs so on and so forth. The oil pan is mounted on the block, which is beneath the crankcase and attached to the engine.
The oil pan serves as a storage container for the lubricating oil that circulates within the engine to cool down and lubricate the parts that are in motion. It also makes sure that the oil does not leak during transfer between the engine and “flowing” within the pan.
No vehicle is completely immune to oil leaks due to the continuous flowing of oil. The majority of the leaks come from worn out oil pan gaskets or directly from the oil pan.
Here’s what you need to know about the oil pan gasket in your car.
What is a Gasket?
Gaskets are often used as seals or cushioning material between two joined surfaces that need to be bolted together.
So what is an oil gasket? As per the description provided above, the oil pan gasket is an oil gasket that serves to prevent leaks of oil from the oil pan and ensures that oil does not enter parts of the device where oil is not required.
The kind of gasket used in a car depends on the construction material of the oil pan. For instance, a pressed steel pan employs a configured rubber gasket, whereas aluminum pans employ some kind of liquid silicone gasket.
This oil is contained in an oil pan, which is attached to the block of the engine. The oil pan gasket is what is positioned between the oil pan and the block of the engine. When the engine is at work, the oil is pumped through oil ports to lubricate moving parts in the engine.
The seal created by the gasket can absorb expansion and contraction produced by the heat of the engine. The cushion provided by the gasket aids in preventing damage that would result from the vibrations caused by the engine.
Types of Gaskets
Your car contains a few important gaskets, like the head gasket and valve gasket. Also, gaskets are needed for oil pan caps just like the oil pan gaskets. A valve cover allows for the ingress and egress of a valve at the cylinder head and its gasket is made from a material that flexes to the edges of the valve cover.
The head gasket and valve gaskets are each designed to stop engine oil from leaking as it passes through valves, camshaft, and other parts.
The head gasket is perhaps the one you are more familiar with and like all gaskets it serves many functions when a layer is attached to the outer edge of the cylinder head as well as the borders of multiple cylinders with the oil and coolant supply regions.
However, wherever they may be stationed, all gaskets are manufactured from robust components such as steel, stainless steel, and rubber coated aluminized seal. While all gaskets serve the purpose of preventing leaks while stationed in areas of extreme pressure, heat, or both, they must withstand these conditions.
What Causes Oil Pan Gaskets To Leak?
Impact Damage
While rough roads can increase the chances of an oil pan leak, it is important to remember that oil pans and gaskets are located underneath the engine, making them vulnerable to road debris damaging them.
If the oil pan is made of cast aluminum instead of stamped steel, it is more susceptible to damage. Typically, damage takes the form of a hole in the pan or cracking on the sides.
Incorrect Installations
Many human errors can cause an oil pan gasket to leak.
Possibly, one of the gaskets that keep oil sealed is out of place.
This often occurs when the oil pan or valve cover gaskets are over-tightened or when the bolts are tightened unevenly.
There is also the possibility of a loose oil filter since engine oil flows through it continuously and can cause leaking if not properly attached.
Bad Rings or Valve Seals
Your car could potentially be losing oil due to damaged piston rings or valve seals. Fortunately, if your gaskets are intact, the oil may not leak outside of the engine, but it will be burned up during combustion, which makes leakage detection difficult.
Although you might not detect the leakage, the burning smell will be evident within the cabin of the vehicle. Other things that may visually suggest an underlying issue include blue smoke and massive damage to the engine. You should get the vehicle looked for any issues at a workshop immediately.
Oil Pan Gasket Leak Symptoms
In the case of leakage from the oil drain plug gasket, several oil drain plug gasket leakage symptoms will be noticeable, especially in instances of high leakage volume. It is these indicators that need to be detected first and foremost for accurate leak identification of this nature.
The oil drain plug gasket leak symptoms are not exclusive but are some of the more common symptoms you may experience.
#1. Unexplained Oil Loss.
If your car’s oil is lower than what is expected, there is a possibility that the oil pan gasket is leaking. Such a leak, which is considered to be more severe than most, is bound to leak a large volume of oil, which will get recorded in the engine’s dipstick.
A low reading of a dipstick doesn’t necessarily indicate that there is an oil leak which needs to be dealt at, but it makes it possible for one to think about such an underlying issue. Hence, it makes sense to take a look at your vehicle’s oil pan gasket.
#2. Oil Stain In Driveway.
An additional sign of a possible leaking oil pan is the appearing of oil stains on the driveway. In case your vehicle remains parked for extended periods of time, there is a likelihood of motor oils leaking from your vehicle’s engine and coating the surface below it.
However, in many cases, such a leak can be detected by looking at the size of the stains left over. Leaks tend to worsen with increases in the sizes of the stains.
More often than not, a spot of oil found on your driveway does not provide an accurate explanation for the source of a vehicle’s oil leak, similar to the oil loss noted above. Such situations bring into question the condition of the gaskets in your engine, including the oil pan gasket.
#3. Burning Oil Smell.
A leaking oil pan gasket is frequently accompanied with the odor of burning oil. Unlike the smell presented by an engine which is consuming oil and burning oil, a damaged oil pan gasket gives off the overpowering scent of fresh oil that has been heated to engine operating temperature. This oil smell is strong, almost rancid.
But as the oil pan gasket leak becomes more severe, this smell usually intensifies.
The “burnt” oil aroma can be attributed to motor oil squeezing out of the oil pan through a bad gasket. The gaseous oil boiling above the engine outside becomes scorchingly hot, amplifying the rancid odor in the vicinity. That smell is omnipresent and easy to notice by anyone around.
#4. Oil Coating a Vehicle’s Undercarriage.
An engine with a leaking oil pan gasket can spread oil across the undercarriage of the vehicle. This happens due to blowback action and the vehicle motion interface.
The airflow from underneath the vehicle propels oil that has leaked from the faulty oil pan gasket. An air circulation pattern drives this oil vented from the oil pan to the rear and causes the oil to spread further as the leak worsens.
Even oil covering the undercarriage can contribute to the smell mentioned previously. The oil covering the running exhaust pipes is vaporized and gives off a clear odor that is relatively easy to notice. The temperature of the exhaust gases is very high, hence the odor is very apparent too.
#5. Low Oil Light.
The simplest and most modern vehicles today have a notification light for unsufficient oil level illuminated in the dashboard when the vehicle is loosig oil unnecessarily. While in many situations, this light works only in case the engine oil level is almost empty.
Hence, for best results, one should bring the vehicle to a stop and switch the engine off immediately after noticing this warning signal illuminating. This may help to minimize the damage inflicted on your engine.
While this is more an exception than a rule, at times, a defective oil pan gasket may leak oil, which, when combined with other oils, may result in significant loss of oil. This not only affects the oil level, as described in the above paragraphs, but causes the low oil light on the oil dashboard indicator to flicker continuously.
#6. Engine Smoke.
Burning oil is an exothermic process and is bound to produce smoke as a byproduct. For most engines, oil burns when the temperature is above a certain point, and, in a running vehicle, your engine can produce sufficient heat to burn oil.
As such, defective oil pan gaskets will overheat oil, producing noticeable amounts of smoke. Not only that, but the smoke is also highly suggestive of an oil leak of considerable magnitude.
In addition, when oil from an oil pan gasket leak sits on top of the exhaust of a vehicle’s engine, this increases the amount of smoke produced from the leak. The exhaust of a vehicle is considerably hotter than most parts of an engine which makes the heating process faster.
How to identify an engine oil leak?
An oil pan’s primary role is to capture and drain excess oil from an engine. It is positioned under the engine and is normally covered in a seal, typically rubber, to prevent any spillage. The oil pan is built with heavy steel.
To properly diagnose an oil leak on your vehicle, you must first assume it could stem from two of the following issues:
- Defective gaskets in the engine oil pan, valve cover, crankcase, or cylinder head;
- Defective oil drain plugs, block plugs, or valve cover plugs.
Also, just like oil filters, oil pan gaskets can become worn over time. If this continues unaddressed, it could pose a dangerous and reckless situation to both the vehicle and driver.
So, how can you identify an oil leak?
Start by running the vehicle for a few minutes after which you will have to visually examine the ground for any oil leaks. A better way to check for possible leakage is placing an old piece of cardboard under the car. This will enable you to check visually and if so, take the necessary steps needed.
In instances where an oil leak is present but not immediately visible from the oil pan gasket, there are crucial symptoms to pay attention to.
One clue to look for is an unusually low oil level. A glance at the dipstick should highlight discrepancies. If you also notice a drastic reduction of oil level within a short span of time, then it is likely that the oil pan gasket is malfunctioning. In these scenarios, in order to stop the fluid leak, replacing the gasket is imperative.
An additional oil leak consequence that stems from a cracked gasket is severe overheating of the engine, which inevitably leads to it being damaged.
Having sufficient amounts of oil in the engine is crucial because not only does it lubricate each separate part, having oil paired with coolant helps with preventing the engine from overheating.
Here’s what to do if your oil pan gasket is leaking:
In the section If you have leaked from a pan gasket that is above, find the following description that will help you resolve the issue.
To eliminate the leaking oil pan gasket, you must first make sure to follow these two steps:
- Pull over the vehicle.
- Leverage the ignition off and do not turn it on again.
If you see a leak while driving, make certain to safely pull to the side and cut the engine. If you are already parked and notice a leak, do not start the engine.
It is vital to keep in mind that driving a car with an oil leak is a danger not just to the driver in the leaking vehicle, but also to other road travelers.
If another car drives through the oil slick deposit from your car, they easily run the risk of losing control of the vehicle and causing a crash. For this reason, it is necessary to wash the oil stains from the highway as soon as possible.
Leaving an oil leaking vehicle parked may also cause additional harm in some mechanical parts of the engine. Oil serves to maintain exemplary lubrication on all parts in order to avoid abrasions and damages. Operating without sufficient oil supplies leads to inadequate shielding of the vehicle.
Is It Safe To Drive With An Oil Pan Gasket Leak?
While driving with an oil pan gasket leak is feasible, it is not something that one can consider entirely safe. Once one becomes aware of a leak, frequent oil level checks should be prioritized to prevent worse complications.
Any major loss of oil must be handled by topping up the required quantity of oil into the engine. If there is a leaking oil pan gasket, then it should be replaced either by yourself or by some reliable auto center at the earliest given opportunity.
Failure to do so will result in harsher consequences in terms of damaging engine components, emitting smoke, or worst case scenario a raging fire.
Oil Pan Gasket Leak Repair Costs
Estimates for an Oil Pan Gasket Replacement nationwide average between $430 and $515. Part costs are $119 to $122, while labor is estimated to range from $311 to $393. These estimates could change depending on the area and the specific vehicle.
Moreover, these quotes do not cover any additional fees or taxes, and do not consider any additional oil pan gasket defects that may need repair.
Oil gaskets should indeed be repaired, though it should not take long to do so. A failing oil pan gasket can damage your driveway and exhaust, while also harming your engine and increasing the amount you will have to spend on oil changes.