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Usual oil leak locations on the 5.3

23K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  jkust 
#1 ·
Hi all, my wife's Rainier started dripping oil last month at about 87,000 miles. There is a single drip each time you park it. It isn't quite bad enough to register on the dip stick yet. I am wondering what are the usual leak culprets on the 5.3. I got the oil changed today and they will charge $100 to remove the skid plate to diagnose the location of the leak with dye they add to the oil and you return a few hundred miles later. I didn't do the diagnosis yet.

Thanks
 
#3 ·
I don't think the 5.3 liter V8 has a cam position actuator/sensor like the 4.2 six cylinder engine has.

I just had a leaky pinion seal on my front differential replaced due to a leak. It cost me about $250 to get this replaced.

-- Dan Meyer :coffee
 
#4 ·
After getting the oil changed, it went from a drip to a small puddle underneath. Only drove home from the shop and backed it down the driveway one time. It's not the oil plug or the filter but looks like it's coming from the back of the engine so must just be coincidence not anything the shop did. You can't see any signs of leakage from the top of the engine anywhere when looking closely. Any thoughts as to what it could possibly be?
 
#7 ·
OK I am dropping the Rainier off at the shop on Monday. I'll give an update when I find out the problem. The shop I am going to is the same one that fixed the drive shaft seal when no one else would touch it (besides a dealer). They couldn't believe the shop that changed my oil suggested using a dye in the oil to trace the leak.
 
#8 ·
Ok so I got the problem fixed. I couldn't believe it but the shop, whom I trust compared to the light maintenance shop that believed it was something much worse, said it was only a pinion seal on the front end. I insisted that the leak was coming from near the back of the engine, running down to the skid plate and dripping. They cleaned the underside of all oil, ran it and there were no more drips. I don't see how the fluid leaking from a leaky pinion seal can travel to the skid plate and drip down. I haven't been home to look and verify the leak did actually stop by seeing if there is a drip on the garage floor but I will check it tonight. In any event, the pinion seal installed was only $124. Once again I skirted the big repair bill on the Rainier.
 
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