Oil leak

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

scrap--metal

Full Access Member
Joined
Sep 15, 2021
Posts
678
Reaction score
1,266
Location
MN
First Name
Calvin
Truck Year
'85, '81
Truck Model
K10, K20
Engine Size
305, 350
I am not too knowledgable on cars yet.
If that's the case, don't get overwhelmed by all the suggestions. You will not be able to learn everything overnight.

Most importantly, CHECK FLUIDS REGULARLY. Like once a week or every time you fill it with motion potion. Even if your truck marks it's territory with every fluid possible, it will continue to run and drive as long as it doesn't run out of those fluids.

The weeks worth of oil dripping is a bit excessive, but it isn't enough to hurt your truck while you're gradually fixing things.
 

Newcman1

Junior Member
Joined
May 29, 2022
Posts
10
Reaction score
8
Location
Tulsa
First Name
Bill
Truck Year
1985
Truck Model
Chevy K10
Engine Size
350
Craftsman tools have a lifetime warranty so if you've got a cracked socket or ratchet that doesn't work you can take it to Ace Hardware or anyplace that sells Craftsman and they'll exchange it.
 

Grit dog

Full Access Member
Joined
May 18, 2020
Posts
5,883
Reaction score
9,624
Location
Washington
First Name
Todd
Truck Year
1986
Truck Model
K20
Engine Size
454
Welcome and a great vehicle to learn some things on!
Yes that’s a lot of oil.
First things first. Now it’s cold out but if you can hook a hose to a water heater it will help.
Take the air cleaner off, bag up the carb real good and soak everything in degreaser a couple times and get it all cleaned up before you go much further.
And any areas you can scrape the old buildup off or mostly off before degreasing will help as well.
Trust me on this. It will be easier to diagnose and easier to repair if everything you touch doesn’t have 30 years of goo built up on it.
Bonus if you have or can borrow a pressure washer.
Even better if you can do something to raise the truck up so it’s easier to access underneath for cleaning.

May only be one or 2 major leaks. But it will be much easier to tell once it’s cleaned up good.
 

kenneth1669

Full Access Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2022
Posts
51
Reaction score
15
Location
oregon
First Name
Kenneth
Truck Year
1977
Truck Model
K10
Engine Size
400
Craftsman tools have a lifetime warranty so if you've got a cracked socket or ratchet that doesn't work you can take it to Ace Hardware or anyplace that sells Craftsman and they'll exchange it.
That’s good to know. My grandma gave me a wrench and it barely works so I might be able to get a new one if those
 

kenneth1669

Full Access Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2022
Posts
51
Reaction score
15
Location
oregon
First Name
Kenneth
Truck Year
1977
Truck Model
K10
Engine Size
400
Welcome and a great vehicle to learn some things on!
Yes that’s a lot of oil.
First things first. Now it’s cold out but if you can hook a hose to a water heater it will help.
Take the air cleaner off, bag up the carb real good and soak everything in degreaser a couple times and get it all cleaned up before you go much further.
And any areas you can scrape the old buildup off or mostly off before degreasing will help as well.
Trust me on this. It will be easier to diagnose and easier to repair if everything you touch doesn’t have 30 years of goo built up on it.
Bonus if you have or can borrow a pressure washer.
Even better if you can do something to raise the truck up so it’s easier to access underneath for cleaning.

May only be one or 2 major leaks. But it will be much easier to tell once it’s cleaned up good.
Ya I got a pressure washer. I’ll try that thsnks
 

AuroraGirl

Full Access Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2019
Posts
9,127
Reaction score
6,040
Location
Northern Wisconsin
First Name
Taylor
Truck Year
1978, 1980
Truck Model
K10, K25
Engine Size
400(?), 350
Craftsman tools have a lifetime warranty so if you've got a cracked socket or ratchet that doesn't work you can take it to Ace Hardware or anyplace that sells Craftsman and they'll exchange it.
how does this apply to the older variants, do they hand you a equivalent? I think I have a broken 3/8 ratchet, but its the old nice kind. so it would be a downgrade, but a broken ratchet is not doing very much either.
 

AuroraGirl

Full Access Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2019
Posts
9,127
Reaction score
6,040
Location
Northern Wisconsin
First Name
Taylor
Truck Year
1978, 1980
Truck Model
K10, K25
Engine Size
400(?), 350
Welcome and a great vehicle to learn some things on!
Yes that’s a lot of oil.
First things first. Now it’s cold out but if you can hook a hose to a water heater it will help.
Take the air cleaner off, bag up the carb real good and soak everything in degreaser a couple times and get it all cleaned up before you go much further.
And any areas you can scrape the old buildup off or mostly off before degreasing will help as well.
Trust me on this. It will be easier to diagnose and easier to repair if everything you touch doesn’t have 30 years of goo built up on it.
Bonus if you have or can borrow a pressure washer.
Even better if you can do something to raise the truck up so it’s easier to access underneath for cleaning.

May only be one or 2 major leaks. But it will be much easier to tell once it’s cleaned up good.
He could also run his engine enough to have it warmed so that if it were cold enough to ice , it would have enoguh time to drain off and aid in drying . hopefully its not freezing there. or if they had a garage with a drain in it. could also use a car wash station as long as its careful so he doesnt become stuck there from spraying something accidently
 

AuroraGirl

Full Access Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2019
Posts
9,127
Reaction score
6,040
Location
Northern Wisconsin
First Name
Taylor
Truck Year
1978, 1980
Truck Model
K10, K25
Engine Size
400(?), 350
If that's the case, don't get overwhelmed by all the suggestions. You will not be able to learn everything overnight.

Most importantly, CHECK FLUIDS REGULARLY. Like once a week or every time you fill it with motion potion. Even if your truck marks it's territory with every fluid possible, it will continue to run and drive as long as it doesn't run out of those fluids.

The weeks worth of oil dripping is a bit excessive, but it isn't enough to hurt your truck while you're gradually fixing things.
in the same vain as this, since its a recent got-running.



I would suggest the OP take some of the oil thats on the dipstick and rub some between your fingers , note how it feels. with a little fresh oil, do the same on the other hand.

Also smell it. Does it have a strangely feeling difference on the oil in the engine and does it smell like gasoline?

The reason for this is to make sure the engine isnt pushing gas into the oil in significant amounts. This will make oil leaks worse since the gas attacks seals and thins the oil.
 

PawLou

Junior Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2021
Posts
3
Reaction score
2
Location
Thibodaux,La.
First Name
Lou
Truck Year
1979
Truck Model
Chevy K5 Blazer
Engine Size
5.7
Craftsman tools have a lifetime warranty so if you've got a cracked socket or ratchet that doesn't work you can take it to Ace Hardware or anyplace that sells Craftsman and they'll exchange it.
Good luck on getting a craftsman tool replaced, I’ve been trying for two months with no success.‍♂️♂️♂️
 

1975 fleet

Junior Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2020
Posts
5
Reaction score
1
Location
Santa Rosa, CA
First Name
Jon
Truck Year
1975
Truck Model
C10 SWB
Engine Size
396
So I have been working on a 77 K10 with my grandma for a while and we got it running and stuff a little bit ago. I have started to notice that this truck likes to leak out of almost everywhere. About a month ago I replaced the pinion seal because I found out my dif was almost out of fluid from a leak and now I am starting to notice a lot of oil leaking from what I think is my valve covers and what I think is the front seal thingy. I don’t know if thats a thing but it looks like oil is coming out of the front of my engine from the belt side. My grandma says it’s normal for old trucks like this to leak a lot but I am starting to worry about the amount of leakage. Thank you for anyone that could give me insight.

The first photo is of about a weeks worth of oil leakage. The second photo is the bottom of the oil pan and the third is right under the pulley thingy I think is what it’s called lol.

Thank you for any advice given and feel free to ask for more photos

It’s common for valve gaskets to leak. They are easy to replace. The puddle of oil is excessive. Could be front main, timing cover, oil pan and/or rear main.

Use some engine degreaser and wipe it all down as best as possible. That should help you to pinpoint the leak a bit better. Don’t shoot brake cleaner at anything rubber that looks like a seal. Ask me how I know…
Look at the front of the block. There's 4 bolt bosses where front motor mounts were used. Make sure that there's a bolt in the top passenger side. I can't tell you how many times people have brought their fresh motors in wanting their front seal replaced, and it was only a missing bolt.
 

Frankenchevy

Proverbs 16:18
Joined
Jan 3, 2018
Posts
5,905
Reaction score
7,252
Location
USA
First Name
Jeremy
Truck Year
Square
Truck Model
CUCV
Engine Size
Small
Look at the front of the block. There's 4 bolt bosses where front motor mounts were used. Make sure that there's a bolt in the top passenger side. I can't tell you how many times people have brought their fresh motors in wanting their front seal replaced, and it was only a missing bolt.
Could be, but it sounds like the OPs engine is anything but fresh.
 

newguy11

Full Access Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2021
Posts
76
Reaction score
129
Location
New England
First Name
Private
Truck Year
1972-1987
Truck Model
C/k 10
Engine Size
305/350
Look at the front of the block. There's 4 bolt bosses where front motor mounts were used. Make sure that there's a bolt in the top passenger side. I can't tell you how many times people have brought their fresh motors in wanting their front seal replaced, and it was only a missing bolt.
This blew my mind so of course I googled it. The below thread goes a little deeper into the leaky motor mount discussion

 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
41,859
Posts
903,668
Members
33,372
Latest member
83elcowes
Top