OIL CHANGE

A typical oil change should be done regularly and is affordable. The exact cost of a change depends on what kind of oil you prefer and the weight your vehicle needs, how much oil it needs, and how long it takes for the oil to drain from the system. Your oil needs to be changed every 5k-7k miles, and it’s better to err on the side of changing it more often than less. During an oil change, your mechanic will also replace the engine oil filter, and will usually inspect for signs that your engine has been leaking oil, or for signs of any other fluid leaks in your vehicle. If they find anything, they’ll let you know so you can decide if you want to move forward with any additional repairs.

OIL LEAKS

Oil leaks are common on older cars, cars that haven’t been maintained well, and even vehicles that have been in car accidents, even minor ones. These leaks happen because there’s a gap somewhere and can quickly become expensive in added oil costs and reduced fuel efficiency in your engine. Worse, if you have an oil leak and lose too much oil without knowing it, your engine is at a much greater risk of overheating and cracking. In most cases, your mechanic should be able to repair a leak and get your car back to working like normal – but the cost of that repair varies widely. Depending on where the leak is, how severe it is, and how complicated it is to access and fix, you could be looking at a couple of hundred-dollar repairs or a thousand-dollar repair. No matter how expensive though, an oil leak repair will be cheaper than rebuilding or replacing your engine.

OIL PAN LEAK

Your oil pan is one of the more common places for a leak to occur but usually means that the oil pan itself needs to be replaced. An oil pan leak is often either the result of a fault gasket, impact damage, or the threads on the oil drain plug starting to wear out and no longer forming a good seal. In some cases, you can replace the gasket instead of the oil pan, but that’s only for specific kinds of leaks. This is usually a several hundred dollar repairs, with most of the cost going to labor.
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REAR MAIN LEAK

The rear main seal is one of the places that you can almost expect to develop a leak on high mileage vehicles. It’s not truly inevitable, but it’s one of the more common high mileage problems that mechanics see. Fortunately, the issue is fixable. A puddle of oil under your vehicle is a good sign that you either have a rear main leak or an oil pan leak. Oil saturation on the bottom of your engine is another sign that your rear main seal is failing. This seal fails over time essentially because of shrinkage. Heat from the engine dries out the seal, causing it to shrink or crack over time. There are rear main sealants that can help deal with the problem, but they’re often only a temporary or partial fix. Your mechanic will likely recommend replacing the seal instead, which is a more effective and longer-lasting fix. However, since the transmission also needs to be removed to access the seal, it can be labor-intensive, which means that costs vary and this can be a relatively expensive kind of oil leak to fix. If your engine is using oil or you suspect that you might have an oil leak, get the problem checked out sooner rather than later. The sooner we fix a problem the less likely it is to turn into an expensive mess. Call Precision Auto Care for your oil change or leak repair appointment, today.
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