Oil Leak
 

I have a 1997 Blazer S-10 4wd / 4 door. I have an oil leak in the front center around the remote oil filter area. There are 2 hoses from the oil filter to the engine block and 2 lines from the oil filter to the radiator area. I suspect that it is leaking at the upper/outer connections. The lower/inner connections to the filter adapter look clean. I had a remanufactured engine installed a little over 1 year ago and new hoses were provided then.

Is there other connections that may be the problem? Should I be looking at anything else?

RE: Oil Leak
 

The other source of an oil leak in that area is the transmission lines that connect to the radiator. If the oil appears redish it may be that. Good luck!

RE: Oil Leak
 

Well it could really be anywhere. You could have a cracked oil pan or your front diff or tansfer case could be leaking. Like my blazer the front diff is leaking before the cv joints...

RE: Oil Leak
 

the compression fittings on those lines are notorious for leaking i changed them twice in two yrs. they are relativly cheap and easy to install, wipe the wheel well by the oil filter and run the truck. if oil reappears here then ur compression fiitng on that hose is bad. samo goes for the one on the rad, wipe around the connection.. u can pick these up at rockauto.com or any place of your choice. just be prepared to use alot of extensions and to have to jack up your eng a few inches to clear the motor mounts for the end of the line that goes under the eng.

RE: Oil Leak
 

I wonder if they changed all the hoses a year ago or just the ones from the oil filter adapter to the block. If it's leaking from the lines that go from the oil filter adapter to the radiator, you should change those hoses. It's not that hard to do once you have the air filter housing out of the way. Just make sure that when you remove the clips and pull out the hose from the connectors that you also get the old "O" ring out.

RE: Oil Leak
 

also, there are still some remote oil filter lines being sold that are the old 2-crimp design, which were prone to leaks. GM came out with a better 3 crimp design a few years ago that supposedly helped to stop the leaks. check the fittings where the lines go into the oil filter mount, IIRC they are held in by a plate that is bolted to the oil filter mount, check the bolt to make sure its tight. One of the lines is more prone to leaking than the other but I can't remember which one it is.

RE: Oil Leak
 

Thanks all for the great feed back.

I took off the lower plastic oil filter guard. 6 bolts. I examined. Lots of oil on the guard and all around. I took the car to the local manual car wash, and used some friendly degreaser, underneath.

Hoses were cleaned, as were joints. Let the car run in the driveway for some time. Went under. Some small oil deposits surrounding a couple of the pressed , crap, fittings. I checked my records, and these are new oil lines with the built in crimp fittings. I wiped them clean, and let the car idle in the driveway for another 20 min or so. No real signs of leaks. Tricky bastards.

I will run the car into work tomorrow. 75 mph on the freeway. I will bet that oil is there when I arrive.

What is the oil pressure supposed to be on those lines, and those crap Krimp fittings at Idle, and what is that pressure during major loadind for freeway driving?

Any other suggestions, or observations welcome

Thanks friends.

RE: Oil Leak
 

Specification for oil pressure on the 4.3L

42 kPa (6 psig) minimum, at 1,000 RPM
125 kPa (18 psig) minimum, at 2,000 RPM
166 kPa (24 psig) minimum, at 4,000 RPM

RE: Oil Leak
 

This sounds like a leak that my 99 has developed. I just discovered it this morning, but didn't have alot of time to investigate. I noticed the oil seems to be leaking where the oil filter mounts, and drips down onto the access cover, then the splash shield. I did check the oil filter, and it seemed a little loose (probably not the source, but crossing my fingers). Are the connector that were mentioned part of the hose assembly? Anything else I should check under there? What's involved in changing the hoses? Any pics or diagrams out there? Can the hoses be bought at the parts store, or stealership only?
Thanks, Frank.

RE: Oil Leak
 

On my dash I am running 60 oil pressure when I am at 1 - 2k rpm. Is this bad?