Why my1994 chev 5.7lt is losing oil but no leaks or burning?

Chevrolet oil leaks are common, but not on my blazer with a trusted 4.3 Liter V-6 engine. I changed my oil this weekend, and to my surprise when I crawled under the engine was soaking wet. I thought to myself, this couldn’t be because my 2004 Chevrolet Blazer ZR2 only has 19,846 miles on her.

I performed the oil change and dried up the area and then gave her short run. When I crawled back under the oil pan was wet again. I was able to easily pinpoint the leak at the front timing cover.

The 2004 4.3 L V-6 has a composite timing cover. This is one of the reasons that Chevrolet oil leaks are common. But I was very surprised with the extremely low miles on my blazer that even this weak area was leaking oil.

But if you look at the picture above, you will see that this was no accident. Improper assembly at the plant caused this Chevrolet oil leak. You can clearly see that the industrial-strength RTV starts out with a nice thick bead and then it just completely disappears at the lower side of the timing cover.

Me being a auto mechanic that worked at Chevrolet dealers for 20 years have seen this before. What happened to me is that when they ran to bead of silicone the machine ran out of glue. And they assembled the engine anyway even though it was sure to leak oil.

Unfortunately for me my base warranty of three years 36,000 miles was up two full years ago. This leaves me to solve the Chevrolet oil leaks on my own. And this is one ugly job.

To solve the Blazer oil leaks, I will have to obviously remove the timing cover. To accomplish this, the engine accessory bracket must be removed from the engine. This means that the power steering pump, alternator and A/C compressor must also be removed.

Oh and don’t forget that the water pump must also come off as well. Since the water pump is five years old, it would sure make sense to replace this at the same time as resealing the timing cover.