i have a 01 chevy tahoe with the 5.3 with 4wd. i have a really bad oil leak that iam not sure where it is coming from. it is leaking in the middle of truck right under the tranny and engine meet. i have to add about 1 qt every 2 or 3 days. the whole undercarriage from front to back is covered in oil. last time it was a bad oil pressure switch that was bad and leaked 1 qt every 2 days. when oil leak came back i checked and put another pressure switch on. but it still leaked.i think it is a rear main leak but not 100% sure.i heard it could be a oil pan gasket that is leaking. how can i find out for sure what it is. if it is a rear main seal leak i have a buddy that works at a transmission shop and will putt new one on for $350.00. but not sure what it is. if anybody can help. iam ready to get it fixed but i want it to be the right part i get put on.

 

Pop the little circle cover on the underside of the transmission (bell housing). Look inside with a flashlight. You'll see a big gear. When the oil pan leaks, the flywheel (big gear) pulls the oil in and you can see it on the edges of the flywheel and it will leak out of the peep hole at the bottom of the bell housing (if it was the main seal you would see oil at the center of the flywheel getting sprayed towards the edges).

Let us know what you see.

 

To resolve this issue with the ABS and Parking Brake lights coming on I pulled the ABS module of the frame under the drives side. Disconnect the two wire connections and 2 blots (no need to remove any brake lines). Undo the Torx screws and remove the top plate. There are some bad soldier joints the need to be heated up so they dried correctly (i believe there were 3 cold soldier joints that I found). I put everything back together and the lights have stayed off for 4 years now.

 

My fuel gage was going from full to empty, after a couple years of dealing with this my fuel pump finally went out. I replace the fuel pump and that resolved the issue. However I think it is a design issue. after 2 years with the new fuel pump, it started doing it again.

 

jcarter_texas Welcome to the forum, thanks for the helpful updates

 

 

THANKS to all who posted their input on this topic. After reading all replies, I'm going to replace intake manifold gasket, drive a few days after a thorough cleaning and decide if the leak is over. If not I'm gonna replace the valve cover gaskets and repeat. Also intending on Replacing PCV valve, and tighten some screws on the back of the block towards the firewall (guy on YouTube verified this fix so why not).

Will be back on with updates and solutions.