Hello, I recently changed the oil on my CAT350 excavator and noticed a small oil leak which appears to be coming from the oil pan gasket. I say that because the engine itself does not have oil on it, but there is oil on the pan and pan bolts. Now my questions are, 1) is it ok to leave that leaking for sometime or should it be fixed asap. 2) is the process to change the gasket as simple as drain oil, drop the pan, remove old gasket, install new gasket, attach pan, add oil? Thanks for any info, I'm still new to monkey wrenching.
Maybe the bolts are just loose??
Hi conky, i did one a few years and can remember there being anything to awkward to doing it, pretty much like you said in point 2! But like bolt thrower says it could just be lose bolts, if it is you will want to tighten them as soon as, they could fall right out and leave a bigger mess! Hope this helps, Aiden
not sure what engine you have in yours but I loc-tite all oil pan bolts in a 3176 or 3406. Every time I change a pan gasket on those engines its because of loose bolts.
3306 in the 350, also remove and clean the engine breather and hose on the top of the rocker cover, they will block up without regular (500hr) cleaning and will also cause leaks best bet though if you do have to reseal the sump pan is to drain the oil the day before and wear a rag around your head as you tend to get rained on from sump oil
Thanks for the replys, much appreciated. So I got under the engine yesterday morning, I did find about 10 or so pan bolts that were very slightly loose, as in 1/4 - 1/2 turn. I tightened up all the bolts around the pan and topped off the oil. I will check it later today when I get out to work. I'm sorry, I'm new to mechanics... by engine breather do you mean air filter? Also, I'm not sure which hose you are referring to. Maybe I will take a picture of my engine today and post it so I could get a little more clarity before I start taking hoses off. Thanks Again!
the breather is on the valve cover takes a 1/2 inch wrench to remove also has a hose hooked to it that runs down along side the engine
Ok I found the hose on top of the valve cover and took it off, there were no blockages but there was oil residue inside the hose. I didn't take the breather off as I didn't know thats what it was earlier today, but I stuck my finger in there and there was also a coating of oil in it. I guess I will take it off tomorrow, clean it and see what happens. Thanks.
good to give them a good clean out every 500/1000hrs with some kero/brake cleaner ect and a good air blow out to keep them clean otherwise they can block up which causeing crankcase pressure to build up causing leaks, theres lots of tricks to learn, with a whole life in the job you learn something new most days