# 2001 Saturn LS oil leak

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-saturn-ls-oil-leak/116637>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** ls, saturn\
**Created:** [May 2, 2018, 7:55am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-saturn-ls-oil-leak/116637 "2018-05-02T07:55:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![TonyaDavenport](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@TonyaDavenport](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TonyaDavenport)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2018, 7:55am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-saturn-ls-oil-leak/116637/1 "2018-05-02T07:55:09Z")

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Can you fix oil leak in your car without replacing the engine

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**Author:** ![COROLLAGUY1](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/corollaguy1/32/7575_2.png) [@COROLLAGUY1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/COROLLAGUY1)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2018, 12:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-saturn-ls-oil-leak/116637/2 "2018-05-02T12:14:40Z")

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Why would you replace an engine to fix an oil leak? Did you mean remove an engine? Where is the oil leak located?

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**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2018, 12:32pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2001-saturn-ls-oil-leak/116637/3 "2018-05-02T12:32:49Z")

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An oil leak is almost surely an indication of leaking gaskets, and while the cost of replacing some gaskets can be pricey, it is definitely _a lot_ cheaper than replacing an engine.

However, then there is the question of how much one should spend to repair a 17 year old car.

> How many miles does it have on the odometer?  
> Has it been maintained **at least as well** as GM specifies in their maintenance schedule?

> Does it have an automatic transmission, and if so–has that transmission been serviced at least 4 times over the years? If the trans has not been serviced every 3-4 years, then it is at or near the end of its life span, and it would be foolish to spend money on repairing an oil leak that would be followed by the need to overhaul the transmission.