00 sts oilpan leak

Hey folks, I got a 00 STS with bout 69000 on her. I was changing the oil the other day and noticed a lot of seepage around the oil pan seal. Is this a common prob.? Nothing is dripping on the driveway. Looks to have been there for a while. I have had the car for a year and never seen anything drop. Also, it doesnt look like too bad of a job, but is that transmision bracket gonna be a problem to take off? Its the only thing I can see in the way of dropping the pan.

Northstar oil pans are a PITA.
It does not clear the exhaust and the oil pick up goes way down into the pan.
It can be done without R&R of the tranny, but most guys find it easier to pull it out of the way.
As far as warranty goes, probably the worst paying job for a tech that comes in
If its not dripping on the ground i wouldn't worry about it.
But thats just me.

Hehe, thats kinda what I was thinking when looking at it. Lots of stuff jammed in right there, tranny, header, etc.. I wont worry Thanks
Drew

Mine's leaking too with 70k miles on it. It's about $1200 to fix since the tranny has to be pulled(probably just moved far enough to get to the bolts). I found where mine was leaking the most is right above the exhaust pipe. After looking further, the down-pipe heat shield is in actual contact with the oil pan. Not a good design, but a hammer will take care of that for the future.
Doug

if its the same design as my 99 sts, which i think it is....try to snug up oil pan....not tight, just a snug, or to....that worked with mine...... CHECK POST IN STS SECTION....KATZ QUICK QUESTION
rickyd

Yep, tried that...and it still leaked. Used gunk to clean the lower motor and pan and removed the engine to tranny brace. It was clean as a pin until I started it and could see the oil leaching out at the pan gasket. It wasn't dripping wet, but I could see several areas, especially near the exhaust pipe where it was leaking worse then the other places at the gasket.