The shop that I took my car to said I have leaks and I need to replace the oil sending unit?? I tried looking up this part and I cannot find a oil sending unit?
Anyone have any experience with this? Any DIY videos?

My car sat up for about two months and now the repair shop not only said the oil sending unit is bad but that my valve cover gaskets are leaking as well as the oil pan and
the timing cover gasket. There was only a small drip / spot of oil in the garage, it's hard to believe it's leading all this oil.

Also there is some kind of hose going to the power stearing leaking that is somehow related to the rack and pinion? It sounded like they would have to take it apart to replace??

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

 

They probably mean the oil pressure sending unit. It's a cheap part ($12-15) and easy to install. It's right near the oil pan. Mine failed after I got the car this spring and I gave it its first oil change!
I wouldn't know about the other leaks - you should be able to see those pretty easily, especially the oil pan gasket. Check your oil level to see if it's lower than usual. Maybe try a different shop for a second opinion.
Others here likely have much more expertise.

 

The rack and pinion rack does have power steering hoses going to it...that is how it works...???

There is a power steering hose failure that is quite common, on the right side, under the air filter box. There is a hose connection that fails and begins to leak. Cheap fix is to cut the connector off, replace with a short length of hose and two hose clamps. Do a search and you will probably find pictures of this. Might also be on YouTube.

 

Thanks Lanny. I'll do a search on you tube.

 

GooseTX,

Sorry to hear about your oil leaks. FWIW Without knowing the history of your car, it's generally known for old cars to "leak" a bit of oil. So long as you make sure the oil level is fine, a minor leak can be generally acceptable. However if you have constant daily fresh oil drops on the garage floor you should take action. With the age of our cars, it may mean that the gaskets and seals have come to the end of their factory life and maybe should have already been replaced at least once.

FWIW I'm just about to DIY the valve cover gasket replacement again (after about 3 years from the last time) including the USD2 VVT solenoid seals.
As "Just Another Guy" said the oil pressure sending unit is a simple wrenching job, and the oil pan gasket replacement can be done as part of an annual oil service change.

The front timing cover gasket change is a whole different level of difficulty and along with a seeping front crank seal, it's one of those jobs that you can delay and learn to live with a minor leak. Fixing these types of leaks are Tough!

Now the power steering hose leak is another story - esp. if it's the known dodgy rubber/steel crimp pipe connections which are known to leak. Lots of write ups on this forum for a DIY fix with a "barbed connector". The power steering oil is a different colour to the engine oil, but the bad news is that you may need to clean the bottom of the engine bay to see what you're dealing with.

I know that's alot to think about but I would tackle the problems one at a time to see where you are. Just throwing the car at a garage and telling them to fix all the oil leaks will get expensive.

 

Thanks David, as always I appreciate your response. Is there a DIY video on the valve covers? What would you think about adding an oil additive that would help stop the leak?

 

GooseTx,

Here's an amateur DIY Youtube video link on the valve cover gasket replacements - not great production quality by the author RobertDIY but does shows what the job is about. His is a XJ Jag but the engine is still the same AJ-V8. There are separate videos for each bank. Not too difficult a job for home DIY with a half decent home spanner kit. I've already done it once.


As for adding oil additives to stop leaks, I'm not a fan despite what the manufacturers say. FWIW in my humble opinion, it's better to either go up in oil weight, within the permissible limits given in the driver's manual, but that's a bit "old school" thinking. It's better to just fix the leaky seals where you can. In your case, there's a few DIY things you can fix/replace during an annual oil service.