when i pop the hood to look at my engine there is black residue all around the block of the engine and some on the tranmission. could it be a gasket?

 

Probably oil. Feel it with your fingers...

Yeah could be gaskets that a weeping... Look under the car, see any oil stains on the driveway?

not much you can do unless you start changing gaskets.

fs

 

i know my oil pan gasket is leaking and i am getting that changed. but do u think it could be that?

 

Was your engine clean before?

 

somewhat but not this bad.

 

It could be alot of things. I can't inspect your car, so i can't say. When the car is going at 100 clicks an hour, wind will push the leaking oil all over the place. That is maybe why you have some on your tranny...

A good way to find where your engine is leaking is to wash the engine then wait a week or so, then take a look again. That would be a good way to determine where the leaks are happening...

But, i don't know what mileage you have on the car, and how long you think of keeping it, but sometimes, it is not really necessary to fix it. Just leave it alone. Add oil every now and then...

Your engine is full of gaskets and seals. And some of them are a pain to replace.

fs

 

and there are no other visible leaks? Sometimes it's better if you clean the engine and keep an eye on it every so often after that to see if there are other leaks.