[thstone]

The oil leak could have been more of a seepage than a leak and may take more than just 40 miles or one day to return. If this is the case, you'll see it again in the next week or two.

The Stop Leak substance could have helped. I'm not familiar with this product but since its callled "stop leak" I have to consider that it may have actually worked.

However, the bottom line is that you still don't know what may have been leaking or whether its a critical component.

I'd say that you're in the exact same position you were since you bought the car since nothing on the car has changed. The only difference is that now you know you have an oil leak and now you know more about IMS/RMS issues.

You have a few options and they are all equally valid, it really depends on your personal situation, preferences, finances, tolerance for risk, etc:

1a. Do nothing and drive it. If the engine continues to run fine and not leak much, then you're in good shape. You didn't mention the miles on the car but some will argue that if your car has gone more than 75K miles then its likely to go much further. But no one can really say that with any certainty.

1b. Do nothing and drive it. If the engine does fail, then you'll need to consider replacement options. Plan on $6K minimum to replace the engine. More if you want to do some upgrades to try to avoid this from possibly happening again.

To avoid the doom and gloom arguments, no one can say what will happen if you do nothing and drive it. the best that can be said is that its a roll of the dice. Many people are comfortable with that situation and many are not.

2. Stop driving it and have the transmission removed to find out the cause of the oil leak and fix whatever needs fixing. Plan on $1,500-$3,000 depending on what needs replacement.