vixen_w202
03-28-2013, 10:01 PM
This has been an issue since I got my car, but it hasn't gotten to the point it's been so unbearable I can't drive it. So I've kind of lived with it and put up with it. However, it's starting to become annoying...and I want to see if I can attempt to finally fix/resolve it.
I'm having an issue where when I drive my car for long periods of time, as in driving somewhere 2 hours away on the freeway....when I get onto an off-ramp and onto regular roads....there is oil leaking from somewhere, hitting something really hot and it will either start puffing out a moderate amount of burnt oil smoke either on the driver or passenger side. This was extremely embarrassing at a car meet I went to in SoCal that was about 2 hours away and when I parked, my car started smoking burnt oil. People poked fun at that all night.
There is also a more serious issue. I get a regular oil change every 3k, either if I do it myself or I get lazy and go to an oil change place. Usually without fail at about 1,500-2k miles between changes, my check oil light comes on. When this happens, I check my oil and pretty much like clockwork I lose about a quart to a quart and a half between changes. This means that the leak is more than just some minor drips, it's a serious leak.
My car looks pretty clean on the outside, but if you threw it up on a rack you can see tons of oil residue that has built up all over the place. There's definitely a leak from the rear main seal, and there's tons of gunky oil covering the whole bottom of the drivetrain (but keep in mind this is probably years upon years of neglect and buildup). However, no matter how hard I try, I cannot locate this mystery leak.
When I first got the car less than 2 days after owning it, a mechanic who is friends with my family looked it over and he said he thinks at the back corner of the cylinder head near the firewall there is a warp in the head or the block and that is where it is leaking. However, I've checked for such a leak from the back near the firewall and there's no evidence it's leaking out of there. I'm a little ignorant when it comes to engine troubleshooting, but if I have a warped headgasket/cylinder head....wouldn't mean that my car's coolant temps would be through the roof and the car would overheat??? I question the diagnosis when I first got the car, because to me.....my engine temps at most barely touch the 100 degree mark on the gauge. 90 percent of the time it runs slightly above 80 degrees, but sometimes it'll run anywhere up to 100 when I travel in it. So I don't think I'm having headgasket or warped cylinder head issues.
I've replaced the oil cap on the engine, that was definitely leaking oil because of a bad seal on the original.
As I said, this problem does not make the car undrive-able. It's just more annoying than anything, and it would be nice to finally enjoy my car without constantly having to top it off in between changes.
I'm having an issue where when I drive my car for long periods of time, as in driving somewhere 2 hours away on the freeway....when I get onto an off-ramp and onto regular roads....there is oil leaking from somewhere, hitting something really hot and it will either start puffing out a moderate amount of burnt oil smoke either on the driver or passenger side. This was extremely embarrassing at a car meet I went to in SoCal that was about 2 hours away and when I parked, my car started smoking burnt oil. People poked fun at that all night.
There is also a more serious issue. I get a regular oil change every 3k, either if I do it myself or I get lazy and go to an oil change place. Usually without fail at about 1,500-2k miles between changes, my check oil light comes on. When this happens, I check my oil and pretty much like clockwork I lose about a quart to a quart and a half between changes. This means that the leak is more than just some minor drips, it's a serious leak.
My car looks pretty clean on the outside, but if you threw it up on a rack you can see tons of oil residue that has built up all over the place. There's definitely a leak from the rear main seal, and there's tons of gunky oil covering the whole bottom of the drivetrain (but keep in mind this is probably years upon years of neglect and buildup). However, no matter how hard I try, I cannot locate this mystery leak.
When I first got the car less than 2 days after owning it, a mechanic who is friends with my family looked it over and he said he thinks at the back corner of the cylinder head near the firewall there is a warp in the head or the block and that is where it is leaking. However, I've checked for such a leak from the back near the firewall and there's no evidence it's leaking out of there. I'm a little ignorant when it comes to engine troubleshooting, but if I have a warped headgasket/cylinder head....wouldn't mean that my car's coolant temps would be through the roof and the car would overheat??? I question the diagnosis when I first got the car, because to me.....my engine temps at most barely touch the 100 degree mark on the gauge. 90 percent of the time it runs slightly above 80 degrees, but sometimes it'll run anywhere up to 100 when I travel in it. So I don't think I'm having headgasket or warped cylinder head issues.
I've replaced the oil cap on the engine, that was definitely leaking oil because of a bad seal on the original.
As I said, this problem does not make the car undrive-able. It's just more annoying than anything, and it would be nice to finally enjoy my car without constantly having to top it off in between changes.