Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Oil and other fluids > Oil leaks
Check your external seals - camshaft seal, rocker cover gasket, timing cover seal.
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Oil and other fluids > Oil leaks
If your engine is burning oil, blue or black smoke will come out the tailpipe (exhaust). Replace your valve stem oil seals. Use a universal overhead valve spring compressor and a compressed air adapter to keep the valve from falling into the engine.
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Oil and other fluids > Oil leaks
Although technically it's very easy to change a sump gasket, it's time-consuming. It's a very large and oddly shaped gasket with usually about 20 holes in it for the small bolts. You need to spend about 1.5 hours scraping and sandpapering down the engine block surface where the sump connects to as well as the sump connecting surface (easy to do with the sump out of the car). Working under the engine scraping away at traces of the old gasket is not easy work. Then you have to install the gasket with gasket sealant completely covering both sides of it. Then, progressively putting in and tightening the 20 bolts takes a lot of time, as that is all done from under the car.
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Oil and other fluids > Oil leaks
An exhaustive list of possible sources of oil leaks(I own an early Magna, but most cars have the same basic seals):
rocker cover gasket
other rocker cover rubber seals
camshaft seal
timing cover seal
timing cover gaskets
rear main bearing seal
oil sump gasket
valve stem oil seals
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Oil and other fluids > Oil leaks
When you install a cylinder head, pay careful attention to a few areas prone to oil leaks.
Buy a compression and oil resistant sealant (I use Greymax by Loctite) and smear a reasonably thick (2mm) coat around the entire timing cover surface, including where it joins to the engine block. This area is a lot narrower than the main block to head areas, so leaks oil much more often. Wait 24 hours to let it set.
Also smear the sealant around any rubber bungs or curved areas such as where the rocker cover curves around the ignition lead chambers.
Although my car is 20 years old this year, a combination of using this sealant and replacing all the oil seals (pref. with polyurethane instead of rubber where you can) means it now leaks no oil at all, saving money. Oil leaks start small and get larger with time, so the money saved can get quite significant with current (early 2008) oil prices.
Another oil leak could be at your oil pressure sensor - just buy a new one. The rubber seal inside it leaks over time.
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Oil and other fluids
Oil storage and disposal: Always store old oil in oil containers that used to have new oil in them, so always keep them. That oil is recyclable at public garbage dumps - but you will have to pour it into the used oil drum. This is the only way to legally and safely dispose of used oil.
myxlfidian (150)
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Oil and other fluids
Changing oil: For a medium-sized car, every four(4) months, or three(3) times a year is recommended. Change the filter every second time, or once every eight(8) months. When you pour the used oil into an old oil container, it will tell you how much oil you took out of the car. That is the correct amount to put back in, then run the engine for 5 minutes, wait 15 minutes and recheck. Top up as needed. Too much oil causes as many engine problems as too little, in fact it is very dangerous for engine functioning on many cars.
Change the air filter once a year and fuel filter once every 18 months. Power steering fluid and gearbox fluid should be drained and renewed every 12-18 months maximum. Oil is an organic compound that loses its viscosity and other properties in around that timeframe. You will extend the life of your transmission and improve steering performance if you do this.
Always remember that a certain amount of oil loss is normal in all cars, but it should be very minimal, about 100ml every 2-3 weeks at the most. Anything more than that indicates oil leaks either internally within the cylinder head (valve stem seals and/or valve guides) or externally. Rubber oil seals do not last as long as polyurethane and other synthetics. Rubber is not anywhere near as good an oil resistor over time. Always use an oil and compression resistant liquid gasket sealant when installing a new head gasket. It will save oil leaks.
Note: Of course, head gaskets should never be coated fully in sealant - they are one of the few gaskets that aren't. Use the sealant on the timing cover area, especially the section where it joins to the engine block, and any other thin sections. The main block to head area must have no sealant whatsoever - the seal is achieved through compression in that central area (about 90% of the total joining area). It's the narrow, thin sections at each end, and some of the curved sections around the ignition chambers, that need the sealant to make up for their weaknesses in containing oil.
myxlfidian (150)
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Main > Automotive > Mechanics > Oil and other fluids
Gerabox oil: Critical as you can lose an entire gearbox if you drive around for a fairly short time with a heavy leak. Check it weekly. Sometimes you have to cycle through the automatic gears while idling and on a hot engine, slip it into neutral and check then. When cold, the level will be lower on the dipstick (look for the "Cold" lettering on it) but should still show something on the dipstick.
To drain, remove the pan. Refill and renew the filter every 12-18 months. Push a plastic tube into a small narrow funnel to create an easy filling device. If there is evidence of gearbox oil present on the box, you may have too loose nuts on the pan or worn circular oil seals where the driveshafts go in. It is unlikely you will need a change of the main housing to body gasket but it can deteriorate also.
Note: Many gearboxes have driveshafts that have a "C" Clip or circlip-like clip on the end of the shaft that goes into the gearbox. This clip keeps the driveshaft or CV Joint from popping too far out of the gearbox while driving. It can be hard to install a CV Joint because of this clip (use a large hammer on the other end of the shaft, protected by a small piece of wood. If you do not use the C Clip, or it becomes distorted or breaks, you will fairly rapidly lose most of your gearbox oil as the driveshaft comes so far out of the box that oil is not prevented from leaking from it in that area. Make sure you get exactly the right clip (you may have to go to a wrecker or gearbox specialist) and immediately install it to the driveshaft to solve this problem.
myxlfidian (150)
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