I've had to add 1/2 litre of oil to my car twice in the last 6 weeks. I have checked for blue/white smoke and for creamy residue and I'm not getting that at all. But today I noticed some wet oil around the entrance of the dip stick. There seems to be a splash of oil down the side of the engine above the belt and the floor of the car below the engine seems to have soil oil stains. Not sure how old the oil stains on the floor are, but if they are from a leak in my engine, it would seems to be close to the front/driver side of the car. There is also an oil stain on the step where my car front would park up to. Anything obvious here? Is it something I should have repaired, something I should keep an eye on while carrying some oil with me or should I be very concerned and think about changing? It's a 01 Cordoba 1.4 petrol. Cheers.
Car seems to be leaking oil.
- Thread starter madder
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Oil leaks - or at least residue - around the dip stick area are common enough and not life threatening......if crankcase pressure is excessive the dipstick often gets blown out an inch or two anyway!
Your oil leak does need to be investigated, and common areas are the cylinder head to block gasket (more like seepage around here), sump seal washer and oil filter seal.
More unusual areas are from the camshaft oil seal which is behind the timing belt cover, and on some engines there is potential for a leak behind the steel inner belt cover, more towards the bottom of the engine this time.
Its a good move to at least remove the belt top cover just to check - oil and timing belts don't mix!
John
Oil leaks - or at least residue - around the dip stick area are common enough and not life threatening......if crankcase pressure is excessive the dipstick often gets blown out an inch or two anyway!
Your oil leak does need to be investigated, and common areas are the cylinder head to block gasket (more like seepage around here), sump seal washer and oil filter seal.
More unusual areas are from the camshaft oil seal which is behind the timing belt cover, and on some engines there is potential for a leak behind the steel inner belt cover, more towards the bottom of the engine this time.
Its a good move to at least remove the belt top cover just to check - oil and timing belts don't mix!
John
Thanks John. I wonder is it very bad to need to add a 1/2 litre every month. Sounds like a lot. I understand that some older cars do leak some oil but I don't know.....does this seem like a lot to be leaking per month? If it is just a small, slow leak, then I suppose I can just take it handy and make sure I bring oil with me when I'm driving. If I have to I'll change car again, but I'd prefer not to unless it is highly recommended.
I wonder is it very bad to need to add a 1/2 litre every month. Sounds like a lot. I understand that some older cars do leak some oil but I don't know.....does this seem like a lot to be leaking per month? If it is just a small, slow leak, then I suppose I can just take it handy and make sure I bring oil with me when I'm driving. If I have to I'll change car again, but I'd prefer not to unless it is highly recommended. Unless you are doing a high mileage, 1/2 a litre a month does seem excessive......no worries though, just keep it all topped up and nothing will fail - but try to check out for leaks in the timing belt area as oil does deteriorate belts and may cause premature snapping.
If that does happen, its engine game over, I'm afraid!
John
If that does happen, its engine game over, I'm afraid!
John
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The oil consumption is a bit high, but not ridiculously so......clean off what you can, and send us some of your quality pics to see if we can help!
Regards
John
Regards
John
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Might I suggest an oil change, if its in long?
But as long as its not getting onto the timing belt, if its the front pulley oil seal weeping, you should be fine. You might have a peep hole in the cover, to look in at the belt?
Some blame oil for timing belts not lasting as long as they should
But as long as its not getting onto the timing belt, if its the front pulley oil seal weeping, you should be fine. You might have a peep hole in the cover, to look in at the belt?
Some blame oil for timing belts not lasting as long as they should
There's evidence of drip and slow seepage there.....time to get busy removing the splash shields that cover that side of the engine at the bottom - not a difficult job.
Then its a case of cleaning around the big crankshaft pulley to see if the leak is from there or somewhere above it.
I was expecting to see more oil though....put some clean cardboard under the engine when you park, to see what drops overnight?
John
Then its a case of cleaning around the big crankshaft pulley to see if the leak is from there or somewhere above it.
I was expecting to see more oil though....put some clean cardboard under the engine when you park, to see what drops overnight?
John
One other thing, when I changed the oil last time, I put 15W40 in, as that was recommended for cars built after 1998, however, doing my research online today, 10W40 is recommended for my car even though its a 2001 car. I'm thinking that would make a difference, right?
Ok so, if I can find out which grade of oil is best for my car, I'll do the oil change and use the recommended grade. I guess using 15W40 instead of 10W40 must make some difference, but I also found something else today. I noticed that the clip for holding the dipstick tightly in place is broken. When I opened the bonnet today, the dipstick was lifted slightly from its normal position and that was when I noticed that the clip isn't holding it in place. So I have now fixed that. Is there any chance that this has been the problem all along? Could I lose 1/2 litre of oil if it has been like that for around a month?
Try just cobbling up some sort of dipstick retainer using some cable ties or similar, and take it from there.
10/40 oil is recommended, and indeed that goes down to a 5/30 fully synthetic long life for the latest 1.4.....stick with your 10/40 and that will be fine.
Excess oil won't cause leaks from seals, but there is a small chance that there is excess crankcase pressure which blows the dipstick out.
John
10/40 oil is recommended, and indeed that goes down to a 5/30 fully synthetic long life for the latest 1.4.....stick with your 10/40 and that will be fine.
Excess oil won't cause leaks from seals, but there is a small chance that there is excess crankcase pressure which blows the dipstick out.
John
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