I got 10 quarts of oil... in my engine son!

blacknight

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Well, from my experience, oil is lost in three ways


1) it's mixed with coolant.....indicating a blown head gasket
Signs....coolant appears brownish. white smoke (not steam) during idle and normal driving

2) It's leaking from the bottom.....indicating a bad oil pan gasket, a bad oil drain plug, or a bad valve cover gasket
Signs.... drops or puddle of oil under the car after it's been sitting for a while (few hours)

3) it's being consumed & burned during the mixture.....bad piston ring seal
Signs....smoke (not steam)during high RPM's
 

wesmac

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UPDATE: Thanks for the quick replys....So the oil is brown, kind yoohoo like as someone said...no pudding though...are we still talking about cars...its actually a very low viscocity substance, so Im supposing im getting leakage into the oil...hopefully not...but I have noticed around the valve cover a little brown buildup around the seal, and actually around every tube coming out or around valve cover, head is kinda blocked by header cover, but looks like might be some seepage there too...? No overheating issues though...have driven lots of miles with no issues so far...160k...its too early! So I called Midas....my apart. complex has issues with all things oil, and they are going to check it out tomorrow, since they did the last oil change, find out for sure. What kind of time frame am i looking out until the leak blows if thats what it is?

P.S. Havnt noticed any smoke.....
 

blacknight

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UPDATE: Thanks for the quick replys....So the oil is brown, kind yoohoo like as someone said...no pudding though...are we still talking about cars...its actually a very low viscocity substance, so Im supposing im getting leakage into the oil...hopefully not...but I have noticed around the valve cover a little brown buildup around the seal, and actually around every tube coming out or around valve cover, head is kinda blocked by header cover, but looks like might be some seepage there too...? No overheating issues though...have driven lots of miles with no issues so far...160k...its too early! So I called Midas....my apart. complex has issues with all things oil, and they are going to check it out tomorrow, since they did the last oil change, find out for sure. What kind of time frame am i looking out until the leak blows if thats what it is?

P.S. Havnt noticed any smoke.....



Sounds like a problem with the head gasket and possible valve cover gasket,
Also, when you take off the valve cover, replace the gaskets for the spark plug wires.
They're on the back (underside) of the valve cover.
Hopefully just by replacing the top ones you will be ok, if not, there are gaskets for the bottom of the plugs as well
 

finch13

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Sounds like headgasket to me too... I wouldn't have Midas do the work either.

The valve cover seal will just leak oil... it's not a huge deal, just unsightly. if you feel confident in replacing the spark plug tube seals, go for it. Usually they are baked on and require a lot of muscle and finesse to remove them. Get a Fel Pro gasket set (comes with the VC and tube seals) from Napa, they run about $30.
 

wesmac

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thanks for the info guys, think i can handle the spark plug gasket and valve cover, but this head gasket thing is looking pricey...wish i had a garage...one of these days!
 

ryan s

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uuhh.. coolant is going into the motor? :slap:
he said the oil was normal colored in the initial post :slap:

the only way you really know without it being dead obvious is

=
Coolant is heavier than oil, so if you pull the plug, it should drain a ton of water if that's where the coolant is going. It may be past the point of separating and just come out in a milkshake/chocolate pudding substance. Hopefully not the pudding, you'd be looking at a full flush and/or rebuild.
...this

Sounds like headgasket to me too... I wouldn't have Midas do the work either.

The valve cover seal will just leak oil... it's not a huge deal, just unsightly. if you feel confident in replacing the spark plug tube seals, go for it. Usually they are baked on and require a lot of muscle and finesse to remove them. Get a Fel Pro gasket set (comes with the VC and tube seals) from Napa, they run about $30.
the spark plug seals are easy to get out ( :lawl: ) but a ***** to get back in, imo.

i also had some seepage from the VC gasket but i just tightened each bolt like 2 full turns last week :lawl: no broken bolts though...
 

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