OIL LEAK Car Talk Discuss OIL LEAK in the Off Topic forums; sup yall. I own a Mazda MX3 as my daily driver. ever since I bought it, i noticed the engine had a bit of an oil buildup right under the ...

[LOZ]

sup yall.

I own a Mazda MX3 as my daily driver. ever since I bought it, i noticed the engine had a bit of an oil buildup right under the valve cover and around the header pipes. I changed my oil about 3.5 months ago.... today I went to check my oil, since it was throwing me a "check oil" light. I discovered that that car was pretty much running dry. it had VERY little oil in it.

trying to solve the problem, I bought a valve cover gasket and replaced it. the old one had a small gash, but it was mostly good, so I dont believe that little slash the gasket had would create the amount of oil that gets spilled on the engine.

I went ahead and remove the header cover. around the edges of the header pipes, I can notice a lot of oil.... maybe the oild that was coming out through the valve cover..... I dont believe my car is burning oil, otherwise it would be smoking, and my car doesnt smoke at all. (thank God)

what else can cause such oil leak? I need to keep this car running as much as possible. the longer i keep it running, the better car/truck I can get once it dies.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

[04cbr1000rr]

Clean the engine (make it look like new) and just drive it for a day or two then start looking for leaks from the oil pan,timing cover,rear main seal oil filter housing if you still cant find it let me know I have the same engine in my ford probe

[alecracing]

Originally Posted by 04cbr1000rr

Clean the engine (make it look like new) and just drive it for a day or two then start looking for leaks from the oil pan,timing cover,rear main seal oil filter housing if you still cant find it let me know I have the same engine in my ford probe

You are a fucking mechanic and you bought a probe were you drunk

According to most car manufacturers, it is within specifications for an engine to burn up to a quart of oil every 900 miles so, after 2000 miles, your oil could be low enough to barely show up on the dipstick

[Hurc]

Originally Posted by alecracing

According to most car manufacturers, it is within specifications for an engine to burn up to a quart of oil every 900 miles so, after 2000 miles, your oil could be low enough to barely show up on the dipstick

Holy Shit.. I've never heard that, and can't find it in my manual.. but by God I'll check again.. a qt every 900 miles??? That's Fucked Up.. Thank God I don't own a Ford




as far as an oil leak, I agree with above. .clean the engine and inspect for leaks.

[alecracing]

[quote=Hurc;554234]Holy Shit.. I've never heard that, and can't find it in my manual.. but by God I'll check again.. a qt every 900 miles??? That's Fucked Up.. Thank God I don't own a Ford




It's not just Ford. And you won't find it in your Owners Manual, but if you buy a Shop Manual from the manufacturer for your vehicle, it will probably be in there. I usually found it in TSB's and by calling the Hotline (yes, there is a hotline)

[LOZ]

Originally Posted by alecracing

According to most car manufacturers, it is within specifications for an engine to burn up to a quart of oil every 900 miles so, after 2000 miles, your oil could be low enough to barely show up on the dipstick

thanks Alec, thats good info to know. is just that every other car I owned never went through oil so quickly.

Originally Posted by 04CBR1000RR

Clean the engine (make it look like new) and just drive it for a day or two then start looking for leaks from the oil pan,timing cover,rear main seal oil filter housing if you still cant find it let me know I have the same engine in my ford probe

^yeah, I guess ill have to do that. I know is def not from the oil pan, since the engine shows oild buildup right from under the valve cover, all the way down to the bottom. Im just going to buy a lot of degreaser and just hose that engine off till it sparks. then ill inspect for oil leaks.

[alecracing]

In 15 years of being a tech, I very rarely have seen a vehicle burn that much oil. With the low tension rings they use now-a-days, this is the way the manufacturers cover themselves from having to replace engines