Does your car or truck leak oil?

If so, why not get it fixed? The reason I'm asking is, I see a lot of oil saturated parking lots, caused by vehicles that leak oil. Here's a PSA, many of these leaks can be fixed by going with a "high mileage" motor oil. These oils have additives that condition seals and gaskets that in most cases, will correct oil leakage. Also, it will sometimes help to go with a thicker grade/weight oil (check your manual). Many other oil leaks can usually be fixed by nothing more than tightening a few bolts.

I don't like to see oil wasted (perhaps I'm an oil addict), that's why my 31 year old car and 18 year old truck have nice, clean, leak-free engines. So, tomorrow, go out and check your vehicle, and if it's leaking oil, do something about it!

rear seals. What planet are YOU living on? :sarcasm:

Sort of like that series of posts on why we should DONATE and not sell our used cars. IF ONLY.....:eyes: (sometimes I think I'm posting on a RW investment website)

On my civic I replaced the oil pan gasket for a grand total of 17 dollars and 1.5 hours of my time. Stopped a bad leak.

As for my current car, an Element, it has just hit the 100K mark and I'm watching it carefully to catch leaks as soon as they start. (none yet, fingers crossed)

My Cadillac had a severe problem with this. I was losing a quart every 100 miles.

I opened up the valve cover on the right side and found that whatever schmuck did the valve job before I owned the car had actually LEFT OUT the gasket and just put a thin coat of sealant around the edge.

Also, the rear bolt was only about finger tight. So, yeah...

$10 for parts and three hours of work, and now she's not dripping anymore!

I'm a female & have repaced all of those gaskets. Other than some very dirty hands & fingernails, it's easy. I suspect most of the oil the OP was talking about didn't involve rear seals!

car engines than most women of my generation (I'm over 50), I wouldn't even know how to begin to find a gasket, much less replace one.

It's the 4-8 hours of labor that most people can't.

Not a chance in hell.

I meant that they couldn't afford the labor costs, excepting they were mechanically inclined.

:yourock: :yourock: :yourock:

:smoke:

in several spots. I plan on changing it this week hopefully it stops.

They're good for longer oil change intervals, and perhaps aggressive driving, but conventional oil is more than adequate in most cases.

Conventional oils, have properties, that cause gaskets and seals to swell...

Synthetics don't. So, switching to a full synthetic in a high mileage vehicle is just asking for oil leaks.

BUT..... You can get synthetic blends, which will keep the gaskets swelled, and give you many of the benefits of synthetic oil.

On new cars, full synthetics are the way to go, and since the gaskets never swell in the first place, they will be good for a very long time!

The good news is, switching back to your old oil will stop those leaks!

<----My "drive to work vehicle" is a 1991 Ford Explorer, 5-speed 4x4, with almost 400,000 miles, and she still gets about 24 MPG....

She doubles in value every time I fill up the gas tank, but she has been SO GOOD to me, and my family, for so many years (virtually trouble free for about a decade and a half. besides basic upkeep) I would be crazy to sell her. I would guess I spend less than $400 on repairs a year on her.

Their is much value to be had in older, proven reliable cars, if you can over look a few dings and scraps from time..

"Why not fix it? you ask. Because my car need it's own health insurance. It's only covered for accidents, not it's failing health.

It's unusual to see an oil spot in a parking lot.

Hell, I never have repairs until the car is at least 12 and, even then, it's a damn sensor - which means the engine is fine, but the sensor is telling it that it isn't.

but at 110K miles as I'm going down MoPac the engine suddenly became a boat anchor.

whatever type the manual recommends, that's what I use. I don't leak oil, as far as I know.

I've been fortunate. Best car I've ever owned. Although at 55 the thing is getting a little harder to get in and out of :)