DFWmax

hey all:

i was showing a co-worker friend the mods that i have on my car, when he points out that i have a oil leak on the engine. its a very small leak, on the seam between the valvetrain and the engine block (i think), on the inner bank, in the "v" groove area.

im going to keep an eye on it, but do i need to take immediate action? the car is still under warranty, but i am not sure whether to get it fixed or not. im afraid that the people working on it might mess other stuff up when trying to fix this problem.

this car has been on synthetic oil since about 1400 miles. could the synthetic oil be the reason that it is leaking?
current mileage -- 33000mi. usual driving routine -- 88 miles on hi-way every day at 88 mph (not always, maybe more like 83 ).

if anyone has any thoughts on this, or has had the same problem, please advise.

thanks,

dfwmax

Ravq

It is possible that the synthetic oil has gotten through a leak that was there but unnoticed before. If it's still under warranty I say bring it in before it's too late!

vmok

pretty easy question to answer if the car's still under warranty. bring it in and get it covered under warranty! i'm not sure if you've talking about the valve cover seals or the head gasket as most valve cover seals seep a little with time. i have a very small seep in my Max and my Miata and don't really worry about it.

if it's the valve cover seals, depending on where you bring it, it'll probably be around $300-$400 if you had to pay someone to do it. parts aren't that much, but it's the labor involved in pulling off all the stuff in the way, scraping and cleaning off the old seals (without scratching either of the surfaces or letting stuff fall into the valve train), then putting in a new seal, torqing down the bolts the right way, and putting all the ancillary stuff back on that takes time.

if it's the head gasket, it's major work, involving removing the heads and $$$.

-V

shumax

I took a look at my Chiltons manual for some pics of the engine while I was at work. If you say it's leaking into the "V" then there really isn't a way for it to be the head gasket. The head meets the block BELOW the portion that has the "V" to it. Besides, if it were a headgasket you would have lost compression, had antifreeze in your oil(milky oil) and lost some power. Not to mention that oil almost NEVER leaks through the headgasket.
If it's under warranty it should be a no brainer...take it in!

Good luck....

SHUMAX

DFWmax

hmm, maybe its the valve cover seal. the seam is right next to the fuel rail (the gold colored metal tube that runs (inside the 'v') and along the rear bank of cylinders.

its under warranty (i got the 6yr/100000mi extended warranty). i am just worried that they will have to remove many components to get to it, and that they may break something else.

do i need to remove the strut tower brace before i take the car in? i think it will get in their way....



dfwmax

Ravq

I would so that you can put it back on right and know that it's torqued properly. It'll only take you a few minutes and those few minutes can save you a world of trouble.

DFWmax

good point. i wouldnt want to find it gone afterwards or anything like that.

do you think the leak is going to get worse? or is it just that oil will seep from that spot from now on?


thanks for your input.

dfwmax

Ravq

Very hard to say. If it were me I'd bring it in to get it fixed and just assume that it was going to get worse. I'd kick myself if I didn't bring it in and it got worse after the warranty expired. You know what I mean?