If you drive an older vehicle, then it may feel like topping up your oil is a normal part of the driving experience. While some engines may burn a small amount of oil between changes, most cars should not consume or lose a noticeable amount. Routinely adding more than a quart of oil every few thousand miles points to definite trouble.
Of course, you shouldn’t immediately panic over some missing oil. Cars can lose motor oil for a variety of reasons as they age, and many of these problems may be relatively minor. Below you will find four typical and increasingly severe oil loss scenarios so that you can better evaluate how worried you should be about topping up your vehicle’s oil.
1. Small Puddles With a Slow Loss of Oil
If you’re losing oil slowly and finding small puddles on the ground, then it’s unlikely that your car has a severe problem. The most common causes of slow leaks include gasket failures or even drain plug problems. If you’re comfortable changing your own oil, then you can check for leaks around your oil filter or the drain plug. Old, reused drain plug crush washers can be a particularly nasty source of leaks.
Other culprits include worn gaskets or oil hoses. As rubber parts age, they tend to become harder and less pliable (a process that is usually known as plasticization). Plasticized rubber parts can crack and break as they move, leading to minor leaks. A good repair shop can generally hunt down and fix small leaks like these relatively quickly.
2. Burning Oil Smell or Smoke
Do you smell burning oil from under your hood? While you should never ignore smoke from your engine bay, a slight smell of burning oil may not be a significant source of concern. When small leaks drip onto hot components such as your exhaust headers, the oil immediately burns off and may produce a burning smell along with some smoke.
If you notice the smell of burning oil after shutting off your vehicle, then there’s a good chance that you are suffering from a valve cover gasket leak. For most engine configurations, oil that escapes from the valve cover gasket can easily drip onto the exhaust plumbing. A good shop can help you to identify the problem and determine if it is severe enough to require immediate repair.
3. Large Oil Puddles
If you notice large puddles of oil under your car, you should start to worry. Aside from the environmental damage that you are causing, losing copious amounts of oil may cause engine damage before you can top up again. In these cases, consider having your car towed to the nearest shop for evaluation rather than continuing to drive it.
A large puddle often means a catastrophic failure has occurred, such as an improperly installed oil filter gasket. Your car may also leak from the oil pan, oil pan gasket, or another area where oil gathers or flows after you shut the vehicle off. Since you might be unable to tell how quickly you are losing fluid, you should not top up and attempt to drive to a mechanic yourself.
4. No Puddles, Smells, or Smoke
Unfortunately, the most severe causes of oil loss may also be the hardest to detect. If your engine is burning oil, then there may be no symptoms other than some smoke from the exhaust pipes. Since you typically do not stand behind your vehicle while driving, this symptom can easily go unnoticed. Always have your vehicle checked by a mechanic if your oil seems to vanish into thin air.
Don’t risk the health of your engine by ignoring oil loss, even if the problem is infrequent or seemingly minor. Powers Transmissions can help to diagnose and repair your oil leak, no matter how severe. Give us a call to schedule an appointment today!