When is an oil leak not an oil leak?

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#1205440 29-Dec-2014 12:22

joker97:
Jase2985: if its burning a bit i would try 15w40 and see if that helps

he says all 4 litres of oil gone in days. that's a lot

That's huge. I don't understand how that can be if you have no smoke or leaks.

Trevor Dennis
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#1205450 29-Dec-2014 12:55

maybe when he looks there is no more oil to leak .... dry-ed sump!

ubergeeknz

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Vocus

#1205452 29-Dec-2014 13:05

Had an integra once which ran dry sump, kept going for years like that, every so often we'd top up the oil and it'd just disappear again. Nothing in the water, no obvious smoke. Goodness only knows where the oil was going, I presume burnt off.

nzkiwiman

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#1205455 29-Dec-2014 13:12

TLD:
joker97:
Jase2985: if its burning a bit i would try 15w40 and see if that helps

he says all 4 litres of oil gone in days. that's a lot

That's huge. I don't understand how that can be if you have no smoke or leaks.

That is what confuses me, though to be fair I'll say 1-1.5 litres gone every "2 weeks" (sometimes I will forget and it can be 3-4-5 weeks between checks)

Check oil - 'almost empty'
Fill with 1-1.5 litres
Check oil - covering the first notch on the dip stick
Check again an hour later - still covering

Check 2 weeks later - 'almost empty'
Repeat

I would go 6 months without checking before the last WOF/Service when it was mentioned

Is it possible that the dip stick is 'wrong'?

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#1205456 29-Dec-2014 13:14

I had the same issue with a 1990 Honda Civic hatch - but there was obvious evidence of a leak on the ground. I think it was a head gasket.

ubergeeknz

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#1205469 29-Dec-2014 13:39

nzkiwiman:
TLD:
joker97:
Jase2985: if its burning a bit i would try 15w40 and see if that helps

he says all 4 litres of oil gone in days. that's a lot

That's huge. I don't understand how that can be if you have no smoke or leaks.

That is what confuses me, though to be fair I'll say 1-1.5 litres gone every "2 weeks" (sometimes I will forget and it can be 3-4-5 weeks between checks)

Check oil - 'almost empty'
Fill with 1-1.5 litres
Check oil - covering the first notch on the dip stick
Check again an hour later - still covering

Check 2 weeks later - 'almost empty'
Repeat

I would go 6 months without checking before the last WOF/Service when it was mentioned

Is it possible that the dip stick is 'wrong'?

Ensure the car is parked level (or close to it)

Wait a few minutes after the engine is switched off.

Pull out dipstick. Wipe clean with a rag. Dip in (all the way) and remove carefully. Observe level.

Also BTW you should always fill to the upper notch (but not above) which is probably around 2-3 litres from empty. Be sure to wait a few minutes after topping up to make sure the oil has made its way to the sump before checking again.

RunningMan

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#1205491 29-Dec-2014 14:07

nzkiwiman: Is it possible that the dip stick is 'wrong'?

Yes, the wrong dipstick could be put in, or the tube holding it slipped out of position - either can give a false reading.

Having said that, if you were over filling by a litre or so due to the wrong dipstick, the oil still has to go somewhere - in an overfull engine, that usually means splashed and foamed around the sump, some ends up the bores and gets burnt off, but this usually means very obvious oil smoke.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, check the panel work around where the exhaust pipe exits - if it's burning a litre or so a week there will usually be oily or sooty residue over the back of the car

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garbonzai

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Ultimate Geek

#1205516 29-Dec-2014 14:47

Is it possible that the dip stick is 'wrong'? (quote)

I've had and still have Subaru Legacy's and quite like them, but have always had a problem checking the oil on them, seems to always show a different level, nothing, something or all up the dip stick, but it doesn't use any oil, so am ok between oil changes at the moment.

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#1205517 29-Dec-2014 14:49

garbonzai:

Is it possible that the dip stick is 'wrong'?

I've had and still have Subaru Legacy's and quite like them, but have always had a problem checking the oil on them, seems to always show a different level, nothing, something or all up the dip stick, but it doesn't use any oil, so am ok between oil changes at the moment.

My GTO TT was like that, bit tight, so sometimes I scraped the oil off the dipstick

DravidDavid

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#1205523 29-Dec-2014 15:01

Just rev the living daylights out of it in park/neutral.

My girlfriend's old Mazda familia smoked up a sickly sweet smelling storm of blue smoke. Our Caldina GT-T has nothing coming out the back when it hits the red line. Just ring it out a few times. If it really is burning the insane amount as you say, you are bound to see something this way.

Jase2985

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#1205581 29-Dec-2014 15:54

ubergeeknz: Also BTW you should always fill to the upper notch (but not above) which is probably around 2-3 litres from empty. Be sure to wait a few minutes after topping up to make sure the oil has made its way to the sump before checking again.

there is only 3.8l in there to start with. the dipstick only measures the top portion of the oil, there is no need to measure the whole lot.

there is about 400-600ml from the low to the high mark on a honda civic.

if the headgasket were leaking there could be water in the oil, oil in the water or it burning oil.

Hondas are very picky on viscosity of the oil, it might burn heaps of 10w40 but burn no 15w40. its worth a try.

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#1205642 29-Dec-2014 17:19

explain the viscosity bit? I'm no mechanical engineer, but my understanding is the first number is the viscosity when cold, the 2nd number is when hot. you mean if it's not thick enough when cold it runs out?

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#1205643 29-Dec-2014 17:20

Jase2985

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#1205647 29-Dec-2014 17:40

From here: http://www.driverstechnology.co.uk/oils.htm

In a 10w-40 for example the 10w bit (W = winter, not weight or watt or anything else for that matter) simply means that the oil must have a certain maximum viscosity/flow at low temperature. The lower the "W" number the better the oil's cold temperature/cold start performance.

The 40 in a 10w-40 simply means that the oil must fall within certain viscosity limits at 100°C. This is a fixed limit and all oils that end in 40 must achieve these limits. Once again the lower the number, the thinner the oil: a 30 oil is thinner than a 40 oil at 100°C etc. Your handbook will specify whether a 30, 40 or 50 etc is required.

most of the time you wont be at 100 degrees on oil temp, probably 60-85 degrees from memory so the lower the number the thinner the oil so a 10w is thinner than a 15w at lower temps

hope that helps

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#1205679 29-Dec-2014 19:05

Dude the temp of 80 is water coolant temp. The engine I think is around 200d. And it's 200 whether you are waiting at the lights or driving at 60 or cruising at 100ks. !!!

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