Technical Oil leak.

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Technical Oil leak.

Heartworm04

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I had the little oil can symbol light up on my dash this morning, and after the car sitting outside my house for a few hours I've noticed a patch of oil on the road under the front of the car. Is this an easy fix or is it a garage job? If it's a garage will my car be safe to drive to the garage?
 
That kinda ask is a biggie. It could be leaking from anywhere..

Have you got access to a jack,axle stands and engine cleaner?..

I would jack it up,put it on axle stands and spray/apply the engine cleaner then wash it off and inspect the engine for any obviuos leaks.

When did you last do an oil filter change?..have you been checking/topping up your oil?

I have used WYNN'S stop leak in the past with postive results.
 
If you drove the car with the oil light on (red oil can not blinking but fully lighted) chances are high you already destroyed the engine. Definitely not drive it anywhere nor start it before you know you have oil in it.

...
I have used WYNN'S stop leak in the past with postive results.
Any stop leak products will cause issues in the long run since it blocks all kinds of passages that aren't supposed to be blocked. Better to find the real issue and address the problem at its source.
 
By your post I'm guessing your a bit of a novice. As a quick guide to initially find the location of the oil leak, place a largish piece of cardboard under the car, this will give an idea where to look. Obviously check your oil, top up if low, you can then drive to a garage if you have to. It may be an easy fix, then again you'll only find out by investigation. Lastly, do not use additives to stop the leak, find the cause & remedy the fault.
 
Read up about how stop leak works, it swells up seals & ruins them completely for starters. A quick fix initially masking what could be far more serious problems. Any competent mechanic will tell you, go to the source of the problem & sort it. Not just my opinion by the way...;)
 
I had the little oil can symbol light up on my dash this morning, and after the car sitting outside my house for a few hours I've noticed a patch of oil on the road under the front of the car. Is this an easy fix or is it a garage job? If it's a garage will my car be safe to drive to the garage?

Have you checked the oil level with the dipstick?
If it is low top it up to the full mark and start the engine. If the oil warning light stays on turn off the engine immediately and get the car towed to the garage.
If the light goes out you will probble be OK to drive a couple of miles to the garage, but don't blame me if the engine is damaged.


Robert G8RPI
 
If you drove the car with the oil light on (red oil can not blinking but fully lighted) chances are high you already destroyed the engine. Definitely not drive it anywhere nor start it before you know you have oil in it.


Any stop leak products will cause issues in the long run since it blocks all kinds of passages that aren't supposed to be blocked. Better to find the real issue and address the problem at its source.

Thanks. I checked the oil using the dip stick and the oil level is fine, I went for a wee drive and the oil can light didn't come back on! Will take it to the garage to be on the safe side though!
 
That kinda ask is a biggie. It could be leaking from anywhere..

Have you got access to a jack,axle stands and engine cleaner?..

I would jack it up,put it on axle stands and spray/apply the engine cleaner then wash it off and inspect the engine for any obviuos leaks.

When did you last do an oil filter change?..have you been checking/topping up your oil?

I have used WYNN'S stop leak in the past with postive results.

I just bought the car a fortnight ago second hand from a local garage I've checked the oil with the dipstick and the oil level is fine! I'll get my partner to take it to the garage!
 
Have you checked the oil level with the dipstick?
If it is low top it up to the full mark and start the engine. If the oil warning light stays on turn off the engine immediately and get the car towed to the garage.
If the light goes out you will probble be OK to drive a couple of miles to the garage, but don't blame me if the engine is damaged.


Robert G8RPI

Oil level is fine and the light stayed off when engine was switched on!
 
By your post I'm guessing your a bit of a novice. As a quick guide to initially find the location of the oil leak, place a largish piece of cardboard under the car, this will give an idea where to look. Obviously check your oil, top up if low, you can then drive to a garage if you have to. It may be an easy fix, then again you'll only find out by investigation. Lastly, do not use additives to stop the leak, find the cause & remedy the fault.

Thanks! I am a new driver and only got my car a fortnight ago second hand from a local garage! I have a lot to learn, this owning a car is scary business:eek:
 
Thanks! I am a new driver and only got my car a fortnight ago second hand from a local garage! I have a lot to learn, this owning a car is scary business:eek:

If you have only had the car two weeks the garage who sold it to you should fix it free of charge. You have a lot of consumer rights buying a used car these days.
Talk to (or email) them before doing anything else.

Robert G8RPI.
 
I had the little oil can symbol light up on my dash this morning, and after the car sitting outside my house for a few hours I've noticed a patch of oil on the road under the front of the car. Is this an easy fix or is it a garage job? If it's a garage will my car be safe to drive to the garage?
The "little oil can symbol light" is connected to a pressure monitoring device (oil pressure switch) screwed into the main oil system of the engine. It really is a very simple thing with an electrical contact, a diaphragm and spring inside a small hollow casing. The spring pushes the diaphragm towards the engine which makes the electric circuit so the little oil can light on the dashboard lights up when it gets a current from turning the ignition switch on. The other side of the diaphragm is open to the influence of the oil in the main oil gallery so, when the engine starts up and the oil pump pumps oil round the engine, oil pressure in the gallery acts directly on the diaphragm and pushes it away against the spring. When the diaphragm moves away the electrical contacts break the circuit and the little oil light goes out.

Engine oil pressure when running varies from manufacturer to manufacturer - somewhere around 40 to 80 psi hot in many I've seen - The oil pressure switch activation pressure will be much less, maybe 8 to 10 psi. If the oil light comes on when the engine is running (and it shouldn't) there are a number of main "suspects" to check out.

The immediate most likely suspects are: 1) The switch has failed. Often, but not always, it will leak oil from where the electrical contact/s exit the switch (because often the switch will have failed because the diaphragm has ruptured). Renewing the switch is usually a complete cure. 2) lack of oil in the engine. The level in the sump drops to such an extent that the pickup pipe in the sump is uncovered and can suck air so allowing the spring to return the diaphragm in the switch to the position where the circuit is completed for the little oil can light so it lights up. Just a brief period of running like this will mean the engine has been running starved of oil and usually proves terminal for the engine if not immediately then in the very near future. 3) Wear in the engine has opened up bearing (and other) clearances to such an extent that the oil pump cannot supply a great enough flow of oil to "balance" that leaking past the worn components. An engine this "sick" will often be making knocking noises from it's big ends and have other wear related symptoms.

Having grown up in an environment where interest in vehicles and machinery was my main preoccupation, then going on to train for a life in the motor trade, it came as a big surprise and a bit of a shock when early workshop experience opened my eyes to how some people had absolutely no interest in that very expensive piece of machinery they were driving around in! Simple maintenance checks? not on your nelly! Still to this day I meet people who don't know how to open their bonnet! (I live in hope the new driving test requirements will improve this). All my children, especially my daughter, (now fully grown and fled the nest of course) know - and have had practice in -how to change a wheel SAFELY. (I also make sure all their vehicles have either full size (preferably) or space saver (if space precludes a full size) spare wheels. They also know how to do the simple under bonnet checks - Coolant level, brake fluid level, engine oil level, washer fluid, steering fluid level if it's hydraulic, visual hose check for leaks, battery terminals for corrosion and tightness. Lastly tyre condition and pressures including the spare. I stress to them how the inside shoulder of the tread can wear without you noticing so you need to be thorough in your inspection and, because tyres are often abused against kerbs, the sidewall needs a good look too. Inner sidewalls are very difficult to check without getting "mucky" so that usually falls to me a couple of times a year as I service the cars myself.

Ideally I suppose a weekly check is to be recommended as that way you are most likely to catch a problem before it develops. I know my kids sometimes leave it for a fortnight or even a month but always know to check before a journey of any length. So far following this regime has avoided nearly all potential disasters!
 
I have also experiences with oil leaking on Grande Punto. When I bought it, after 2 days I found oil on oil pan. It leaked through front crankshaft seal - under oil pump. So I immediately claimed it under the waranty to second hand dealer and they fixed it - because I hva rights under the law. So they fixed it, but after some car testing I found leak from other side :) This time it was crankshaft seal on gearbox side + wrong oil can sealing (silicone). So I gave it to dealer once again and they fixed it too. Since that I have no problem ;-)
Heartworm04 - you have your rights! Complain it because it's hidden fault! As Robert G8RPI said...
 
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We'll probably put a new one on it this summer - if it doesn't start leaking before that.

Good luck on getting the old pan off, mine was glued on there pretty good. Took me one and a half hour plus a heat gun to remove it.
Also had to remove the tranny support to get to the last two oil pan bolts out.
 
Correct! My pan was really rusty, especialy because I had exhaust gas leaking through exhaust seal between 1st & 2nd pipe parts. I used sandpaper, anticorrosive coating, zinc spray 2 times and finaly black spray resistant to high temperatures.
 
Good luck on getting the old pan off, mine was glued on there pretty good. Took me one and a half hour plus a heat gun to remove it.
Also had to remove the tranny support to get to the last two oil pan bolts out.
Yup. I know how well the "glue" sticks. I did one on Felicity, our old 1992 Panda Parade. It was pretty solid but I found it moved with a very big screwdriver driven into the joint in stages all the way round. Must have gone round, a little deeper each time, four or five times until one edge started to separate. Once it started to move it was not too bad - lots of scraping and cleaning up though. I left her to stand for a couple of days before starting the job and had very little trouble with oil getting on the mating faces.

I've been lusting after a set of "strike through" pry bars for a while. Think this job might justify my longing!
 
I have also experiences with oil leaking on Grande Punto. When I bought it, after 2 days I found oil on oil pan. It leaked through front crankshaft seal - under oil pump. So I immediately claimed it under the waranty to second hand dealer and they fixed it - because I hva rights under the law. So they fixed it, but after some car testing I found leak from other side :) This time it was crankshaft seal on gearbox side + wrong oil can sealing (silicone). So I gave it to dealer once again and they fixed it too. Since that I have no problem ;-)
Heartworm04 - you have your rights! Complain it because it's hidden fault! As Robert G8RPI said...

Thank you, might just give the garage a call and see if they can take a look at it!
 
Hi.

Basically the oil light is ALWAYS ON

U N L E S S

The OIL PUMP is building the oil pressure.

SO : youve established there is enough oil around the dipstick.
That is the oils reservoir.. Which the pump should circulate around the engine.

It is either .. no oil flow.. or a dodgy sensor. Either way it needs investigating.

Charlie
 
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