Andrew1320

Okay so I'm new to working on cars and all that so I need all the help I can get. My car is losing oil pretty fast. Not sure why?? Not really any big oil spots on the ground but goes through oil pretty quick. Anyone know what this could be?? Thanks for any and all help.

NINÅ

Andrew1320

My dad said it might be a bad rear main seal

bitchin_buick

She spittin' out blue smoke at all? If it's a slow leak hopefully you will get lucky like I did on my Buick and it will be at the "Oil Pressure Switch", easy fix. Could be the pan? Hopefully not the rear main. Like NINA suggested: Jack her up, put her on blocks, let her idle, crawl under there with a good light and watch......

Andrew1320

No there is no blue smoke. Yu can just smell the oil at times and thats about it.

bitchin_buick

Did you crawl under her on blocks and let her run yet?

Camaro305SB

If its a valve cover sometimes the oil burns off the exhaust before it hits the ground. Clean the engine off really well and check it every few days to see if you see any leaks/seeping. If not, your burning it, usually via worn piston rings or valve seals. Valve seals tend to make the car puff blue smoke when you first start driving it for the day then it usually subsides.

Andrew1320

No haven't had the chance lol as yu can see in my picture there is tons of snow and I don't have a garage :/

vangogh4560

could be rear main seal or valve covers or Oil Pressure Switch.
you could put a big thing of card Bord under the car for the night.. this will give you a idea of location of the leak

torque_is_good

you haven't defined what a "lot of oil" is.

Is it 1 quart per day, per week, per month?

if it is your rear main and it leaks that much then it must be replaced. It might be your oil pressure sensor.

If it's the rear main, try a bottle of white shepherd rear main sealer. You can get it on Amazon and it's worth $12 before dropping Mr tranny to get to the rear main.

And no, white shepherd is not liquid sludge. It softens the seal and allows it to seat itself again. I've seen success and failure with white shepherd but for $12, it's worth a try. But, don't just assume it's the seal

bitchin_buick

I live in Toledo and have been crawling around under my nephews car in the snow all morning...... Shovel a spot and throw down an old blanket......

Red 87 GTA

just like they said put chucks in front of front wheels and just jack up the back of the car (just enough to get wheels off the ground dont get exsesive) and place jack stand just in case the floor jack lets out. then put cardboard all under your engine then put it in drive put your foot slightly on the brake or your axle may start to spin faster than drivetrain and boom. and you dont need to spin her to fast just a hair over idle rpm for the test but remember Keep your foot slightly on the brake.

z28_87Camaro

I second the problem is the rear main seal. System pressure blows oil out there while running and hot. Valve covers is possible, but its usually in small amounts (from what I've seen... not always the case)
Wish you luck!!

bitchin_buick

You don't need to jack up the A$$ end to let it run. Keep it in park and jack up the front so you can get under the motor and watch......... Putting the car in gear has no bearing on a running motor, The oil is gonna leak regardless in gear or not.......

bitchin_buick

Edit.....

bcmag

torque converter load can make all the difference in the world to finding a crank seal leak.i strongly agree with loading it over idle while in drive ....it s closest to actual running dynamic condition.btw if you have any acces to a black light just clean everything thoroughly and add u/v dye....drive around maybe 50 miles and inspect with u/v lamp.i have had excellent results pinpointing with this method.not totally necesary but definitely confirms source of leak.

Andrew1320

Thanks to everyone for the replies! I am gonna try a couple things today and try to let everyone know what it was.

Andrew1320

So come to find out Oil is leaking from my Distributor Cap Seal and The Sending Unit is about to blow out so replacing those and hopefully that takes care of the problem.

t-topsavage

worn out or stuck PCV valves can cause oil burning as well.