I have the faintest idea where this oil is leaking from but I believe its spewing from the dip-stick. I recently (three weeks ago) had the valve cover gaskets replaced so I'm doubting its that. Plus, I don't see oil leaking around the covers or the real main seal. Its somewhere near the dip-stick. I also noticed when I lift the dip-stick, there is some white smoke and also when I lift the pcv. Crap, I hope this isn't bad. One good thing is....I don't see any smoke coming from the exhaust. I used a can of Engine Restore to help seal the rings and three days later its still the same. The only other thing I've done (two weeks ago) was an engine flush and oil change.


I need help.

 

Your engine flush may have done exactly what it is supposed to - loosened a lot of sludge and debris. If your oil is dirty already, it may be time to change it again, or at least the filter. It might be a good idea to get the "rebuild-in-a-can" out of there anyway.

The water vapor venting from the dipstick tube and rocker covers is a strong indication that the PCV system is not functioning. Make sure the PCV valve is clean, the PCV hoses are clean and intact, and the CCV breather allows fresh air to the crankcase. Make sure the PCV hose is connected directly to the intake or plenum. If you have questions about the PCV valve, use only an AC replacement, since the flow calibration of aftermarket PCVs is very questionable.

 

Some amount of white smoke out of the dipstick tube or the PCV fittings after the engine has been shut off after running is normal.

If oil is coming out of the dipstick, it should be super-obvious, because it will be all over .... the dipstick tube. If the dipstick tube is not utterly saturated and dripping in oil, then it isn't coming from there.

Does this only occur at relatively high RPMs?

Did you by any chance recently remove anything from the lower right area of the front of the engine, to the passenger's side of the water pump, such as a smog pump?

 

The smoke occurs at idle and more at high RPMs.
I wrapped the dipstick with a paper towell and drove around to see if the oil was leaking form there....the towell was drenched with oil. So I'm feeling sure its coming out from there.
I do believe the smog pump was removed when the rocker cover gaskets were replaced. Can the smog pump cause some oil problems? My PCV was changed with last oil change but not sure if it was AC. Got it from AutoZone. I'll re-check all the hoses. Would you recommend using another "rebuild-in-a-can" even if the smoke ceases after an oil change? Thanks for you help guys.

 

How did I ever guess??

Yes the smog pump can cause oil problems.

Look at the front of the block, down low, on the passenger's side, beside the water pump. You will observe 2 bolt holes. The upper of the 2 goes directly into the crankcase. In fact, if this engine had a mechanical fuel pump, you'd be able to look into that hole and see the pump rod.

Put a short bolt, maybe ¾" long, in that upper hole, with a little silicone on it. See if it's any better.

 

I checked eveywhere around the water pump and passenger side of enigine and saw no leaks. Its all dry around there. Is it normal for motor flush to burn off debris many days later? Maybe I should wait a lil longer?

 

I may be expirencing the same issue, i seem to have white smoke comming from the passenger side rear of the block, there is no oil leakage anywhere near the heads, i assume the oil is dripping onto the exhaust pipes below and buring off, the oil is also all over the statrer and such, do you think these are similar problems, do we both have leaking dipsticks, and whats an appropriate solution ?

 

Did you see the 2 bolt holes? Did the upper one have a blot in it?

 

I too have the same problem. I have no smog pump either and there is oil all inside my TB and all over the elbow on the passenger valve cover. You know the one that connects a hose to the TB. What is the function or purpose of the 2 bolt holes and if one went directly into the crankcase, then wouldnt it leak oil everywhere? why does the bolt issue cause this oil issue?
Can I ditch that elbos with the hose on the valve cover and just put a breather on? How about a breather instead of a PCV valve?

 

The bolt issue doesn't cause oil in the TB. I have no idea where you got that from.

What the bolt issue causes, is oil to spew massively all over the pass side of the engine. So you're right, it will leak oil everywhere if there's not a bolt in that hole. I have no clue why they did it that way; I only report what I know, I wasn't inside of the designer's head at the time. But it's been just like that since 1955. Those 2 bolt holes were originally where the motor mount went, but nowadays they put the motor mount elsewhere and use them for brackets. Some people even use it to their advantage while changing the fuel pump, by putting a longer bolt in there finger tight to hold the rod up so they can stick the new pump in. A missing bolt there is one of the most common causes of new-motor mystery oil leakage, or leaks when somebody hacks the emissions systems.

Sure you can put a breather on there; then it will simply spew oil all over the top of the engine instead of into the throttle body. A better solution would be to put it all back like it came, with a new PCV valve and a known good hose, and get that system to work right; that way, you shouldn't have any oil coming out of any breathers, assuming your rings and your exhaust valve guides are in good shape.

Here's what they should look like, if everythign is working right. I apologize for all the dirt - it's been at least 6000 miles since I've washed the engine, so that's 6000 miles worth of oil buildup all around the PCV and all on the breather. Notice the amount of oil. If you make sure that system works right instead of just hacking it, this is what happens.

 

Thanks for clearing up the bolt issue.

I know thats not my problem so I'm gonna go for replacing my pcv valve even though it was replaced a few weeks ago.

But I'm still confused why oil is coming up the dipstick. A bad pcv vavle can cause that much pressure build up through the dipstick?

Maybe it's the remaining motor flush? I dunno

This leak needs to go away.

 

Yes, a bad or non-functioning PCV system can cause that....

Any combustion leakage past the rings or the exhaust valve guides will end up in the crankcase. THere's always going to be a little of this. Left to itself, if the crankcase was totally sealed, eventually it would build up so much pressure it would blow the valve covers off or something.

The PCV system uses engine vacuum to draw all of this out of there; and the little breather on the opposite valve cover lets in fresh, filtered air. The PCV valve should draw wnough sir out of the crankcase that there should be a slight vacuum in there, not pressure. Obvioulsy if there's vacuum, oil is going to try to go into, rather than out of, the crankcase.

Make sure that the hose you have the PCV valve on has vacuum on it when the engine is running. That may be the only thing wrong with your whole system. Even with a good valve, the hose might be hooked to the wrong place, or blocked with crud, or kinked or pinched.

 

mine is traveling up the dipstick as welllllll........new PCV is going in today .......tell me what solved your problem ...and I'll do the same

 

RB83L69, You were exactly right. My issue was the vac hose behind the TPS that went into the passenger side valve cover. It was blocked. With that replaced...no more leak or smoke!

Thank you!

 

Great!!! Cheap fix, can't beat that.

 

I have the same problem with oil spewing from the dip stick tube. Did you run a compression check or a leakdown test? I did and found out I have two bad cylinders. I figure that this is putting excess pressure into the crankcase causing it to blow out the dip stick tube. I could be wrong but for me it doesn't matter because the 305 is coming out and a 350 is going in very shortly. So I'd at least do a compression test to see how good your rings are sealing. I hoped this helps!

 

Nix the above suggestion, I didn't read the entire thread. If I did I would have noticed you found the problem. You were luckier than I.

 

I have the same problem with oil spewing from the dip stick tube.
were dose the pvc hook to