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man, I am a big noob

A

andylawcc

Lifer
i know my car is either leaking or buring oil recently, so i usually add a quart of oil when the low oil pressure light comes on. Tonight, after getting home from work, I hastily added the oil as it became a habit or ritual if you may and slammed the hood; then I hear a crackling noise - it is the oil cap that I left on top of the valve cover, the hood knocked it off and it bounced back and forth between the engine and exhaust header. It's completely dark and I cannot find it. I guess I have to wait till daylight comes. worst come worst I walk to my local autozone and buy a new one.
 
You definitely want an oil cap on there before you drive it again. You're losing a lot of oil, apparently - I would recommend checking the oil before the light comes on - that's a bad light to have lit!
 
hey, haven't seen you for a while (both literally and cyberspacially). how's you and OS doing?

anyway, I don't know man, I check my parking spot at work and at home, but I didn't see any oil stains/drips.
But in the mean time, I don't notice any blue smoke neither (well, I didn't pay particular notice when I am on the freeway, but in a dead stpo I don't see any blue smoke).

the rate of burning/leaking is about 3-3.5 quarts per 4000 miles. This is my calculation:
After an oil + oil filter change, I add exactly 4 quarts.
the last two time I did my oil change, it was after the low oil pressure light came on (around 4000-5000miles), and from the drain pan, I get 0.5 to 1 quart of used oil.
 
hum... so it seems like I have underestimated a serious problem.

for sure, there's no huge amount of blue smoke, but I haven't paid particular attention.
second, I don't notice any large pool of oil at my parking spot at work and at home. Again, I will have to pay special attention each day.
 
Bad news is the low oil light is usually just a 4 psi switch, and oil pressure dropping that low can already mean damage. Good news is the switch is usually located in the first place to starve for oil when pressure drops, so if it didn't come on but for an instant, you should be ok.

You need to be preemptive on that and not rely on the oil pressure light. By the time that light comes on, oil pressure is already dangerously low.

As for where the oil is going, check your coolant, spark plug tubes, and the edges of the valve cover, distributor, etc.

You can be leaking oil out the valve cover slow enough to burn on the exhaust without every seeing smoke or leaving a spot, for example. There will be more oil in the head while running and it could be dripping out the back edge of the valve cover as you're driving, but not leak long enough to make a puddle while parked.

Oil burning slow enough to deplete over time isn't going to create any noticeable smoke or symptoms.
 
if low oil is causing the oil pressure light come on, it basically means the pickup is sucking air at the bottom of the oil pan. this is not good, and probably means you're low by two quarts or more.
 
You're draining less than a quart of oil at a change? :shocked:

Carry a few quarts in the trunk and check it at every oil change unless you feel like replacing that engine! :Q
 
If my car was drinking that amount of oil and I was regularly bringing it to the oil pressure low light I'd get rid of the car.

Oil pressure lights are not like low-gasoline warnings. You really ought to never, ever see one. I have schooled mrsskoorb on that if she ever sees one, regardless of where she is, to immediately pull over and turn off the car.
 
Yeah, if its losing that much oil and you can't easily account for it, you may be better off ditching the car.

Lucky for you, it won't be hard to sell since you can't even find the missing oil 😛
 
it looks like it's leaking via the gap between the bottom oil pan and the engine leak. but taking off the oil pan seems kinda problematic as there is a crossbeam thing getting in the way.... I will bring it to a shop to assess.
 
My oil pressure light doesn't come on until my engine is already puked.... I found this out the hard way.

I installed an oil pressure gauge on my new engine, and it makes me feel so much more comfortable. If you ever see that light, kill the car.
 
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