My car had a slow oil leak

Tiny
LUE3270
  • MEMBER
  • 2006 SUZUKI GRAND VITARA
  • 150,000 MILES
We took it to the mechanic and he said the valve cover gasket needed to be replaced so we paid $500.00 for them to fix it. While they were fixing it they broke a hose. Stuff happens I understand, but they had to keep my car for three extra days because they had to order the part still no big deal. I finally get my car back and it is still leaking and they broke my dipstick which I know is minor, but they duct taped it back together. I told my husband and he says there was no guarantee that was going to fix the leak and that it could be leaking from several different places. I do not get it! Desperate for some advice. Does this sound right to you?
Monday, September 4th, 2017 AT 12:37 PM

2 Replies

Tiny
HARRY P
  • MECHANIC
  • 2,295 POSTS
It is possible that your husband is right. With an older high mileage car these things do happen. Trust me, I drive a 2002 with 183,000 miles on it. It is not leaking today. Who knows about tomorrow?

Anyways, what you do is stop at the auto parts store and get some engine degreaser. Spray it around the engine block, being careful to (1) follow the instructions on the can and (2) not get it on wires/connectors. And let it do its job. When you have got the engine all nice and clean, drive it a day or two. Then get under it and look for leaks or get a trusted mechanic or the family Mr. Fixit to look. Go from there.

As for the dipstick and piping, these things are generally made of plastic. And things made of plastic that generally do not get along with heating and cooling. It causes them to dry-rot over time. And then they disintegrate when someone touches them or tries to move them. As you said, stuff happens. Especially after 150,000 miles.

Let us know what, if anything, that you find and we will go from there.
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Monday, September 4th, 2017 AT 8:08 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 15,240 POSTS
Clean off the engine as Heyman suggests. Let it dry real good. Then to make it easier to find the leak, dust the engine with some baby powder. Now start the engine and watch for the location the oil makes tracks in the powder.
There are a lot of places besides the valve cover that can leak oil on that engine.
Once you find it, take a couple pictures and post them here and we can try to assist you farther.
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Wednesday, September 6th, 2017 AT 2:44 AM

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