Reading through the various posts on this thread serves to remind me how thankful I am for our local, independent, skilled - and most importantly, honest - auto mechanic. His shop is a small, 2 person operation. That sometimes requires leaving our vehicle(s) for more than a day, but we are glad to it.
My old gal went in for an oil change...
- Thread starter rayinpenn
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Texas Proud
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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I had the guy from what I consider a good shop come out once and tell me my tranny oil was a little burnt... it was at 50K miles so I went ahead and had it changed...
Next visit was 5K miles later and the next guy came and said the tranny fluid was a bit dark and it was close to time to change... I said I paid you to change it last time... he said 'let me go check'.... came back and said that the manager said to do a fluid change for free...
From what I have seen and read, the change does not get all the fluid out... so the old and the new mix...
copyright1997reloaded
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
When it requires oil every time you fill up the gas, then worry about the leak.
ExFlyBoy5
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Sometimes an oil leak may not be visible, yet can be very expensive to address. Case in point is my '09 Infiniti. I won't get into the specifics, but there is a paper gasket that can fail...if it does, it results in throwing a code...yes, a check engine light. Ultimately, it can result in the car going into "limp mode" necessitating a very expensive repair (in the neighborhood of $3K-$5K depending on who does it). At the very least, here in the metro ATL area...it would prevent you from passing the emissions test...again, costing a significant amount of $$$ to repair. It doesn't seem as though it's a very common problem, and so far (fingers crossed), I haven't had the issue. Some owners have reported that if they switched to a fully synthetic oil...the problem shows itself in pretty quick order.
The possibility of this issue has had me pondering if I should get rid of the car before it happens (that's if and when?). Ultimately, I decided to take the chance. I take excellent care of the car, and it sits in a climate controlled garage most of the time. Is it a gamble? Yep...but with the costs of cars these days, it's one I am going to take.
The possibility of this issue has had me pondering if I should get rid of the car before it happens (that's if and when?). Ultimately, I decided to take the chance. I take excellent care of the car, and it sits in a climate controlled garage most of the time. Is it a gamble? Yep...but with the costs of cars these days, it's one I am going to take.
What he and others said.
We once had a '55 Dodge with a flathead six that needed a quart of oil at every fill-up. I forget what finally broke that made us sell it but it wasn't the engine.
Texas Proud
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There is a difference between an old car burning through a quart of oil and a leak... those old cars were not as tight as ones today...
And you can have an old leak without it dripping on the ground... I had one that ran onto the engine and the oil would burn up... sometimes you could see a bit of smoke coming from under the hood if you were looking....
True enough of course, but again, so what? Unless it's something that's going to cause an emissions test rejection adding a quart of oil once in a while is still way cheaper than the $1,000 repair.
I'm not sure about current standards but it was considered within "normal limits" for even a brand-new car to use two or three quarts between changes and it was not covered by the warranty so I'm a bit puzzled by any concerns about that.
You could get the oil pressure tested, and I'm not sure what the dye is about.
My frugal millionaire father used to recycle the oil from our neighbors late model synthetic SUV into his older than dirt 1980s SUV. He eventually sold that thing to a kid who was happier than a pig in... Even with the oil leak.
If The Cool Hand doesn't raise his grades, he can look fwd to higher costs of driving, adding oil to the ole gal every so often. If it leaks all over town...who cares as long as pressure is reliable enough and the cost of refiling the oil doesn't outweigh the cost of the repair bill in any short order.
i would put it on the cool hand. If the grades get raised, fix the car for him, if not, then let him suffer. Afterall, that's basically how this world works lol. Survival of the fittest and all.
My frugal millionaire father used to recycle the oil from our neighbors late model synthetic SUV into his older than dirt 1980s SUV. He eventually sold that thing to a kid who was happier than a pig in... Even with the oil leak.
If The Cool Hand doesn't raise his grades, he can look fwd to higher costs of driving, adding oil to the ole gal every so often. If it leaks all over town...who cares as long as pressure is reliable enough and the cost of refiling the oil doesn't outweigh the cost of the repair bill in any short order.
i would put it on the cool hand. If the grades get raised, fix the car for him, if not, then let him suffer. Afterall, that's basically how this world works lol. Survival of the fittest and all.
It might not be an oil leak as you think of engine oil . it could be the boots on your suspension a small rubber type seal they are filled with grease and they do wear out . Pretty cheap to get repaired . If you have never replaced them on your Honda you will . I drive some nasty roads and have replaced mine on the Ridgeline 156000 miles . They will not show grease or oil on your floor , they just dry out and the parts around them get greasy.
The Mrs and I are hopeful the old gal will last a couple more years for Cool Hand Luke the now sophomore. She will continue to get the love and care she has gotten in the past. I’ll keep an eye on the oil levels etc., and check those ‘boots’.
When it rains it pours...
Funny over the last few nights my wife’s 8 year old highlander alarm started going off for no reason at all. Last night it went off twice after it was parked so we scooted it over to the local Toyota dealer at 9PM. I didnt think my neighbors appreciate that racket at 2AM.
In the midst of all this car stuff My much loved $35 Timex weekender with the cloth bands decided to go stemless and stop working. For Father’s Day I decided to replace it and this time I am going way upscale... a $100 (amazon) citizen eco drive with the simplest face I could find.
https://us.citizenwatch.com/us/en/m...82wIVhUSGCh1D3QadEAAYASABEgLYhPD_BwE&start=46
Isn’t it a statement piece?
Now if that thing about things happening in threes has any merit I am definitely going to be careful with these knees.
When it rains it pours...
Funny over the last few nights my wife’s 8 year old highlander alarm started going off for no reason at all. Last night it went off twice after it was parked so we scooted it over to the local Toyota dealer at 9PM. I didnt think my neighbors appreciate that racket at 2AM.
In the midst of all this car stuff My much loved $35 Timex weekender with the cloth bands decided to go stemless and stop working. For Father’s Day I decided to replace it and this time I am going way upscale... a $100 (amazon) citizen eco drive with the simplest face I could find.
https://us.citizenwatch.com/us/en/m...82wIVhUSGCh1D3QadEAAYASABEgLYhPD_BwE&start=46
Isn’t it a statement piece?
Now if that thing about things happening in threes has any merit I am definitely going to be careful with these knees.
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aja8888
Moderator Emeritus
Engine oil is circulated under constant pressure from the oil pump. Depending on the engine, the pressure could be as high as 80 psi. I'm not sure what an external pressure test would prove, except maybe blowing out some seals and making things worse.
Blueskies123
Recycles dryer sheets
I wonder how many older cars are driving around dripping small to large amounts of oil and how much oil is leaking into the environment every day. The quicker we move to electric cars the better.
"
According to the report ?The Costs of Transportation.? about 46% of vehicles on U.S. roads leak hazardous fluids, including oil; transmission, hydraulic and brake fluid; and antifreeze. (American Automobile Association, Your Driving Costs, 1995 edition prepared by Runzheimer International.) Between 460 and 600 million gallons of the 1.4 billion gallons of lubricating oils used in cars are either burned by the cars engine or lost in drips and leaks, and another 180 million gallons are disposed of improperly in the ground or into sewers. (Source: Apogee Research., The Costs of Transportation: Final Report, Prepared for Conservation Law Foundation, March 1994). http://www.psrc.org/datapubs/pubs/costs.pdf"
"
According to the report ?The Costs of Transportation.? about 46% of vehicles on U.S. roads leak hazardous fluids, including oil; transmission, hydraulic and brake fluid; and antifreeze. (American Automobile Association, Your Driving Costs, 1995 edition prepared by Runzheimer International.) Between 460 and 600 million gallons of the 1.4 billion gallons of lubricating oils used in cars are either burned by the cars engine or lost in drips and leaks, and another 180 million gallons are disposed of improperly in the ground or into sewers. (Source: Apogee Research., The Costs of Transportation: Final Report, Prepared for Conservation Law Foundation, March 1994). http://www.psrc.org/datapubs/pubs/costs.pdf"
GravitySucks
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
That was most of my first 20 years of driving.
brett
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Dealers say a lot of things. Especially when the shop is not as busy as it needs to be or the service adviser is low on commission earnings that month.
We would not bother with an dealer's oil leak solution if we were not seeing oil on the garage floor or on the ground underneath the car. We also check our oil from time to time. If you are burning/loosing less that quart/pint every 5000 miles I would not even bother. Our vehicles are 11 and 12 years old respectively.
We keep a quart of oil in the trunk of both cars. Used a pint once when I was not certain the the oil change topped it up to the mark. Our last Toyota had 250K miles on it and never burned or leaked any oil.
We would not bother with an dealer's oil leak solution if we were not seeing oil on the garage floor or on the ground underneath the car. We also check our oil from time to time. If you are burning/loosing less that quart/pint every 5000 miles I would not even bother. Our vehicles are 11 and 12 years old respectively.
We keep a quart of oil in the trunk of both cars. Used a pint once when I was not certain the the oil change topped it up to the mark. Our last Toyota had 250K miles on it and never burned or leaked any oil.
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