My old gal went in for an oil change...

[rayinpenn]

The dealer said she’s got an oil leak but we’ve never seen a drop or added any in 126,00 miles. Yes we’ve religiously change the oil every 3000 miles. It could be a tiny leak that’s gone on for years. The prescription was clean the engine and add some dye in the oil. It’s been 200 miles since the dye job. Mrs and I drove the 15 minutes and dropped my old ride at Honda. I drove my old gal and she ran like a fine watch and guess what? thanks to me and a reluctant cool hand Luke the interior was clean.
I immediately changed the radio station - oh my the stuff kids listen to!

My attachment with my old steed comes from her reliability - she never left the daughter or I stranded. Oh there was that tearful first flat (my suggestion ‘bat your eyes’ - it Worked some good Samaritans appeared ). Two years ago the old lady needed a generator $700 something. Thought the dealer in Johnstown said people generally didn’t fix it but we did. Two years later we are glad as the daughter was 4 plus hours away at college and then she became cool hands ride all without another dime- turns out $700 something was a good investment.

The old gal has some age spots but so do I- ill anxiously await the verdict tomorrow. The life or death number is $1,000. We decided Cool Hand isn’t ready for a newer car yet- he will have push the 3.0 GPA a bit. Bribery! yeah I’m not above that.

I recognize many would love to have my problems.

 

[travelover]

I wouldn't spend any significant amount to fix a minor oil leak.

 

[wmc1000]

If the dealer said my Honda had a leak but I never had any drips on my garage floor or had to add any oil between oil changes I wouldn't do anything to it but keep driving it.

 

[Hermit]

The local Jeep dealership is on a continuous fishing expedition - in my bullfold. I tell them to just change the oil.

 

[ProspectiveBum]

I agree with the posters above. I’d continue driving the car until the leak became problematic. Also, $1k seems low as a threshold to abandon the car. Could you replace it for that little (especially since it’s otherwise been so reliable and has pretty low miles)? To me, there’s value in knowing that the car has been well-maintained over its life. Getting rid of it and buying another used vehicle would seem a bigger gamble.

 

[Dawg52]

If you see no oil spots on concrete and never have to add oil I wouldn't do anything. Sounds fishy as others have said.

 

[Bamaman]

My brother in law had a couple of Honda dealerships. His shop was a pack of bandits. He has now been a Lexus dealer since 1989, and his shop is #1 in service sales of all dealerships in a major city. My 10 year old Lexus only saw his shop once--the day I picked it up.

Do yourself favor and find a good independent auto repair shop.

 

[aja8888]

I'm surprised that people still change their oil every 3,000 miles. But, then again, many service shops are as Bamaman says "a pack of bandits".

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

My Dad figures that it's time to change the oil every time he gets a coupon from the dealer. If he went with that "recommendation", his oil would be changed every 200 miles.

I'm surprised that people still change their oil every 3,000 miles. But, then again, many service shops are as Bamaman says "a pack of bandits".

 

[aja8888]

My Dad figures that it's time to change the oil every time he gets a coupon from the dealer. If he went with that "recommendation", his oil would be changed every 200 miles.

I bought a 1999 Lexus sedan out of an estate of a dead guy a few years ago and it had 37,000 miles on it. It came with all the service receipts from the Lexus dealer. For the first 24,000 miles, inspections and oil changes were done every 5,000 miles. After that, oil was changed 13 times, two new batteries were installed, and a back up camera was replaced for $400. The interesting thing is the car was not equipped with a back up camera!

They really took advantage of the old fellow.

 

[ohyes]

Our second car is a 2008 Impala - the one I drive around town...(and up to 100 miles away in case of "emergencies".) She has 160,000+ miles and has a "slight oil leak" - leaving evidence on concrete surfaces.

We were told about this leak two years ago. We were not planning to keep her much longer so did not invest any $$ on repairs. Since then, we have had no trouble out of the car besides adding oil every 3-6 months. I put about 3000 mi/year on her.

 

[ERD50]

I'm surprised that people still change their oil every 3,000 miles. But, then again, many service shops are as Bamaman says "a pack of bandits".

Yes, I'd like to know what car calls for 3,000 mile oil changes? Haven't seen that in a long time.

Or is it the Popemobile (he did say he changes it 'religiously', I don't recall motor oil being involved in any major religion, though I guess there is 'anointing'?)

-ERD50

 

[travelover]

...........They really took advantage of the old fellow.

Might be what killed him.

 

[Sunset]

I have 2 cars with oil leaks.
It takes about 3 months to accumulate 1 oz of leaked oil, I know as I put an old cake pan/cookie sheet under each car where it leaks.
Keeps the garage clean, and seems neater than putting cardboard down that gets messy in a month and needs replacement.

 

[Scrapr]

Took my Volvo into a shop I had never used prior to deglaze the headlight lenses. They provided a "free 20 point inspection". They came out with a very sad face. Major oil leak. Possibly the oil breather or PCV. I ask how can there be a "major" leak when I have nothing on the driveway. Not much of a response. I take it over immediately to my indy Volvo guy. Raymond says ......(wait for it).....no leak

At least i got to cross that shop off my list

 

[brucethebroker]

Before everything was computerized, I took my car in for a recommended transmission service. The next trip in, guess what? I needed a transmission service. "You did that when I was in last year".
"Oh, sorry."

 

[aja8888]

I have 2 cars with oil leaks.
It takes about 3 months to accumulate 1 oz of leaked oil, I know as I put an old cake pan/cookie sheet under each car where it leaks.
Keeps the garage clean, and seems neater than putting cardboard down that gets messy in a month and needs replacement.

My 70's BSA Lightening motorcycle came with a oil leak drip catch pan when it was new.

Small oil leaks from older, high mileage cars can result from dried out valve cover gaskets, rear main seal wear, PC Valve crankcase breather, and camshaft seal wear (for overhead camshaft engines). Unless the oil leakage is excessive, it's usually just an inconvenience and not something to spend a lot of dough on.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Put Mobil 1 Synthetic in all our cars leave oil for 15000 miles. Change Filter Every 5000. After 15k Check color, if dirty it gets changed if not the filter gets changed and the oil stays. 3k Oil changes only benefit the Oil companies and the Institutions that perform the work. It is a Legacy tradition from when we only had crappy Fossil based Oils.

 

[Car-Guy]

I change the oil (and filters) in all my vehicles every 5k miles or once a year. (Which ever comes first). The newer cars have oil life monitors and they will usually start show the remaining oil life is getting pretty low by the time I get to 5k miles. I use Mobil 1 and change the oil and filters myself and I can tell you the oil is plenty dirty and already looking "thin" at 5k miles.

 

[97guns]

My mom took her Cadillac to the dealer for an oil change a few months back, when she went to pick it up they told her she has a leak in 7 different places and that it would be $5600 to pull the engine and get to all of them. She declined, went home and threw cardboard under the car, next day no leak, several months later still no leaks and the dealerships GM gets a nasty email

 

[38Chevy454]

Ray, you can buy a lot of oil for $1000. As others said, just live with a small leak; especially one that does not even leave a spot on the floor. Teach your son to check the level every so often. That car has many thousands of miles of good service left in it with only 126K.


All of my old hot rods leak. Newer engines are just sealed up better than older ones were. Better seal techniques and design has a lot to do with it.

Put Mobil 1 Synthetic in all our cars leave oil for 15000 miles. Change Filter Every 5000. After 15k Check color, if dirty it gets changed if not the filter gets changed and the oil stays. 3k Oil changes only benefit the Oil companies and the Institutions that perform the work. It is a Legacy tradition from when we only had crappy Fossil based Oils.

Just a comment, Mobil 1 is fossil oil based. In fact most all labeled "synthetic oil" you buy are still fossil oil based. They are better lubricating than the older "non-synthetic" oils. The difference is better refinement and additive packages. There are true 100% synthetic oils, they cost more than the common synthetic oil you typically find on the shelf.


Another factor that has really helped oil change intervals is that engines burn much cleaner now, thanks to fuel injection. Combine that with more precise machining, and result is less blow-by to contaminate the oil. Synthetic media oil filters also provide better filtering, if you happen to use those.

 

[MRG]

I drove a '68 Ford pickup that got ten miles to the quart. It burnt it, leaked it, you name it. Ran with the hottest plugs it would take, with non-foulers(spark plug condoms) to keep the oil off the plugs.

Finally pulled the 360 and put a 390 in it. There was some cobbling done around the exhaust.

 

[Bamaman]

I have noticed if there is a weak gasket anywhere, it will be found when synthetic oil is put into the engine. Happens every time.

 

[skipro33]

I had a Subaru Forester with an engine oil leak. It's a split case block and they would have had to completely tear down the engine to fix it. I couldn't afford $3,000 to fix an oil leak! Then I thought, so the duck what?! Why do I care if it drips a little oil? Keep an eye on it and add as necessary. I went back to the mechanic and asked what the ramifications were for not repairing the leak, just keeping the level at full. Nothing, he told me. Not a dang thing. That was in 2006 and the car still runs fine with a drip.

 

[ncbill]

My 70's BSA Lightening motorcycle came with a oil leak drip catch pan when it was new.

Small oil leaks from older, high mileage cars can result from dried out valve cover gaskets, rear main seal wear, PC Valve crankcase breather, and camshaft seal wear (for overhead camshaft engines). Unless the oil leakage is excessive, it's usually just an inconvenience and not something to spend a lot of dough on.

Small drip from this on an older Mercedes sports coupe I inherited.

Falls directly onto the manifold and burns off - have to keep the car moving to avoid smelling it inside since I'm not inclined to pay for a complete engine disassembly right now.

Don't know if I helped cause the above since I switched it over to synthetic as soon as I got my hands on it - soon after I had to have the valve cover gaskets replaced.