Major oil leak somewhere... no clue where

[Klutch9]

Ok so here is the story... my car's dipstick (car is in the signature) has popped out of its spot a few times in the last few weeks. meaning that instead of being fully seated, it is like 1/4 of an inch or so above where it should sit. that makes me curious, because it does not do it all the time... anyhow, im thinking that it might be doing that because maybe my PCV valve is bad? or clogged. so maybe it popped up the dipstick to relieve crankcase pressure, that makes sense i guess. but here is where it gets interesting.

this evening i went out to pick up some dinner. it is just above zero here, but my car still has no problem starting, it runs great, so i drive there, sit in the line for like 10 minutes, and my car never overheats at all (in fact while sitting in line, it actually stayed a few degrees below the thermostat temp the whole time) so that is good to know... everything is working as it should. but the fun starts on the way back home. about halfway back, i start smelling oil burning. its not insane, but still quite annoying, and after awhile, i knew it was coming from my car. i get home to find the dipstick (which by the way, is on the firewall side of the engine, which is transversely mounted, aka the car is front wheel drive) popped out again. AND: the entire firewall area is COATED in oil, i mean coated. and the bottom of the hood also has oil on it, as well as the manifold and everything else in that area. funny thing is i let it run, pushed the dipstick back down, and i didnt see anything leaking or spraying. in fact, i went to check the oil level, and according to the dipstick, i still have the same amount of oil.

So whats going on here?! i dont see how that oil couldve come out of the dipstick tube... i mean, sure there could have been a slight pressure buildup in the crankcase causing the stick to pop up, but its not like there is pressurized oil sitting at the top of the tube waiting to spew out. any help is appreciated guys

 

[Klutch9]

here is some more info: i had the cylinders pressure tested back in the summer, and everything checked out a-ok. also, there is no blue smoke coming out of the exhaust, so i assume it isnt burning any oil. i remember once in my SRT-4, my pcv system was clogged, so while under boost, small amounts of oil would slip past the rings (from the crankcase, into the combustion chamber) and i would get a little smoke after every WOT run. im not sure whats happening in this case with my Grand Am however, so i need some help...

 

[c3po]

I would check the PCV, when was the last time it was changed. It sounds like you have a pressure problem, check the PCV and let us know how it looks, or if it has been on there a long time just change it.

 

[sciphi]

Could be the dipstick itself worked loose. You're in the Rust Belt, so strange stuff is known to happen when cars rust...

 

[Klutch9]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
Could be the dipstick itself worked loose. You're in the Rust Belt, so strange stuff is known to happen when cars rust...


what im wondering though is where all the oil came from. even if it worked itself loose, would oil spew out from the dipstick tube? i cant see that happening, as the tube isnt a pressurized oil line... obvouisly

 

[dishdude]

Sounds like you have blowby, a broken piston ring will allow compression gases to go down into the crankcase and blow the oil right out of the engine, in this case the dipstick!

This sucks because it means the lower end is shot

 

[mechtech2]

The PCV valve may have condensation in it that freezes, and only works right when it is fully warm.
But if the stick is popping out, you have high internal pressures, and should check the inlet and outlet of the PCV system.

 

[Klutch9]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
Sounds like you have blowby, a broken piston ring will allow compression gases to go down into the crankcase and blow the oil right out of the engine, in this case the dipstick!

This sucks because it means the lower end is shot

i dont think this is the case... think about it... even if i have a bad ring, the pressure exiting the crankcase would be in the form of air, not oil. or at the worst, oily air (which is what the air in the crankcase is) this is why intake systems accumulate an oily film over time, because the crankcase air is relieved into the air intake via the pcv system. so worst come to worst, id just start to develop some oil residue in my engine bay over a period of time.

 

[Klutch9]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
Sounds like you have blowby, a broken piston ring will allow compression gases to go down into the crankcase and blow the oil right out of the engine, in this case the dipstick!

This sucks because it means the lower end is shot

why exactly does this mean that the lower end is shot? please explain...

 

[Klutch9]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
The PCV valve may have condensation in it that freezes, and only works right when it is fully warm.
But if the stick is popping out, you have high internal pressures, and should check the inlet and outlet of the PCV system.


that is possible. but again, my engine had been fully warmed up for like 20 minutes when i started smelling the oil. which means that even when it was cold, things were working fine. this "incident" happened when my engine was already up to operating temps

 

[dishdude]

Mechtech makes a very good point about condensation in the PCV system, which is possible. It's so cold in the NE right now that anything is possible, so I wouldn't panic until it warms up a bit!

Blowby will push the dipstick out, and spray oil if it is bad enough.

 

[jamas1]

Klutch9,it does sound like you have excessive blow-by,but if it was mine I would chck pcv and hose to make sure nothing is clogged and then check all fluids...sounds kinda strange oil level is full

 

[Klutch9]

Originally Posted By: jamas1
Klutch9,it does sound like you have excessive blow-by,but if it was mine I would chck pcv and hose to make sure nothing is clogged and then check all fluids...sounds kinda strange oil level is full

i know doesn't it?! i let it sit for like 20ish minutes after i drove it, then checked the level several times, and it was still right at the upper end of the full/empty measuring region... same as when i filled it. its very odd, but i will start with checking the pcv and hose tomorrow, when i have some daylight, and no matter what i think ill replace the pcv valve. they're cheap, so what the heck right?

 

[Klutch9]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
Mechtech makes a very good point about condensation in the PCV system, which is possible. It's so cold in the NE right now that anything is possible, so I wouldn't panic until it warms up a bit!

Blowby will push the dipstick out, and spray oil if it is bad enough.

i do suppose this is possible. thank you for the input everyone. it is supposed to warm up a bit later on in the week. until then, im gonna drive another car and try and diagnose this one

 

[Klutch9]

UPDATE: ok, so i just looked under the hood for awhile, and after some searching around, there is no doubt that it all came from the oil dipstick tube. the head gasket and valve cover gaskets are bone dry, no leaks there. so it is most likely the pcv valve. ill post more information after i install a new one later in the week

 

[jamas1]

Klutch9. let us know how it turns out. Good luck!