Oil Bath -- New Meaning for the Term

[ekpolk]

Last night, I was cruising down I-85, when I came up on a knot of traffic stuck behind a stubborn left lane cruiser. The car stuck in front of me was a relatively new looking Dodge Stratus. When the lane cleared, the Dodge's driver got on it, hard apparently. The car belched a moderate cloud of smoke, and it accelerated forward. From several car lengths back, I could immediately smell oil. Then I noticed that my windshield was getting misted (weather was perfect, btw). Instinctively, I reached for the wiper switch, and realized just as I hit it that this was a bad mistake. Yep, it was oil on the glass, and my visibility immediately went from perfect to almost impossible, with just a couple wiper passes, at it smeared all over the glass.

So, engine experts, was this coming from his exhaust??? If so, how could all that oil make it through the cat and into the exhaust "cloud"? Or might it have been "pressure sprayed" from an underhood leak?

Oddly enough, this is not the first time I've been oil showered. Several years ago, an old P/U (also on the interstate) a good distance out front of me experienced an obvious catastrophic engine failure, which generated another huge cloud of oily smoke.

Anyway, last night's "oil bath" was so bad that I had to pull off to clean the windshield and headlights as they were heavily misted and smeared with oil.

What would cause this? Nothing good, I'd guess. . .

 

[Tosh]

By your description of the cloud of smoke from the exhaust, it sounds like oil getting past the rings from a normally broken-in rental car.

 

[nickmckinney]

If on a newer car I wonder if some idiot forgot to put the oil fill cap back on the engine. I highly doubt you could get raw oil like that out the exhaust.

 

[vad]

I would guess the oil fill cap too.

quote:

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it sounds like oil getting past the rings from a normally broken-in rental car.

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I haven't seen a single smoking rental car. Ever!

 

[brianl703]

Neither have I, and I work near Dulles Airport. My commute to and from work involves the major highway connecting Dulles Airport to another major highway.

I see a rental car at least every few days, and I never see them being abused.

Most rental companies won't even rent a car to you if you have too many tickets. I suspect that weeds out a lot of bozos.

 

[Master ACiD]

have you ever seen cars started in the cold which drip water out the tail pipe? they never "squirt" water out with any force at all, even when floored.

i would have to think that although his engine may be smoking, i cant see how any oil comming out of the exahust could be propelled with enough force that it mists youre windscreen. it must be comming from somewhere else. perhaps someone filled up the windscreen washer resivor with motor oil?

 

[Big O Dave]

ek, sounds like you were behind James Bond, 007.