Slight Leak on Escort...What to Do?

[lancerplayer]

On a friend's 1997 Ford Escort (127K miles) there is a slight leak from the engine. Every time he pulls away he notices a quarter size oil spot on the ground. He picked up some Bar's Leak Engine Oil Stop Leak and wants to put it in. I'm not too familiar with that product. Any advice on what to do to stop the leak without causing harm to the engine? I'm not sure if he has to add oil between his 3,000 OCI. I will find that out.

Bar's Leak Engine Oil Stop Leak = http://www.barsproducts.com/E10L.htm

Ford specifies 5w30. Would going to something thicker help stop the leak? Any dino oils proven to reduce/stop leaking?

I'm open to all suggestions!

 

[eljefino]

You could use that UV dye stuff and a blacklight. Or steam clean the layers of grime off so the leak will reappear by itself.

Some of those cars seem pretty inky even up top, a sign of a valve cover gasket, which shouldn't be too hard.

 

[casper]

Steam or chemical clean the bottom as much as possible and see where it is coming from. If you friend can not find the source, I would then say that if the oil level isnt dropping to fast, I would throw some HM oil in there and keep topping it off for a few thousand miles and see if that clears up the issue before adding the additive.

 

[mechtech2]

I would really like to know what is leaking.
A valve cover gasket may be all it is.
Why do you prefer luck and pouring in a miracle sauce?
For a hard to repair front or rear main seal, a seal conditioner or HM oil may help.
But really, find out what is leaking -maybe an oil pressure sender for $10.

 

[lancerplayer]

*Update*

We believe the leak is coming from the main seal. Since it is only a slight leak, my friend does not want to replace the seal yet. Which would be a better choice? 5w30 HM oil or 15w40 HDEO? Any other options?

 

[Spector]

Try the HM and see if any change. Also may try White Shepherd Stop leak, expensive at around $21 but they will refund if it does not work

 

[RISUPERCREWMAN]

If it is a main seal leak, no HM oil or other fix in a bottle will work! Just fix the leak.....

 

[SLCraig]

You will realistically have to fix the problem, but I would try the HM formula over the HDEO if it were me.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: lancerplayer
*Update*

We believe the leak is coming from the main seal. Since it is only a slight leak, my friend does not want to replace the seal yet. Which would be a better choice? 5w30 HM oil or 15w40 HDEO? Any other options?

Try the seal swell stuff, I had a much worse leak out of the rear main seal on my 81 Omega(I was worried about it catching on fire, it was leak a quart every 2 or 3 fillups and smoking...) A can of seal swell reduced it to near zero.

For a few drops, I'd not worry about it in an old car. Oil is pretty cheap and probably the car will be dead before they add $100 worth of oil.

 

[lancerplayer]

My friend isn't worry about a few drops of oil out the the engine. He is sick of the oil spots in his driveway and fed up with having to put something underneath his car to catch the oil.

 

[Velo_Fello]

I've had very good luck fixing oil leaks with Royal Purple, and spectacular results with Redline.

I believe RP has around 15% ester based synthetic, and Redline, around 50%.

Esters have a natural seal-swelling tendency, so you may be in luck if it's your crank seal or your cam angle sensor seal.