Small Oil Leak...Remedy?...Valv Maxlife & AT205?

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Gents I have a 2003 Mazda Protege 2.0L, has developed a small leak...nothing major; a quarter-sized spot on the gar floor after a cple days. Hard to tell the precise origin, could be the rear main seal or just a soft gasket. So I got some Valv Maxlife and just replace the existing (non-hi-mileage) oil. So here's my questions:

1) I know it takes some time for the maxlife to heal small leaks....what's a reasonable time or mileage, before going to whatever next step?

2) I understand that additives aren't ideal; but if I do need to try that next, what's a good option? I read a lot about ATP AT205...good stuff?

3) IF I do get an additive, would it be compatible w/ the maxlife, or should only basic m.o. be used? Meaning, entire oil change?

It's a good little car, but at 11 yrs old, seals & gaskets do start to wear.

What do y'all recommend?
(btw...I have a cple pics from under the car, but I don't think the forum accepts attachments)

thx fellas
Jeff
 
First see if you can fix the leak. Could be something simple!
And yes, if you were to use MaxLife, use it alone without any other additives. It's good oil!
 
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+1 MaxLife. Loved it since I tried it in my old cavalier many years back.

MaxLife varys really. I started to notice a difference at 400-500 miles. Some people it takes a change or two.

Its worked well for me every time iv used it in the past with the exception of my old Volvo but that seal was nearly shot.
 
Ok, maxlife it is! It's in the car. As to additives....hold off for a few hundred miles, might not need it/them?
 
Originally Posted By: poiyt
Ok, maxlife it is! It's in the car. As to additives....hold off for a few hundred miles, might not need it/them?


You are probably going to need to wait more than a few hundred miles, unless you are lucky.

When you get 1/2 or 2/3 of the way through the initial change, then you may want to see how it is going. For some people, the changes don't even occur until the 2nd change.
 
So...patience is required, yes? 1000's of miles, before considering an additive??
 
Originally Posted By: poiyt
What do y'all recommend?

When did you change oil? May be just oil plug need to be tighten.
 
Liqui-moly motor oil saver has worked in every leaker I've used it in. It's inexpensive and there are numerous benefits using it,not just it's gasket conditioning ability.
I've used valvoline only a handful of times in an engine,I do use their tranny fluid without any complaints though.
 
+1 maxlife

Used in my gf's abused elantra and it didnt stop it but huge improvement.

she was loosing about 1qt per 3 weeks, and poor girl never drives the car anywhere. she puts prob around 3-4k per year on the car.
 
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Even if the Maxlife doesn't stop the leak, there is no need for an additive. Just add oil when needed.
 
If it is an easy fix, fix it. If it is a minor leak coming from a major project that isn't cost effective to repair I'd say try to mend it. I'll probably upset some people by recommending an additive aka repair in a bottle, however I have recently had 3 sucessfull ( at least up until the point where I am posting this, hopefully I don't jinx myself) using Blue Devil Oil Stop Leak.

There may be mixed reviews on this product, but like I said I have had some good luck. It's more costly than say some Bars Leak or similar product at about $20 per bottle, but they also offer a money back guarantee. More on this in a second.

One of my father's cars which is an '98 Cirrus with a 2.5l Mitsu V6. The car was my grand mother's. It was a low mileage car but is quite old by today's standards. A little while back at I'm guessing aprox 50k it developed a rear main seal leak. My dad had it repaired at the dealer. He kept getting some spotting on the garage floor afterwards and the dealer told him that it looked like one of the head gaskets was leaking a small amount of oil. It wasn't major and the probably not worth the cost of replacing the head gasket. We put a bottle of the Blue Devil in to see if it helped. With in a week there were no more spots appearing. Power washed the engine both above and below and he has not had this leak come back. That was the first week of June. Still no leak.

My girlfriends Beetle was leaking oil somewhere from the top of the engine. Hard to pin point but it could have been coming from the vacuum pump or something else in that area. It was running down to block and dripping from the bottom of the engine. Enough that after a day or so there was about a 5-6" diameter spot. Thought it was worth a try. Blue Devil in February. No spots since.

Finally, coworkers ram truck was leaking oil. Possible rear main or oil pan. He used it and its been about 5 months and says its seemed to either stop it or at least slow it down to the point where it doesn't seem to noticible.

As far as the guarantee, I wanted to see if they really backed to their product because I was looking into another one of their more expensive products and didn't didnt to risk $50 on a possible fix. I filed a test claim on the VW ( i know this is unethical) repair using the form from their website. One of their tech guys called me a day or so later to help trouble shoot. I explained the original leak, how and when I added to blue devil. Mileage that has been put on since, and that it was still leaking. He apologized and the next week I received a refund check in the mail.

I've tried all sorts of stop leaks over the years trying to save some money on repairs. Most did not work, or only helped for a short period of time. I wouldn't recommend something unless I actually had good results with it, and their product actually seems to work pretty well. I'd say it definitely has a better chance of fixing your problem than a high mileage oil does. This is a specialized product meant to stop a leak. HM oil is a product that is meant to be oil first, with less emphasis on stopping leaks. I think it is worth a try. You really arent risking anything. If it doesn't work you get your money back. If it does, you can be happy and smile because you just fixed an issue with only $20.

Just my thoughts
 
Gents...great replies...thanks. A few points: 1) I just added the maxlife. Will drive a few 100 mi; see what happens. 2) It's a small leak- finding and fixing would cost mucho $$$- guaranteed. 3) I'd like the leak stopped, iso just adding oil in the top that goes out the bottom.

My main question was: a) having changed to maxlife, who long should the car be driven before any noticeable improvement can be expected; and b) if I do go the additive route, what's the best product and will anything I add be compatible with the maxlife?

I hear good reviews on
*Liqui Moly 2020 Motor Oil Saver
*ATP AT205
*BlueDevil Oil Stop Leak

Pls advise? thanks!
Jeff
 
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[QUOTE-poiyt]: My main question was: a) having changed to maxlife, who long should the car be driven before any noticeable improvement can be expected; and b) if I do go the additive route, what's the best product and will anything I add be compatible with the maxlife?

This could take 2-3 oil changes with regular driving and oil change intervals(OCI's). Be patient and stay away from additives for now otherwise, you won't know what worked...if at all!
 
Originally Posted By: poiyt
2) It's a small leak- finding and fixing would cost mucho $$$- guaranteed.


I'm going to annoy the OP, ignore the main question and go back to subpoint #2.

What you said is not a guarantee. Murphy's Law is a cliché! It could be something as simple as a restricted PCV valve.
 
Originally Posted By: Char Baby
[QUOTE-poiyt]

This could take 2-3 oil changes with regular driving and oil change intervals(OCI's). Be patient and stay away from additives for now otherwise, you won't know what worked...if at all!



Char...2-3 oil changes....at 3000m intervals....so I'd need to drive for 6 mos or 6000mi, to see if maxlife works??? Geez, that's the patience of Job...but I agree with you on this: maxlife 1st, additives only later...but if maxlife doesn't ger-er-dun by 500-1000 miles...then which additive (of the 3 I listed)?
 
Originally Posted By: poiyt
Originally Posted By: Char Baby
[QUOTE-poiyt]

This could take 2-3 oil changes with regular driving and oil change intervals(OCI's). Be patient and stay away from additives for now otherwise, you won't know what worked...if at all!



Char...2-3 oil changes....at 3000m intervals....so I'd need to drive for 6 mos or 6000mi, to see if maxlife works??? Geez, that's the patience of Job...but I agree with you on this: maxlife 1st, additives only later...but if maxlife doesn't ger-er-dun by 500-1000 miles...then which additive (of the 3 I listed)?


Which additive? I have no idea!
 
Your leak did not start overnight so dont expect it to stop so soon
I run Maxlife in my truck and it does work on small leaks but you must give it time
My rear main leak started slowing down after about 3000 miles
 
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