PunchedGuava

I bought my car a couple months ago and changed the oil. About a month and a half after, I went to get an alignment and the guy did a basic check as well and he said I was 1 quart lower than normal.. After the first oil change, there was ALOT of sludge too. I had to clean the engine bay and all because it was pretty blackened, I couldn't even see what type of engine it was (D16Y8) because it was covered in grease/oil?

Anyways, I haven't noticed any leaks as far as when the cars parked because there's no oil under when I move it, but I have noticed the oil pan (I think) is covered in oil.. I have pictures.



Where heads connect to car, there's some sort of sludge..?



trans?



Any ideas as to what could be the cause? Should I be worried? Is it burning oil too fast or is it a leak you think?

Former User

Clean the oil oil off the engine and then carefully watch where fresh oil reappears.

The most common oil leaks come from the distributor O-ring, VTEC solenoid, oil pan gasket, and the valve cover gasket.

ReaperMan

looks like a pcv failure.

PunchedGuava

I was able to sort of clean it, but not thoroughly. Hopefully it's enough to notice a difference. I'll wait and check.

Should I replace the pcv?

Oh, and I also remember the guy who sold it to me saying he had some gasket replaced, didn't recall which one exactly though.

ElectronBlue00

I wouldn't. Not until you can locate exactly where the oil leak is coming from.

PunchedGuava

Does PCV failure = more oil burnt? And the gaskets and stuff = leaks?

Former User

The PCV system is for emissions only. Just make sure that the breather and PCV hoses are clear and that the PCV valve is working.

ReaperMan

the pcv vavle is not for emissions only. a bad pcv valve is what gives your engine a tube to breathe thru. a pcv if its not working right it will create pressure inside the engine causing oil leaks everywhere *the famous* looks like grease all over the engine. that is what our teacher touch us. the "BLOWBY" is what is transferred thru the pcv as well. if that blowby is big enough it will cause major oil leaks if the pcv valve is not working right. plus a new pcv is dirt cheap, it part of a tune up anyways

Former User

1) Even if the PCV valve or hose were clogged, the crankcase pressure wouldn't build to high levels because the pressure can be released into the intake system via the breather hose.

2) If any significant pressure builds up in the crankcase, the rings are extremely worn and the engine has much bigger problems than an external oil leak.

Therefore, for modern engines, a bad PCV valve generally does not cause external oil leaks, the vast majority of which are the result of leaky gaskets and seals.

xile6

Simple green spary and a towel.
Clean it up and either baby powder the whole bottom of the car.
Start and wait for leak. It will turn the baby powder brown and your see where it's coming from.

But oil leaks most of the time a leak in that area is.

Oil pan gasket
Oil filter oring
Pcv black box oring
Crank seal
Cam seal
Transmission leak on a 5sp.

PunchedGuava

Clever. I will give this a go soon, and yup it's a 5- spd. 2000 EX.