my car leaks a little bit of oil, not enough to have it refilled often but it leaks and it's burning on something because when i'm driving and i switch the a/c to get air from the outside it smells like burning exhaust or oil or a mix of the two (Im 99% sure i dont have an exhaust leak because i just got new piping, not sure if its just from cat back though), also a light grey smoke is always coming out of my exhaust(is this normal..?) , it's not a lot, i'm not sure if it looks worse than it is because it's cold but even when it's in the 40's it always seems to be coming out. Since i had my solenoid gasket replaced there isnt any oil on the ground anymore so it's tricky to tell where it could be coming from. I suspected its from the head because the exhaust and the smell but i'm probably wrong..

any suggestions?

 

burning oil or exhaust** not burning exhaust..

 

Sounds like you're burning oil. Light gray smoke isn't normal. You have two diagnostic options.

Option 1: Do a leakdown test. This is the better option, but requires an air compressor. There are DIY's all over the internet for it.

Option 2: Do a dry compression test, followed by a wet compression test. Not as fully diagnostic as a leakdown test, but it'll at least help you see how well your rings are sealing. A wet compression test is simply a compression test with a little bit (a teaspoon or two) of motor oil dropped into the cylinder.

If you do option 1, let us know where the air is escaping. if you do option 2, post the compression test numbers for both dry and wet.

 

okay thank you so much!