oil leaking

[colbyrichards]

ok well when i try to start the car it might take as ong as 2-3 seconds to get it to start and when im driving sometimes my hood will be smoking from the driver side under the hood. and there is a large amount of oil on the front of my hood and underneath it and im not sure where the oil might be leaking from....if it also helps the air intake gets pretty hot as well sometimes.

[warlocke]

might have a bad gasket

[colbyrichards]

thats what i was thinking but i just took the air intake off the top of the motor and underneath it is a huge amount of gunky oil....im trying to think if oil can get into the air intake....i think ur right though a bad gasket but the question is what gasket....cuz its spraying out the front of the hood when it leaks

[oldgrezmonke]

drivers side...maybe the distributor?

[colbyrichards]

i actually just replaced the entire distributor....so its not that....im thinking it might be PCV Valve and i just checked it but i have no idea how to see if it is leaking....this is what autozone says:

3 Inspect Oil Filler Cap Loose or damaged oil drain plug
5 Inspect PCV Valve Plugged or damaged pcv valve.
6 Inspect Piston Ring Set Worn or broken piston rings.

i checked the oil filler cap and its on there tight, the PCV Valve i dont know how to check....and the piston ring set i have no clue where it is to check it....

or it also says this...

1 Inspect Oil (Crankcase) Capacity Low engine oil level
2 Inspect Oil Drain Plug Loose or damaged oil drain plug
5 Inspect Oil Pump Damaged or faulty oil pump
6 Inspect Piston Ring Set Worn or broken piston rings.

[packrat427]

It may just be a valve cover that is leaking and the air flow is blowing it up on the inside of your hood , Is there a lot of oil that is running down the front of the head /exhaust manifold area ?

[colbyrichards]

yes there is quite a bit of oil...i mean i replaced all the oil like 2 maybe 3 weeks ago and now im completely out of oil....

[colbyrichards]

ok so i just took a look at the front part of my engine where the valve cover should be and there is a lot of oil build up around it so do u think its the gasket or the vavle cover?

[packrat427]

That much oil ?? WOW , where is the majority of it running down from , can you see if it is leaking above the head to block area , or from the head to block down .
Like is it coming from up high or the lower portion of the engine , that much should be dripping off of everything :shock:

[colbyrichards]

its dripping from the upper part to the lower. like if you took the top part of the engine off right where they meet.

/----------------------\
| |
| |
------------------------- <-------right there is where its dripping
| |

its got a big build up of it around the edge of it.

[warlocke]

id try a valve cover gasket first, its cheap and easy as far as i know lol havent done on on these cars but on my gremlin it was right on top, but it was carbed to so i dunno lol

[Pu241]

colbyrichards

Even if this doesn't stop all of the leak this has got to be a big part of it!

Do yourself a favor, before it gets too cold, use the engine cleaner stuff at the car wash and let it soak a few minutes!
Warning:
DO NOT GET ANY ON THE DISTRIBUTOR OR ALTERNATOR :shock:

I like to do mine while the engine is running!
But if you prefer, you can shut the engine off and cover the Dist. and Alt. with Plastic or Aluminum foil.

Then blast it with the high pressure water.
Once again, heed the above warning!

If that doesn't work you might need to use an engine degreaser.
Any how you do it, this will help you with replacing the valve cover gasket!
You really don't want to attempt to replace that till the areas clean!
Its a cheap fix that will help you car last longer.
With oil at $2 a quart it will pay for itself as well.

i mean i replaced all the oil like 2 maybe 3 weeks ago and now im completely out of oil....

Also, don't let it run out of oil!
Check it often, till you fix it, cheaper than a new engine or car!

Where you at, maybe one of us can come over and give you a hand?

Pu241

[packrat427]

__________________________
=======================\ <Valve cover (1)
.................................................. ..|
.................................................. ..|
.................................................. ..| < head
=======================| < head to block mating surface (2)
.................................................. ..|
.................................................. .|
.................................................. .| < Block (3)
.................................................. .|
Is it leaking at # 1 or 2

[festivus]

i had the exact same problem with my festiva. you could actually see oil on the top side of the hood. my oil was spraying up into the air box also. it turned out to be the front crank seal that was cracked.

[colbyrichards]

__________________________
=======================\ <Valve cover (1)
.................................................. ..|
.................................................. ..|
.................................................. ..| < head
=======================| < head to block mating surface (2)
.................................................. ..|
.................................................. .|
.................................................. .| < Block (3)
.................................................. .|
Is it leaking at # 1 or 2

its leaking at #1....im going to go get a new valve cover gasket tomorrow and replace it. its only like $14 and thanks for all the adice guys! and im in florida right now. Port Saint lucie.