DU car mechanics-Is this "bad"?

[underpants]

So my car seemed to be leaking some oil (never has before) so I took to a really good/trustworthy garage. Their assessment:

Leaking at-Rear Main Seal/Front Crank Seal
Head gaskets are seaping
Intake manifold and distributor o-ring are seaping

[DelawareValleyDem]

1. At least your block isn't cracked

[commander bunnypants]

2. i had the crank one to

fixed it and it is doing fine

CB

[mr_hat]

3. A lot of labor to install a few bits of cardboard. You're looking at

at least 5 hours.

[underpants]

7. Modem and mr_hat: It will cost as much to put in a new one than to fix it

So I have to get another car. Yes I can afford one and we were planning on getting one for the BABY coming in 5 months anyway. I guess that time table just got moved up.

[Modem Butterfly]

15. Well, it might be worth it to donate the car for the tax write-off

Talk to your accountant for more details.

[underpants]

17. Me or my wife?

We ARE accountants!!!!!!!

Too late for 2004. We'll see I can't see getting much for it in trade.

[Modem Butterfly]

19. If you're really unethical you could try to sell it

But you'd have to be a totally slimy Rethug for that.

Or, you could just sell it to one.

;)

[underpants]

21. Maybe I can sell it to a vegan

:bounce:

[Modem Butterfly]

23. But only a fat-assed vegan. Selling it to a retarded vegan is just mean.

[JanMichael]

4. Damn! Must be a Subaru Outback!

;)

I have replaced almost every one of those seals on the Outback--still have one more to go-

[underpants]

9. '90 Buick Regal

Damn that thing was HELL on the open road. No top end that I ever found.

Oh well I only paid my stepfather $400 for it-I gave him my old Mazda to sell to make up the difference for what he wanted for it.

[Modem Butterfly]

5. That's pretty bad

I know on my car, a Volvo 850, repairing the rear main seal means, essentially, dismantling the car from the bottom, so that repair alone is about $2000 and up.

Can you afford another car?

[Worst Username Ever]

6. My Saturn leaks oil from the head gasket

and the cylinder head. About 600-800 dollars worth of labor for about 10 dollars in parts. Engine oil is cheap, my car is a piece of crap. It has been doing this for a number of years now, and I have had no ill effects.

[GOPisEvil]

8. Parts = cheap. Labor = expensive.

Basically, you have to tear the engine apart to replace a few seals and gaskets. As long as you keep adding oil (expensive and bad for the environment, the engine should be fine in the short term.

[underpants]

11. Yeah I know

They put an oil additive in it but that will just slow it down.

They would have to take the engine AND the transmission out to get to all those leaks. Same cost basically to put in a new engine. I'll just get another car.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

10. Yeah..cars leak oil...just keep extra oil in the trunk

If the differential is leaking, that happens on darn near every car after you get some miles on it.

How fast are you going through a quart of oil? (i.e. how fast until it's a quart low?)

Cheap insurance depending on the model of the car would be to put synthetic oil in, this way if it runs out, the engine doesn't blow.

[underpants]

12. Actually not at all recently

I will watch it as I have been but maybe a quart every other week?????

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

14. then at least you know it's only leaking not burning

definitely not worth spending a grand on a 15 year old car.

I think you CAN put synthetic in a Buick engine and that would just give you the extra protection of not blowing up the engine but 5 quarts of synthetic will probably run you about 60 bucks on an oil change.

One thing you might do to make sure the problem isn't worse is idle the car and put your hand at the exhaust in the rear...if your hand gets moist then that means water is leaking into the engine which means the engine's gonna go soon.

[underpants]

16. Oh yeah there is that too

I forgot to mention that

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

18. Water leaking into engine?

RIP head gasket...if you can find an engine on a wrecked one in a junkyard for a few hundred bucks and get it dropped in for a few hundred more then it might be worth it..I wouldn't fix all the problems individually.

[JanMichael]

20. That's exactly what I was thinking...

yeah, this is Steph....

For some reason, about 20% of Subaru DOHC engines blow their head gaskets-- I dread it; love my car to death- but, love it enough to replace the engine, honestly-

[Modem Butterfly]

13. This patient is terminal

Better tell him to keep his cell phone charged.

[XNASA]

22. Is it just me.....

Or do all those things sounds like titles of porn flicks?

:shrug:

Sounds bad. Might not be worth getting a 15 year old Buick repaired.

[underpants]

24. Now a-days yes

all anal all the time.

Too funny.

[jswordy]

25. Well, since you asked for a mechanic, and I am one...

I'd do a couple things. First off, if it is seeping from that many places there is a chance that the crankcase has become pressurized. That can happen when the PCV system doesn't work correctly, or when the piston rings wear badly. If it's the PCV valve or crankcase ventilation system, that can be fixed and oil will then not be forced out the seals, manifold and distributor O-ring by crankcase pressure. If it is worn pistons causing a condition known as blowby, then you won't be able to cheaply fix that, you will have to live with it.

It is odd to have it leak from all those places at once, so it might be worth it to get a second opinion and casually ask if crankcase pressure might be the cause when you drop off the car. Then let them do their thing and see what they say.

OK, let's assume now it is leaking because of wear. I'm guessing it is high mileage.First, don't you waste your good money on $5 a quart synthetic oil to run out on the ground. Instead, find out what weight you are running now, and increase it so the oil will be thicker and so it will be harder to seep out. If you are running 10W40 (common), go to a 20W50 product. You can also add STP or another oil thickener to help slow seepage. But first I would try the 20W50, or a straight 40 weight. Shop for the cheapest name brand oil you can get, since you will be oiling the road with it anyway.

Run the hell out of it, as you at the same time look for another car. If you park in a garage, put cardboard down so you can catch leaks and also know how bad it is leaking.

A can of stop leak/seal conditioner every once in awhile will help.

Check your oil at every gas stop, and keep some with you in the trunk to top off. Cheaper that way.

I know folks who drive for YEARS this way.

[underpants]

27. Wow thanks

I thought it was odd to be leaking in that many spots too.

The guys I took it to are really fair but a second opinion does sound like a good idea.

Since I have your ear-fixing the PCV system would cost roughly how much? Second, What is this PCV system you speak of?

[jswordy]

30. The PCV system

PCV = Positive Crankcase Ventilation. Basically, the vaccuum from your engine sucks the gases out of your sealed crankcase and into the carb, where they then travel to the cylinders and are burned along with fuel. It came into being in the early '60s as a smog fighter, instead of venting the gases to the air.

I read elsewhere here that you said it burns oil. Knowing that now, I think it is more likely to be blowby (exhaust gases blowing by your worn piston rings during combustion and into the crankcase). If it is that, thicker oil and STP will help to seal your pistons better and to stop the weeping leaks. But you will always have to drive it like I said in the post I made before.

The cost of fixing the crankcase vetilation system can range from $30 for a new PCV valve installation to a couple hundred to diagnose and clean the whole thing if it is gunked up badly.

But like I say, if it does burn oil, it is more than likely blowby pressurizing the crankcase and forcing oil out. That's expensive.

As an alternative to a new car, if yours has given you little trouble elsewhere other than routine maintenance and is in good condition otherwise, you can have a short block engine installed for a couple grand and keep on rolling. The short block means the heart of your engine will all have been renewed, and only the stuff that hangs on it will be from your old one.

Get a couple estimates on that kind of work before you have it done, if you do it.

UNDER EDIT: I see nothingshocksmeanymore has mentioned a junkyard engine, and that too may be a good route to go. But be sure it is guaranteed. Often junkyards will even install the engines, and will guarantee both labor and engine for a specified time. Shop around.

[underpants]

31. Thanks again

Excellent

[Floogeldy]

26. "Damn that thing was HELL on the open road. No top end that I ever found."

No wonder your seals, gaskets and manifold are leaking!

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[underpants]

28. I exaggereated that a bit

but it did roll really well on the highway. It is a bit big for the city driving that I do mostly. Parallel parking is a knew experience compared to the cars I have had (Mazda 626, Audi, Bug).

[Floogeldy]

29. Backpeddling now, are ya?

Did the leaks start right after you heard a funny noise while going 140 mph down the highway?

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