If you want to take good care of your vehicle it’s important to know the signs of an oil leak. If you drive an older car you’ve got more of a chance for an oil leak, however, even newer vehicles can have oil leaks pop up for different reasons. Having your vehicle regularly serviced by a professional mechanic who can do a thorough inspection is a great way to catch oil leaks, but it’s important for you as the owner to be able to spot leaks early and in between inspections.
Signs of an Oil Leak
- Quickly dropping oil level on your dip stick
- Oil pressure light or fluctuating gauge
- Burning smell
- Drips on the ground
Keeping a close eye on your engine oil level is an important part of taking care of your vehicle. We would recommend starting out by checking your engine oil level every week to see if you can notice the level dropping. If you don’t notice a significant drop in the oil level, you can scale it back to checking it once per month but we don’t recommend going any longer than that. Most dip sticks will take about a quart of oil to move the level from the “low” line to the “full” line so if you find your vehicle losing more than 1 quart of oil in 2000 miles we would recommend taking your car for an inspection.
If your oil level gets too low, the oil pick up tube for your oil pump will become uncovered and your oil pump will lose pressure. This can cause your oil pressure gauge to fluctuate or your oil light to blink on. Losing oil press can quickly cause bearing damage so if you find yourself in this situation, stop driving as quickly as is safe and add engine oil.
If you’ve got an oil leak above or near your exhaust manifold the leaking oil can drip onto the manifold and burn. In server cases, it can cause a fire, but most often it just makes a mess and an annoying odor of burnt oil. If you smell burnt oil try checking your valve cover gasket, timing cover gasket or cam seals for oil leaks.
Oil drips on the ground may or may not be easy for you to watch for, but is one of the easiest signs of an oil leak to spot. If you regularly park in a spot that is already oil stained. You can try cleaning the oil stains from your driveway with an oil stain remover or a pressure washer, or simply park in a clean spot at work or at the store to watch for drips. If you’re seeing oil dripping on the ground then you’ve got a pretty big leak and should get it fixed as soon as possible.
If replacing the leaking seal or gasket doesn’t make sense to stop the oil leak on your vehicle, consider using BlueDevil Oil Stop Leak to seal the oil leak in your engine so you get back to driving leak free!
You can pick up BlueDevil Oil Stop Leak at one of your local auto parts stores like:
- AutoZone
- Advance Auto Parts
- Bennett Auto Supply
- CarQuest Auto Parts
- NAPA Auto Parts
- O’Reilly Auto Parts
- Pep Boys
- Fast Track
- Bumper to Bumper Auto Parts Specialists
- S&E Quick Lube Distributor
- DYK Automotive
- Fisher Auto Parts stores
- Auto Plus Auto Parts stores
- Hovis Auto & Truck Supply stores
- Salvo Auto Parts
- Advantage Auto Stores
- Genuine Auto Parts stores
- Bond Auto Parts stores
- Tidewater Fleet Supply
- Bumper to Bumper Auto Parts
- Any Part Auto Parts
- Consumer Auto Parts
Pictures Provided By:
signs_of_an_oil_leak.jpg – By LoveTheWind – Licensed by Getty Images – Original Link
BlueDevil Products can be found on Amazon.com or at AutoZone, Advance Auto Parts, O’Reilly Auto Parts, NAPA, and other major auto parts retailers.
4 responses to "Signs of an Oil Leak"
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I have a 1997 F250 with a 7.3 diesel. I am getting a leak around the oil pan gasket. About the size of a $00.50 piece. It has 223,000 mi. and I love my truck. Will your product fix it?
Ron-
Thank you for asking about your Ford F-250. The BlueDevil Oil Stop Leak is safe and compatible to use on diesel engines, and would be able to treat a leaking oil pan gasket. Based on your description, you would be a good candidate for the product.
Thank you!
-BDP
I have a 2007 pt cruiser and noticed a small oil leak about the size of a golf ball and at times a little bigger or smaller,i checked my oil level every 2-3 days for about a month and weirdly my oil level never moved at all on dip stick,STRANGE UH ,anyways i bought a bottle of blue devil oil stop leak,it said after adding it drive 1-2 hours,i contacted support they said dont have too should see improvment after driveing 100 miles,so i added it before going to work about 20 mile each way,at lunch time i checked under car AND there was a pretty good size puddle of oil bigger then normal,got home checked under car after car sitting for awhile,only a couple small drops,3rd day of driving NO LEAK AT ALL been almost 1.5 weeks now still not a drop..THE STUFF IS AWEOME THANK YOU BLUEDEVIL STEEV SO.FL
Steven-
Thank you for sharing! What a wonderful testimonial. We are glad to hear of the success you’ve had using our BlueDevil Oil Stop Leak. Once the product seals, it would be a permanent seal, so you should be good to go at this point.
Thank you!
-BDP