pitmanr200

I went to work to day and notice a small amount of oil under my car. when i get home i can smell burning oil smell So I put it on ramps. I just changed my oil around 3 or 400 miles ago. This will be the second time I have put full syntetic in it. I got under it tonight and there is oil splattered all over the bottom left side. It I cant tell where its coming from, but its all over the suports on the bottom and was dripping off of the resonator. There was drops comming off of the oil filter as well. I have had a problem with getting the oil filters to not leak a little everytime i have changed it. It looks like it is spraying out some where the way its covering everything. I checked the oil level and it was almost to the top of the range mark on the dip stick. I almost beleive its the damn synth oil. I have heard not to use it on older cars and mine is a 98 gs400 with 169000 miles. Can I just go back to conventional or maybe its just the oil filter. Im using stp filter now, and have tried mobile one and fram and both have slightly leaked, but not like this. Its like some one sprayed it with oil.

VIS250P

iTrader: (1)

It might be something else beside the oil filter.. Did u look the front motor has motor oil on the block? The oil pan gasket? U gotta keep looking more then beside the oil filter..

PR FIEBRU

I had the same Problem. It is the Oil filter. At least that was my problem. That is bs, that once you use syntetic you have to stay with syntetic. I have put both on my car and now I strictly put regular castrol. It does not make a difference. What do you think is going to happend? Nothing!! As long as the car has oil the engine will not stop running.
just put the oil filter tighter.

fordsvtmfl

iTrader: (13)

these cars were supposed to have synthetic from the beginning..so using anything but that is not a good idea...anyways the filter should be as tight as you can get it with one hand (and then snug it up with 2) but make sure you put some oil on the filter seal before you put it on..and make sure the place where the oil filter seals to the engine is clean, and does not have the old oil filter gasket stuck on it

pitmanr200

i did look at the engine block and the the oil pan gasket. I thought it was originaly the oil pan be cause it had oil all on it., but i look around seal and it wsnt coming out of there. the freshest oil was dripping from the oil filter and was all over some sensor right above it. Hard to see if it was coming from back of engine, but its not the front. I may have to get under it when its running because if its spraying out i may be able to see it when its running. Also i tightened this filter more than any other one being i can never get them to seal right. I have heard that some people only use toyota one for this exact reason. I really beleive its the synthetic or the filter. I dont know if this would have anything to do with it, but I used mobil 1 first change and second one penzoil full syntetic and also it has been like in the 20's for about a week and when i noticed it leaking it got into the 60 degree mark. Maybe the extreme cold to warm. hell I dont know.

pitmanr200

I tightened it with one hand and then tightened about half turn with oil filter wrench. so maybe i over tightened it. Also i just stick my finger in the new oil and rub a light coat on seal. That is enough right. dont need to soak it do I. Didnt try cleaning the engine off, but didnt see any old seal. I may try that. i really dont feel like doing another oil change being its so expesive. And our cars didnt come with syntetic out of the factory if im right. Doesnt say to use synthetic in manual I beleive. But I could be wrong.

PR FIEBRU

You are right. Yes we love these cars, but syntetic oil is not needed. Maybe recomended for longer use between oil changes, but I would say it is not nessesary.

PR FIEBRU

I found this information online. Read and inform yourself.

"When deciding whether it is best to use synthetic or conventional car engine oils, it is always best to bear in mind the age of the vehicle as problems and oil leaks can occur when switching to a fully synthetic oil with an old engine. This is because there can be a build-up of waxes and sludge left by conventional oils over time, which may mask worn engine seals. The introduction of a synthetic oil may cause the detergents in the synthetic oil to break down and clean-up this protective build-up which is maintaining the seal, this will then result in oil leaking through the engine seals when the oil thins as it gets hot.
At the same time as older vehicles are frequently better using conventional oils due to the engine seals, new cars which experience normal day-to-day use with its short journeys, traffic jams, extreme temperature changes, etc, can benefit from the extra protection of afforded by synthetics, but it is always safest to refer to the manufacturer’s recommendations before making any changes."

pitmanr200

i really beleive its the oil filter. i may just change it or deal with it till time to change oil again. dont feel like wasting all that fresh oil expecially synthetic at 6dollars a quart. when its parked the biggest puddle is right where the oil filter is and then little drops all the way back to the resonator or cat i beleive.
and its all in line with the oilfilter.

what do you all think about me getting under it with it running and then maybe i will see where its spraying from.

fordsvtmfl

iTrader: (13)

maybe I was mistaken..but I thought it said to use synthetic in the owners manual. And you should NEVER tighten an oil filter with an oil wrench!!! (sorry but I'm in school to be a mechanic and I cant tell you how much they stressed to not do that! lol) And my instructors have said that it can leak at the filter if its not clean (engine side) and thats all you need loob wise
-Preston

cxp2001

iTrader: (1)

Have you ruled out the crank seal is not leaking? But I'm not sure if it would leak that much from a leaking seal..

pitmanr200

i will check the crank seal, but it looked dry up there. plus its all to one side, not in the middle. So can i just loosen oil filter or would it be best to change it? Also if I change it will I lose all the oil or just some? then I would just get a coulple more quarts and top it off. And what about the idea of laying under it when its running to see where its spraying from. Surely i would be able to see it.

fordsvtmfl

iTrader: (13)

once you break the seal, it needs to be changed. (or once its been over tightened.) If the car is cold (most of the oil in the pan..) I would think you would only lose 2 qts max.

Kyle Harty

iTrader: (17)

I'd do it, just put on some goggles and cover yourself up so you don't get covered in oil if it's really spraying out of there. It can't hurt to check it out.
I had an old filter gasket that stuck in once and I didn't notice when changing the filter; that was a catastrophic leak like all over the place right away so I doubt that's the problem, but you can hopefully tell for sure whether it's the filter once you get down there.

pitmanr200

im going to get a new filter and a coulple quarts of syntetic unless its cheaper to buy 6 quarts of regular oil. if cheaper i will just change it out.