Bad news: INGO has sprung a leak

[hoosierdoc]

Oh man, I was nervous when I saw this thread pop up. Glad you diagnosed it and can heal thyself!

 

[ghuns]

After replacing the lines, draining the pan, the filter housing, and accounting for the 2 quarts I added, I can say confidently it had about 2 quarts left in it when she pulled in the garage. Figure at least a quart of that is tied up in the filter, cooler, and various lines. So best case scenario, she had a quart of oil sloshing around when she pulled in the garage.

With the rate at which it was leaking, if she'd driven another couple miles, it'd woulda been all over.

I drove it up to the car wash last night to degrease the rear end and back window, and drove it to work this morning. All seems well. She might make it to 300K after all.

 

[jkaetz]

After replacing the lines, draining the pan, the filter housing, and accounting for the 2 quarts I added, I can say confidently it had about 2 quarts left in it when she pulled in the garage. Figure at least a quart of that is tied up in the filter, cooler, and various lines. So best case scenario, she had a quart of oil sloshing around when she pulled in the garage.

With the rate at which it was leaking, if she'd driven another couple miles, it'd woulda been all over.

I drove it up to the car wash last night to degrease the rear end and back window, and drove it to work this morning. All seems well. She might make it to 300K after all.

With no warning lights, oil pressure was still good = no problems. Most of the oil in an engine is there so you don't have to change it every 1000 miles. It only needs a little bit to circulate through and do its job. In addition modern oils can do quite a bit even with no oil pressure. So long as you take action when the warning lights come on and the problem is simply an oil leak, you should be able to fix the leak, add oil and keep going for many miles to come.

 

[ghuns]

In addition modern oils can do quite a bit even with no oil pressure...

I have always changed the oil myself, every 5000 miles, and used Mobile1. I always feel a little bad throwing out the used oil because it doesn't look much different than when I pour it in.

I know. I could have it tested and probably stretch it to 12 or even 15K between oil changes. But I rotate tires every 5K and snooping around underneath it regularly is a good way to catch issues before they become too serious. Unless the issue is an oil line, buried under layers of plastic shrouding that can't be seen.

 

[jkaetz]

I have always changed the oil myself, every 5000 miles, and used Mobile1. I always feel a little bad throwing out the used oil because it doesn't look much different than when I pour it in.

I know. I could have it tested and probably stretch it to 12 or even 15K between oil changes. But I rotate tires every 5K and snooping around underneath it regularly is a good way to catch issues before they become too serious. Unless the issue is an oil line, buried under layers of plastic shrouding that can't be seen.

Agreed. 5 - 7k changes here. Two of my vehicles even hold 9 quarts of oil. I've removed most of the plastics in an effort to keep things cooler. Any drips end up firmly on the garage floor.

Appearance isn't really a good judge anymore given that engines in general run much cleaner and rather than worry about how much dirt the oil can suspend there's more concern around the oil turning acidic or changing viscosity during its use. Then there's my wife's diesel where the oil is always black when it comes out.

 

[ghuns]

Agreed. 5 - 7k changes here. Two of my vehicles even hold 9 quarts of oil. I've removed most of the plastics in an effort to keep things cooler. Any drips end up firmly on the garage floor.

Be careful removing that plastic. It is often designed to direct airflow to areas that need to be cooled.

...Then there's my wife's diesel where the oil is always black when it comes out.

My little turbo, 4 banger Audi is like that too. Rotella T6 comes out black as coal. Turbos, on either gas of diesel motors, are rough on oil.