Massive oil loss?

[Burnera]

What are common leak areas for this engine?
I'm losing quite a bit of oil and can't figure out where. Having a broken hand isn't helping poke around the engine bay either though.

The engine just smelled of hot oil the other day and when i checked the level the dipstick was dry! Adding about half a quart got the end of the dipstick wet. :sad:
Did a full oil change, got the oil level to normal on the dipstick. Drove about 2 miles and the oil level light came back on. Checked with the distick again and it was right at the lower divide mark. :sad:

So theres the oil pan gasket, oil filter housing, valve cam seal...what else to inspect?

[jlevie]

Include the main seals, oil return tube seals, valve cover gaskets, and head gasket in the list of possible leaks. The most appropriate action would be to throughly clean the engine, from top and bottom, and watch for the first sign of oil.

[Burnera]

Any recommendations on an engine cleaning product?

[jlevie]

When faced with a dirty engine and/or engine bay the process I use is:

1) Start with a hot engine and get front of the car up on jack stands. Several
large pieces of cardboard under the engine area will soak up the grunge and
help prevent stains.

2) Using a putty knife, screw driver, etc., scrape off any heavy
deposits. Most of that will be on the lower part of the engine and you'll have
to get to it from underneath.

3) Spray a mixture of Gunk and diesel on using a garden sprayer.

4) Scrub every thing you can reach using plastic bristle brushes on painted
surfaces and wire brushes on bare metal. Work heavily caked areas again with
the scrapers. Spray on more solvent mixture as needed.

5) Re-fill the sprayer with any concentrated detergent (Simple Green, pressure
washer detergent, etc) and spray everything down.

6) Using a garden hose set for a gentle spray, or better yet a plant watering
wand, wash down the engine and engine bay. You want to avoid any high pressure
spray as that may force water into places that you don't want it.

7) Spray on more detergent and go over everything with the brushes, then
repeat (6).

8) Leave the hood open and allow the engine bay to dry for at least 8 hours
before starting the engine.

Notes: Having the engine hot will make oil and grease easier to wash off and
the residual heat will help dry out any water that reaches electrical
parts. You won't get the cosmoline/oil stains off the valve cover as they are
baked on. The best way to clean up the valve cover is to have it bead blasted
or hot tanked, but you can get most of it off with paint remover (with the
cover off the engine).

[Burnera]

i parked the car over a big puddle to see where the drip was coming from.
The connections on the engine block for the oil cooler lines were both loose, like ready to fall off. I tightened both to probably 25ft-lbs.
Hopefully that was it.

[scottinAZ]

i parked the car over a big puddle to see where the drip was coming from.
The connections on the engine block for the oil cooler lines were both loose, like ready to fall off. I tightened both to probably 25ft-lbs.
Hopefully that was it.

Those are o-ring connections, worst case, swap in some new o-rings and call it a day

[DJB]

I had a leak at an oil cooler line connection. It pretty much didn't leak during normal operation, only with sustained high speed driving (we'll call it "keeping up with traffic") in hot weather. And there was little trace of a specific leak later, just a general oiliness under the car.

My oil consumption problem went away after I located the problem and changed the o-rings.

These fittings get special, silver-colored o-rings. They are reasonably priced from the dealer, but don't let them substitute generic green or black ones because the correct ones aren't in stock.