Hi all,

I am wondering how often ppl top up their engine oil and how much they are adding over period of say 5000 or 10000 kms? I've done about 5k since last engine oil service and I've had to add some oil to top it up which from my experience is relatively normal.

I just noticed a substantial oil leak on the floor which is a new surprise...I thought I could smell burning oil as it looks like the leak might be spraying on the exhaust...any ideas would it could be?

I'll inspect it over the weekend, where do they commonly leak?

Camshaft seal, rocker cover seal, oil pressure switch, also could be the upper sump.

I got under the car and it's leaking between the crankshaft seal and the upper alloy sump. I think if I drop the upper sump, I can reseal the leak.

If it was leaking between the crankshaft seal and crankshaft, I'd need to replace the main seal.

Can I remove the upper sump easily? I did remove the lower sump when I first got the car and that was easy.

I havent done it myself, but with the lower sump off the oil pickup and screen comes out, you may need to remove the starter motor, engine to trans support brackets, exhaust manifold crossover pipe, that should give you enough room to work.

Before you remove the transmission, check the rear cam seals on the front bank and the distributor seal for leaks. My son-in-law had a Suzuki which leaked oil from the rear of the engine. His "mechanic" in Sydney told him it was the rear main seal on the crankshaft. He brought it down for me to fix it. We got the engine out and pulled the main seal. I looked at it and said "Nothing wrong with this". So we looked higher up and it was a 20 cent O ring in the base of the distributor. He took the new replacement crankshaft seal back to his "mechanice" and politely (I am sure...) told him that he was wrong.

Check the cam seals at the transmission end of both heads - Magnas are notorious for leaking there. It is a simple fix too.

I got under the car and it's leaking between the crankshaft seal and the upper alloy sump.


Just because you found oil there doesn't mean the leak is there.
Look up higher, run finger along head/rocker cover joining surfaces and look for oil there. Leaks there get onto the exhaust - rear especially - and cause smoke & smell.
Cam and crank seals at the cam belt end can leak if they have been installed wrong or - more likely - you have crankcase pressure buildup due to a clogged PCV system.
As suggested look for leaks at the distributor end of the heads.

Quick update. Mechanic looked at it and the leak is definitely coming from between the front seal and the top of the sump where it mates, as per below pic.
http://i57.tinypic.com/2re324w.jpg
He cleaned the outer area with thinners and then ran an ultragrade sealant which sets hard on the outside which sealed the leak...in the interim, I'd like to check if I have crankcase pressure hence how do I do this and where is the pcv valve?

Also, is there a gasket which sits between the sump and front seal which I can replace if I choose to remove the sump?

That oil leak is most likely the front crankshaft oil seal. It could also be either or both of the front camshaft seals. Whatever, the timing belt has to come off to replace any of the seals in the front on the engine. If it is leaking at the transmission end, it is likely to be the other end of the camshaft. There is a flanged plug in one bank and the distributor in the other. Fixing of those leaks is not too bad.

See another post in today's new postings about oil leaks for a better coverage of oil leaks