Migraine Inducing Engine...

lilgirl · Post by **lilgirl** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 12:45 am

ok...this may sound strange...i know i have never had probs like this with any of my other cars...

was reading a few threads, topics and posts here in the forum and i had to join to ask a few questions...

first off...the oil dipstick...it has a little rubber stopper type thing on it that holds it in the tube...mine seems to be somewhat...loose...in the tube...so much so that the other day i tried to use the power button on the gear shift(i have a 1998 Lanos SX Auto)the car started smoking like crazy...thought for sure i had blown the engine or the gaskets...let it cool down, and while i did, i checked it out...there was a TON of oil on the front of the engine, and puddled up on the valve cover, leaving the spark plug wires surrounded by a small pond of oil...a little bit of oil spatter on the side of the battery...soaked up much of what i could with paper towels and then drove 5 minutes home...

got home, let the engine cool down, and cleaned it up more...thought the valve cover gasket was shot but after taking the plastic top cover off, thats when i noticed the puddles around the spark plug wires...

anyways, cleaned that all up, and once i had all the fresh wet oil gone, i ran the car...no oil leaks to be seen anywhere...checked under the car...nothing...watched the areas affected by oil spray carefully, not a single drop of oil...or even a hint of a leak...checked the oil dipstick for water(in case i cracked the block)...a tiny amount of brown foam but no water at all...(given that it has been raining pretty hard these days, i figure the foam was from some rain running into the tube while i had the dipstick out...)

ran the car for 10 minutes, idling and under load with the brake on but there wasn`t any leaking oil anywhere...the oil level was actually where it was supposed to be...then i noticed the rad fluid tank was empty...so i filled it up while running the car...took an awful lot of water...so i was stumped as to where all the oil came from...(did notice that oil was spluttering up out of the tube for the dipstick)so i came to the conclusion that because the rad was low on water to cool it, the pressure built up and, trying to use the power button, it blew the dipstick up out of the tube and whoever had the car prior overfilled it with oil...(did i mention i only bought this car 5 days ago? no? sorry)

anyways...the oil level is still fine, no leaks, no puddles, no problems...except that now, when i took my fiancee to work tonight, the car started up with an engine noise...like something caught in the blades of a fan...(sort of like the noise when we were kids and use to put playing cards in the spokes of our bike tires)...

i don`t have the manual for this car(ordered one off ebay and i`m waiting for it still to arrive), but thought i`d ask...any idea what this noise could be? this is my first UK car...and i`ve always had 6 or 8 banger engines and this one is a small 4 banger...sounds alot different to what i`m use to so i`m not sure what to make of this new noise...

*NOTE*
the engine light never came on, and yes, it does work...
the engine temp stays well within good operating range...
the revs are excellent, around 1100 idling and doesn`t go up excessively while driving...
i am familiar with mechanic work, as i have always done my own when i could, so i`m pretty good with it but this....this has me stumped...

jidasas · Post by **jidasas** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 1:48 am

I've had the oil problem on my 1.6 lanos...I believe if you go to an autoparts store you should be able to replace the little orings on the dipstick and it won't pop out anymore...when it does pop out it splatters oil everywhere...so it's a good possibility that is the only problem

Jimmy

Post by **PrecisionBoost** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 5:02 am

One posibility is poor crank case ventilation..... basicly if your PVC valve is not functional (plugged) then the crank case will pressurize.... and as the pressure rises the dip stick will simply pop out and spray oil all over the place.

It's especially common on turbo cars where the crank case ventilation can be problematic at times.

If the smoke was coming from the exhaust during hard acceleration this is also a common side effect of a pressurized crank case ( forces oil past rings into the combustion chamber )

The PVC valve should be cheap.... and it's allways a good idea to replace it every few few years as part of your regular maintenence.

Chris

lilgirl · Post by **lilgirl** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 1:53 pm

thanks guys...was at the auto parts shop the other day and was going to ask if that little rubber piece could be replaced, but i got side tracked by the tools(i`m a tool freak...love checking the new ones out)...i`ll make sure to replace it next week...

PrecisionBoost...there wasn`t(and isn`t) any smoke coming out of the tail pipe...all the smoke was from the oil burning off the engine...its been a couple of days since it was cleaned off and there`s no more smoke and no oil leaks present...but...the engine noise is whats got my brain confuddled...

got the service and repair manual today and i have been looking through it...but there isn`t anything really in it that gets close enough to describing the noise i`ve got...its not a knock(hard or soft), its a ticking sound, but i wouldn`t call it light...it could be described as a slapping sound, but the possible problems they list doesn`t seem t o be associated with MY noise...looks like i`m gonna have to get right into the heart of the car and see if i can visually identify it...my fiancee thinks that maybe one of the belts are frayed and itsd hitting as it does its revolutions...but a cursory look isn`t showing anything wrong with the belts...do you think it could be the timing belt? i thought it would sound more like a knock or something but, who knows...

daewoomofo · Post by **daewoomofo** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 3:46 pm

if you want to rule out the t/b you can remove the cover and inspect the belt.

Spider · Post by **Spider** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 10:59 pm

Hey Lilgirl,

" the car started smoking like crazy... "
Hummmmmm, Smoke, or steam ? Was it out the tailpipe ?

Sorry to say but I think you may have a more serious problem than the dipstick.
If you had a head gasket blow (internally) that would cause the smoking you initaly saw and would explane the water loss as well.

If this were my engine ? I would not run it anymore until the cause of all this is tracked down and fixed.

The temp gauge was showing normal and there was no water in the radiator ? Something is wrong w/that picture.
Remember, if there is no water at all in the block the temp gauge will not register. It needs water/liquid to register.

Drop the oil out (in a clear pan) and let it sit a while than check for water on the bottom.
That little bit of "brown foam" you saw may not be rain water but more like the last bit of boiled-out water that got into the combustion chamber from an internal leak.

All that oil that blew out may have soaked accessory belts. Maybe one is shredding causing the noise you hear.
Hopefully that would be good if it is the problem. I would take mofo's advice regarding inspecting the timing belt too.
It may be starting to shred.

I have seen the same problems you describe. They were usually caused by an internally blown head gasket.
I do hope this does not apply to your engine. And I hope I am wrong in my diagnosis.

Good luck and please keep us posted.
We are here to help.

mezomaster · Post by **mezomaster** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 2:34 pm

i guess that bad sound which came when u started ur engine is from a bad VALVE LIFTER, so if that is the reason for the sound, it will stay there once u start ur engine for a couple of seconds or a minute then go away, in most cases this sound just goes forever after a couple times of changing ur engine oil, but if its not going, then u got a faulty valve lifter and u should change it..

for the sudden oil which came in ur engine bay, i think it maybe causes by the O-RING of the oil level stick, may had just gave out some oil and thats it cuz u was rivving on a certain level which made the oil pop out of the oil seal, maybe the engine oil cover also.. if i were u, i would clean my engine coolant circuit and change it with a new pure coolant, and wait to see if it will get any oil in the water after one day of using the car or not, to make sure about the block and the head and the head gasket...

lilgirl · Post by **lilgirl** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 9:26 pm

ok...would seem that the Motor Gods are out to get me...now the darned thing won`t start...just clicks...doesn`t even attempt to turn over...checked the batt and its good...changed the starter and solenoid and still does nothing but click...

took the hose off the passenger side of the valvecover and found, much to my delight(NOT)that it was completely plugged with sludge...BROWN sludge...and so was the pipe going into the engine...

looks like the motor might be blown now...bloody hell...so either i can take a chance at trying to find a mech to do it...or i can try to take it apart myself and fix it...unfortunately, i`m in the UK right now visiting my fiance and i live in Canada, which is where all my tools are...so i would have to either buy all new tools or try to get mine shipped here...right now, i`m just so mad cause i can`t do a darned thing...grrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

anyone know a good mech in the bristol area?

lilgirl · Post by **lilgirl** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 12:47 pm

i know a bit about cars....not alot, mind you but its usually enough to get me up and running ifi break down while on the road...and maybe i`m wrong here but...

are the spark plugs SUPPOSED to drip oil when you take them out? i didn`t think so...but again, i could be wrong...lol

i have to say that my first impression was that when the oil spewed allover the place in the engine when i was driving and puddled by the plug wires, that maybe alot of the oil seeped down and soaked through the threads and thats why there was oil in there...

not sure if a blown head gasket, cracked block or whatever would cause that as well...

help?

mezomaster · Post by **mezomaster** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 3:56 pm

when u got any oil even a drops on the sparks then its a bad cam cover gasket, its a common problem in daewoo, but u can solve it