Member Since: 1/3/2014
Posts: 3,486
|
Question by my Uncle who visits us every Saturday, maybe you professionals could help.
Should my car be leaking this much oil?
I have a Subaru B9 Tribeca with about 90,000 miles on it. For a few months now, my car has been putting out a puff of blue smoke on cold starts. From what I understand, this is possibly due to worn valve seals/guides. There is no smoke while I'm driving (Had someone follow me to confirm).
I have had regular oil changes. The last 2 were in August and January. In August, the mechanic said my oil level was a little low, but within normal range.
In January, the first place I brought the car to wouldn't change the oil because they said the oil plug was covered in oil and they thought the plug was broken or not put on right and they didn't have the part to replace it with. The second mechanic I brought it to (local service station) said that there was an oil leak, but my levels were fine and it wasn't the plug. He changed my oil and told me to keep an eye on the oil levels.
Last week, while getting gas I asked them to check my oil. I was told I needed a quart, which I thought was odd because I had just gotten my oil changed last month. They put a quart in my car.
Now to yesterday...I had a friend check my oil again, and when he showed me the dipstick, the oil was within a safe range but definitely on the the lower end. The car had been sitting for an hour and we saw just a little spot of oil on the ground.
My questions are, why is my car needing this much oil so suddenly? When the oil changes were done as recently as last month, there wasn't this much oil loss. Is this all related to the blue smoke on cold starts? Am I going to need engine repair? Thanks for your help, I'm headed to a mechanic this week, but I want to know what I'm getting into.
|
|
|
|
