I have the 3.1 V6 in my 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix and today it started spewing oil out of what looks like an electrical plug in the front, toward the bottom just under the valve cover, dead center. What is this plug?
View 3 RepliesLooking for some insight into the state of the motor in a 2002 XD. Short story is that it appears to be leaking oil from the valve cover gasket (common, I know) and sometimes winds up running extremely low on oil before it gets changed. When draining the minimal oil in these conditions, non insignificant amounts of water can be found along with the drained oil.
Car is at 155k miles, has exhibited this behavior for more than a year, and has no noticeable knocking issues, power loss, mpg loss, heating/cooling issues, or any other ill effects other than apparently making a mess in the engine bay, on the ground where it parks, and scaring people when draining the oil.
Logically this is going to not be the case forever.... Thoughts? Prognosis? Treatment?
I have had a Jeep Grand Cherokee for about 4 years. Over the last year or so, I have been having coolant loss. At first, it was very little over the course of a month. Now it is about a half a gallon over a few days. We can't find any leaks. The oil does not appear milky. There is a bit of moisture under the valve cover. What could be the problem?
View 3 RepliesI have coolant disappearing but no signs of a leak anywhere. Oil is fine. Car does not run hot. There is rust in the radiator though. Heater core is not leaking. I have a 2001 Pontiac Gran Prix GT. There was a recall on the cooling system but was not serviced (I didn't own car then). A pressure test was done and it holds pressure. Should I change radiator and thermostat? What else should I have checked?
View 19 RepliesMy 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix 3.8 L V6 with120,000 miles shakes/vibrates when I accelerate while turning/veering right (as when coming out of an exit to merge into oncoming traffic). It does not vibrate when I turn left. I have new balanced tires, replaced both front tie-rod ends, and the rack and pinion by a certified GMC mechanic. What could be the problem?
View 1 RepliesWe have a grand prix and had the water pump replaced. Soon after this the fuel pump went out. We replaced it 2 more times within a few weeks. Bought another one and this time the car may have run a period of 4 to 5 months before it went out. We have found by banging on the gas tank, and by turning the car on while someone bangs on it, you can hear the pump come on and start the car. Well, once again this week we have had the pump changed and I was about to leave work and the car would not start. Banging on the tank allowed me to be able to start the car... What is going on with the pumps or what is making them go out...???
View 3 RepliesI have 2 spark plugs not firing. one of the three ignition coils does not fire, the other two do, is the most likely culprit be the ignition control module? car has the 3.8 motor.
View 4 RepliesMy wife's 2001 Gran Prix has a problem with the ignition switch, or related to the ignition switch. Intermittently (more frequently in warm weather or when the car's warm) the ignition switch can't be turned back to the 'off' position all the way, meaning the key can't be removed from the switch. We've heard from several mechanics that there are a couple problems that can cause this, and in fact had the ignition switch replaced which did not solve the problem. I understand there is a connection to the transmission or gear shift lever that may also be part of this problem in some way. There can only be so many solenoids, switches, connections, etc, related to this, I'd like to fix the problem and avoid spending money unnecessarily.
View 2 Repliesso I have a 2azfe engine
So there's an oil leak coming from the valve cover gasket (just purchased vehicle dirt cheap with 220k)
found this
Notice all the oil sitting on top of the exhaust mani gasket
In the left(lower) part of the picture it appears to be scraped.
the gasket appears to be newer, I did NOT use a screw driver to remove the valve cover, which is what this appears to have been done..
Can this be sanded down then filled with jb weld, and then regasketed?
I've got a coolant leak here (I wiped away some of it before taking the picture):
Close up
This is the only place I can find coolant leaking and it's running down all the way to the water pump:
When I wiped away from just below the valve cover gasket it flaked right off and it doesn't appear there is any oil mixed in. I changed the oil today and it didn't appear to have any coolant mixed in either.
The coolant doesn't appear to have any oil in it's nice and pink as it should be. I started the car from a cold start and sat and watched the area waiting for it to leak but nothing ever came out, of course.
I know there shouldn't be coolant leaking from this area anyways but I don't know how else to explain the trail pictured. I definitely have a small leak somewhere as I've found coolant on the floor of the garage before.
Do I just replace the valve cover gasket and move on or is there something else I should be concerned with here?
I have a 07 Sonata and having recurring valve cover leak. First time it happened it leaked onto my alternator and had to get car towed and whole bit. About a year later they discovered it again during routine oil change and had it fixed again. Yesterday during a routine oil change, they discovered a leak again!! I know this is an established problem but how many times can the same problem occur?? I'm passed the warranty (103K).
View 3 RepliesI have a 2009 Santa Fe Limited with 82000 miles. I have replaced four (4) batteries since it was purchased, new, in March, 2010. I have repeatedly taken it to the Hyundai dealerships in Las Vegas, Nevada and Centennial, Colorado, for an oil leak on the valve cover over the alternator. At no time has the service technicians at the dealerships ever told me there was problem. Last Thursday, the latest new battery, installed that same day, failed. I had my independent garage technician assess the multiple battery failures, with the associated battery display light illumination, related to the location of the continual oil leak. He stated that the cause of the battery failures was from the oil damaging the alternator. I contacted Hyundai Customer Service, today, and was told that there have no reported problems from oil leakage onto the alternator, with subsequent damage to it, and/or the battery.
View 3 RepliesI had a very slow oil leak that dripped onto the garage floor and i brought it into the dealership. They said it was a leaking left valve cover gasket; I searched and came up with nothing? The engine has just over 30K miles on it.
View 20 RepliesWell I popped the hood to clean my air filter and noticed that the top of the engine looked to sprayed with oil mainly on/around the front of the valve cover. I haven't really "investigated" to see where its coming from. Where it may be coming from!! It has 32,XXX miles and auto.
View 4 RepliesI drive a 2003 24V VR6 GLI
I recently did a valve cover repair to stop the dreaded misfire problem. Well, I'm still waiting on a few things but during the spark plug change obviously some of the oil from where the valve cover leaked previously fell into the pistons because I couldn't really clean it all out efficiently. This seems like it would cause a lot of problems? Do you think I should throw old spark plugs in there and let all the oil burn up before finally replacing them? I really don't want to foul up my brand new NGK's.
Also, I pulled p0300, p0305, p0306, so I am guessing oil in the spark plug/coil pack connection may cause some of the misfires, but do you think two of my coil packs are bad still? My plan was to move them around to see what happens after I get the new parts and am actually running again.
I just noticed what appeared to be an oil leak around the valve cover gasket, which the VW dealer has determined to be a defective cam sensor. Apparently the VW parts distribution center in Wisconsin has 530 of these in stock, so it may be a common failure. This is on a 2010 GTI with 28,xxx miles. Thought the community would like to know.
View 2 Replies1999 Volvo V70 XC. The car is a 5 cylinder turbo charged w/automatic transmission. I removed the plastic panels from the top of the valve cover to discover oil puddled on top of the valve cover. Not sure if it is the fill cap leaking or something more serious. I noticed a rubber tube that I assume is part of the PCV system could this be the source? Also, the car uses oil between oil changes. The manual says to use 5W30 weight oil, but most of the European cars I've owned use 20W50 due to the high compression and torque. I'm wondering if 20W50 might reduce oil burning.
View 3 RepliesSo, when I bought my truck, it leaked oil.....bad. It goes through around 2-3 quarts a week. I needed a vehicle, this one was cheap, so...I run it. Every other day, I put half a tank of gas and a couple quarts of oil in it. It leaks on the passenger side, right above the starter. I figured it was the valve cover gasket, and planned on changing it today. I saw a post about the "typical" head gasket oil leak, which sound suspiciously like what mine is doing. I have no oil in the coolant,or vice-versa.....
View 9 RepliesToday I did a oil change (70k). While under the car I notice a small leak from the back side of the engine. When I got home, I had the chance to remove the engine cover to investigate and clean the engine up a bit.
I found that the bolts in the rear of the valve cover had a little puddle of oil around them. I took a T-30 torque bit and was able to get a least a full turn on the rear bolts and about half turn on the middle ones. Fronts were about a quarter turn. Check your valve cover bolts.
Last week my check engine light went on. Some hoses needed replacement and the mass air flow sensor was out of spec - I had it replaced as a preventive measure.
Now the car seems to have a subtle oil/exhaust/acrid smell, especially after car has been driven 15 minutes or so and in stop and go situations. When I step outside the car, an acrid smell appears around the engine and tailpipe area.
Check engine light is off - I took it back and they could detect nothing amiss - granted the whole garage smells like oil and exhaust. They did find a "class 1" oil leak on the rear valve cover - just a bit of oil on the rim - not yet dripping.
2002 Camry 4 cyl was leaking a small bit of oil on the rear passenger side of the valve cover - about directly behind where the timing chain is. I replaced the valve cover today, but noticed that there is still a small amount of oil leaking at the same spot. Is this a common problem with the '02 Camry? Or perhaps I have a valve cover problem?
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