This thing leaks oil.

davidsawesome · 03-20-2009, 02:19 AM

My 96 sephia is leaking oil... After 3,000 miles there's none left on the dipstick. I was wondering if anyone knew of any common places where it might be leaking oil from? I really don't want to make a big deal of it, if I could fix a couple seals or something I wouldn't mind. I plan on getting another car soon just because this thing is becoming a pain in my butt.

itwasthedog · 03-31-2009, 04:35 AM

Is it leaking or burning the oil? Does it leave a spot on the ground where you normally park it?

Mine's a 97 with the 1.8 liter and a little over 148,000 miles. I check it at every fill up (about every 200 miles) and it will use about a quart every 800 - 1000 miles. I think mine's escaping past one or more of the intake valve guides because when I go down a long hill with the throttle closed, then stomp on it at the bottom, I get a rather impressive cloud of blue smoke out of the tailpipe.

When you have an older car, you have to keep a close eye on it. It just takes a couple of extra minutes to pop the hood and yank the dipstick at each fill up. A quart of oil runs about $3, and last time I checked, a reman long block was about $2300. Being a cheapskate, I check my oil often.

davidsawesome · 04-01-2009, 04:25 AM

It's leaking oil. Theres a big black spot under where I park it, and if you get the car up and get under it, it'll drip on you

itwasthedog · 04-02-2009, 08:42 AM

Yoikes! If it were mine, I'd put on some really crappy old clothes, put some old blankets or towels over the driver's seat, put a couple of wheel chocks in the trunk and about $10 worth of quarters in my pocket, and head to the local car wash. When I got there, I'd set the parking brake, chock the rear wheels, pop the hood, leave the motor running and douche the heck out of it. Don't be afraid to get on the ground and spray off the bottom of the engine real well. Stay away from the air intake and the distributor.

If you got that much oil all over, it'll be impossible to tell where it's coming from. First thing you gotta do is get it clean enough to figure out where it's leaking. After it's clean, I'd look at the oil pan drain plug, the oil pan mating surface, the front and rear main seals (where the crankshaft exits the engine), and the oil filter mating surface in particular.

Lots of times, guys will overtighten and strip out the oil pan drain plug - what a pain in the butt that is to fix, but there are repair kits available - talk to your local friendly auto parts guy about that. Find the parts guy with grey hair and little or no patience. He's the one who will know what he's talking about.

On rarer occasion, the oil filter will be undertightened or, even rarer, when someone is innatentave when changing the oil, they will pull off the old filter and not check the engine surface for debris or to see if the old oil filter seal is still stuck to the engine before slapping on the new filter. When you put on the new filter, spin it on until the seal makes contact with the engine then tighten it 2/3 to 1 full turn more - that's plenty.

I suggested looking at front and rear main seals and the oil pan gasket because you mentioned that it will drip on you while it's just sitting there - so the first reaction is to look low on the motor. But if you've got a bad leak up higher, it can drip for quite a while after you shut the engine off if you got oil everywhere. Get it clean, then the source of the leak will be easier to find.

Good luck with that!

kiaracer · 04-02-2009, 04:33 PM

don't forget the valve cover gasket.

does the oil light come on?

davidsawesome · 04-03-2009, 07:48 PM

No, the oil light has never came on... even when there is no oil on the dipstick. I'm pretty sure one of the leaks is from the distributor seal, and I'm planning on getting that seal changed.

I'm hesitant to pull anything apart right now though, because if I make a wrong move, I need to be able to fix it within hours, because I need this car to get to work. Once I get another car within a couple months, I'll be able to get my hands dirty on this one, and maybe even just take the car to a mechanic and have him find everything.

I'm still at the point where I'm not sure how much effort I want to put into the car though, It needs plenty of work, and I'm not sure if it's worth it or not. The blue book is only $800 and I've already put a ridiculous amount of money into fixing it whenever it breaks down.

I appreciate all the help, it'll help me greatly when I'm looking.

davidsawesome · 04-17-2009, 01:51 AM

Just got back from JiffyLube. Apparently it's also leaking transmission fluid, and the guy pointed out to me that the transmission fluid is black.

...I think I've had enough of this car.

itwasthedog · 04-17-2009, 07:58 AM

I can understand your feelings. These gen 1 sephias really remind me of the old VW bugs in the regard that they're a cheap car to buy, and the people who own them and can fix them enjoy them, and the people who have them and don't like to work on these cars hate them. I was of the latter group for a while - I had a heck of a time understanding what I was looking at, but reading the posts left by the more experienced people and studying the repair manual is a big help. It's actually kind of fun to take a $800 piece of crap and making a good little runner out of it.

I can understand you wanting to ditch the car if you aren't into farting around with old cars - a guy's got to have the time, space and energy to invest in it (and a wife that puts up with weird hobbies helps). If I didn't have a couple of other rigs to spare, a shop, and a good set of tools, I'd get rid of my Kia too.

Whatever you decide to do, be happy and enjoy yourself. If it ain't making you happy, do something that does!