Why Is My Car Leaking Oil When Parked?

“It looks like your car is leaking oil”. These are words which can strike fear into the heart of any automobile owner. Thoughts of an engine burning up can make their way into a person’s head very quickly when they hear that comment. Why exactly does a car leak oil when it’s parked, what can happen if it is leaking oil, and what can be done about it?

Causes of Oil Leaks

There are several causes of oil leaks in cars. They are:

• Oil pan gasket is overtightened

• Valve cover gasket is overtightened

• Tightness of the oil pan gasket and valve cover gaskets is not evenly distributed

• Oil filter is improperly attached

• Oil filter is loose

These are some probable causes that the certified oil change and service technicians at Taylor and Sons Chevrolet will examine to determine the exact cause of an oil leak, and take the right course of action to fix the problem.

An oil leak left unfixed can cause seals or rubber hoses to wear prematurely, further amplifying the problem of leaking oil. What starts as a small problem can quickly become a large problem when hot oil is leaking over other hot engine components.

Leaking oil as a fire hazard is a very serious problem and clearly shows the need for an oil leak to be attended to by a professional immediately upon seeing it. Too much is at stake to have a do-it-yourselfer, or well-meaning friend or relative, volunteer to fix the leak.

Oil leaks can also cause a vehicle to fail without warning. Few things are more frightening than driving on a busy highway and having the engine stop running, also causing the power steering and brake to fail. A small, persistent leak can add up to big danger for drivers and passengers.

Probably the thing that most drivers think about when it comes to an oil leak is the expense of a new engine. Many people know, or have heard about, an absent-minded teenager or a procrastinating adult that has needed to pay for expensive repairs because a small oil leak problem became a very big, expensive engine problem.

A car shouldn’t be leaking a little oil, as some people say it should. Much as it shouldn’t be leaking a little gasoline, an engine leaking any oil is dangerous and avoidable.

What are the signs of an oil leak problem?

Other than leaving a puddle of oil in the driveway underneath where the car is parked, how else can a car owner know that they need to address an oil leak?

Some of the other signs are:

• The oil pressure warning light has come on

• The smell of burning oil is present

• The engine is making a clunking sound

• The car is performing less efficiently than it did in the past

One of these signs alone is all that is needed to signal trouble under the hood.

As the old commercial by a famous oil filter company said, “Pay me now, or pay me later.” There is no reason to pay much more later that could have been saved by taking care of the problem today. Visit Taylor and Sons Chevrolet to get fairly priced repairs done to prevent a major, unnecessary expense.

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