!!HELP random oil spillage onto exhaust, intermittent

[nathanVY]

hey so.

this has happened twice now, after about half an hour of med-hard acceleration, you will see clouds of smoke arising from the piece of crap car. but it doesn't leak, but somehow oil manages to escape from somewhere onto the exhaust, it's at the back of the engine.
it's not the transmission was just serviced today, i hope to god it's not the rear main, it's not the sump that was already done.

the car doesn't leak afterwards, it will just spurt out while driving. from what I can tell it's engine oil, or maybe power steering fluid.

note: throttlebody was recently taken off and cleaned, could we have not put something back on right?

help this is pissing me off lol. just had oil changed, engine flushed, oil and fuel filters changed, and tranny serviced. WTF

[davway]

I had an old Toyota Super Saloon years ago.
The power steering hose let go and sprayed the exhaust manifold with oil.
This in turn produced a rather large cloud of smoke which blew out of the gaps in the bonnet.
I thought the radiator had let go, so i opened the hood and thats when i saw flames.
Luckily we managed to put the fire out but the car was written off anyway from the damage.

If you cant see the oil leak, then drive the car till it does what you mentioned, pull over somewhere safe and have a real hard look at where the smoke is coming from.
That will be the easiest way to find the problem.

Also, check the rear drivers side exhaust manifold stud - our VT has a few drips of oil dripping off that stud directly onto the manifold.
Under extreme conditions, it may be possible that yours is squirting out, burning the residue and not leaving any traces as to where its coming from.

[nathanVY]

yeah see if its power steering i think i should get it looked at, if its exhaust stud then maybe it can wait til I get extractors on it. ill take it for another drive later on and check that exhaust stud. thanks for your help,

just one thing thats plaguing me, is this likely to be the rear main? or would the rear main leak continually?


edit: also the transmission pan is covered in oil at the bottom but the transmission isn't leaking.

[davway]

It would probably leak constantly but when drievn harder it would be more likely to leak a lot faster (oil thins etc).
Wouldnt think that it would spray the exhaust though.
clean where the box joins the engine and see if there is oil there later.
Grab a fire extinguisher as well - just incase.

[westbad]

could be the transmission over filled with oil and coming out the dipstick tube or the other option is the rear main dripping on to the exhaust

[nathanVY]

transmission was just done by a mechanic i believe its filled right. if it was the rear main dripping onto the exhaust would there not be obvious signs of a leak underneath the car?

so it could be problem with power steering or the exhaust manifolds?

edit: just had another look under the car and there is oil (or something) sprayed everywhere, all up to the diff/fuel tank. what the hell is going on lol

edit 2 (having a lot of thoughts): the sump gasket was done a few weeks ago, could this have been done dodgy and we're copping the effects of it now?

[westbad]

edit: also the transmission pan is covered in oil at the bottom but the transmission isn't leaking.

is this not evidence of oil underneath? If the rear mains leak it tends to run down

[nathanVY]

is this not evidence of oil underneath? If the rear mains leak it tends to run down

thats the confusing thing though if this was the case should we not be able to clearly see oil there ALL THE TIME ?

this doesn't happen all the time only sometimes as previously stated.

[davway]

id get under there and degrease everything and then see where the oil is coming from.
No need to drive thecar, just let it run - check for leaks and then a short drive if there were none.

[westbad]

edit: just had another look under the car and there is oil (or something) sprayed everywhere, all up to the diff/fuel tank. what the hell is going on lol

edit 2 (having a lot of thoughts): the sump gasket was done a few weeks ago, could this have been done dodgy and we're copping the effects of it now?

all are possible causes mate, your just going to have to get under it and have a real good look to find where its coming from, Could well be an over filled tranny tho so check it out, and tick it off the list if its not the cause. good luck

[nathanVY]

here are some pics of underneath, also it just stalled in park for no apparent reason.
was in park, was putting revs to it about 3000rpm, and stall. the spedo was moving up with the revs too, but it was in park. :S

[Kurtp]

pics? My power steering has a leak, and will slowly leak out depending on how hard i look in a turn.

[nathanVY]

pics? My power steering has a leak, and will slowly leak out depending on how hard i look in a turn.

pics added now sorry.

edit: could be power steering now that I think about it corners were involved either when it happened or minutes before.

[nathanVY]

how do I test for power steering leaks?

[Brett_jjj]

The VR and VS were recalled for a problem they had of spewing trans fluid out the dipstick hole when the trans was worked hard or when towing or whatever,and all they did was fitted a locking dipstick in the trans.Maybe the lock on yours isnt working properly and not holding it in tight.

[nathanVY]

The VR and VS were recalled for a problem they had of spewing trans fluid out the dipstick hole when the trans was worked hard or when towing or whatever,and all they did was fitted a locking dipstick in the trans.Maybe the lock on yours isnt working properly and not holding it in tight.

well mine does have the locking dipstick on it. hmmm I did just get a decent shift kit installed so it shifts a LOT harder now so it's possible that was the problem.

BUT it did the same thing only a couple of nights ago after taking the throttle body off and cleaning it, what should I check is there anything that could be connected wrong?

[Brett_jjj]

All you can do is check that everything is ok and not out of place or disconnected around the throttle body where you had removed it.Check the wiring to the sensors .I cant think of what else could leak out and burn/cause smoke when you are driving along,if it was power steering,you would notice the fluid level drop pretty quickly.The shift kit might be causing the fluid to spew out,try clamping tightening the dipstick,and see what happens.If that was happening though,you would think fluid would go everywhere,its got me stumped.Engine oil leaking out of the oil filter and squirting onto the exhaust maybe.

[wraith]

Seriously sounds like the problem I had in my VR was a lot of fun pulling up some where then having to open my bonnet to put the flames out. Check the power steering hoses. If there not flexible and are hard there stuffed. Not hard or expensive to fix.

[vnss5ltr]

how do I test for power steering leaks?

hook the car left then right, if you see a fire, your power steering has a leak..

[nathanVY]

ok definitely leaks oil AFTER a hard shift. thats the new discovery :S

not sure if its power steering, engine, trans or what.

[delcowizzid]

put some paper under it and find out what colour the fluid is red powerstear or trans
look at the boots on the ends of the powerstear rack they fill with fluid when the seals go then the fluid goes everywhere

[hako]

PS and trans oil are the same colour - red. Check the breather tube on the trans is not hanging down or dislodged.
My PS leaks from the centre of the rack and leaves an oil stain to the diff but doesn'y hit the exhaust.

[wraith]

Takes 5 seconds to check power steering hoses so why not check them first? Squeeze it and if it's hard replace. If fires continue to happen start looking else where. Easy stuff first.

[nathanVY]

Takes 5 seconds to check power steering hoses so why not check them first? Squeeze it and if it's hard replace. If fires continue to happen start looking else where. Easy stuff first.

ive never done anything with power steering before, not sure on the workings of it all can you walk me through it?

[wraith]

Where you fill up the power steering fluid there is 2 hoses at the bottom coming out. One comes out of the pump and has a hard line which a rubber hose which goes over it down to the rack. Other one comes out of the actual reservoir itself on the corner and is also rubber.

Be extremely careful as the tip is easy to break on the reservoir. Now get one of the rubber hoses and give it a squeeze. It should be very springy and easy to push in. If there is no give what so ever then they have perished and no longer work effectively. Check the other one and make sure it's ok.

My power steering pump was changed but who ever did it decided the hoses were fine brittle which isn't the case. One of other ways of doing it is having a mate move steering wheel from lock to lock and you watch the hoses.