I have an 2003 Ford SVT with about 140K on it. Recently it had been giving me problems with regard to the O2 sensor, I changed it a couple of times and changed the PCM, as my mechanic thought that it was causing the problem. After a set of trials, I went to another mechanic and he told me that I must have gone over a bump or drove on a gravel road or something, because the exhaust somehow was pinched upwards towards the Rear O2 sensor and it broke it. So, I changed it one more time, and he told me that he fixed the place where it goes in as well. My question is: is this a plausible explanation? and if yes why didn’t my other mechanic see it? He lifted the car up as well and looked under it but he could not catch it.
My other question is that I went for an oil change after I repaired the O2 sensor, and right after those guys lifted the car up they brought me in and showed me that the oil pan gasket is leaking oil and needs to be replaced. I don’t think that my car was leaking oil before, so is it possible that the other two mechanics had something to do with it? and WHY DIDN’T THEY SEE THE LEAK FROM THE OIL PAN GASKET? they all lifted the car up and were working around the same area! Also, I have to drive for about 4 hours next week. can I drive it?? how much oil leak is too bad? I don’t see anything on my garage floor, so I am assuming either that the oil is getting burned as it drips on the hot exhaust pipe, or that it is not leaking that much.
oh sorry, I thought I mentioned what it is. It is a Ford Focus SVT, about the leak, I don’t know. They told me that it is the oil pan gasket. and from underneath the car it looked like the oil was coming from there as well " see the video attached in the original post".
@RemcoW . see that is the thing! they are all locally owned mechanic shops. the first one, who did not know how to fix the O2 sensor and couldn’t figure out the problem even after changing the PCM, this guy is the dealership mechanic. It is a local used cars dealership which I bought the car from. The second one, who fixed the O2 sensor problem but did not see the leak, was another local mechanic that the first one referred me too. and the Third one was a local mechanic shop nearby my house.
The guy who discovered the leak told me that it had been happening for a while. I think he is right, because for the last 6 months or so I have been doing my oil changes, and I usually check the oil before draining it out, and it is always below the optimum level, but still in the top half! Also, I think that the oil is dripping on the exhaust pipe, because if I drive the car for some time then park it at night, there will always be some smell and some smoke that is BARLEY visible, unless I have my headlights on high beams.
They probably all saw the ‘‘leak’’ but since it’s just a seep …and almost all vehicles that age have some leak somewhere…they didn’t mention it because that’s not why you are in their shop today.
– Too many times the tech and shop get sharply berated for bringing up every little thing as if to pad their paycheck. So they just stop bringing it up, unless you do.
– any car that age is going to have a long list of little quirks and could logically never be showroom perfect.
– If you ask your good shop I’m sure they’ll analize your vehicle, tell you the laudery list, then let you decide when and if to fix anything.
– It’s the sheisters you badger you with that list and insist you ‘‘need’’ all that work asap .
Clean the engine first then look closely soon thereafter to see if the seep is on the bottom end or is on the top and running down,
If you need to add a quart of oil between oil changes, or the spot on your driveway becomes a puddle, then get the seep has become a leak and needs fixed.
that actually makes perfect sense…the thing that I am most concerned about is that I have to drive from Kansas to Iowa next week which is a 4 hour drive and then back to Kansas. Do I have to fix it before then? the mechanic who saw the leak told me that it is not minimal, even though I know for a fact that it had been leaking or seeping some oil for a while, which is perfectly normal for its age, and the oil level doesn’t go down drastically between oil changes. and when I don’t leave my house for a couple of days, and then move the car there isn’t any oil underneath it.
I am worried that the oil is dripping on the exhaust pipe and its getting burned, and that is why I can’t seem to see the leak or the seep on the garage floor. But then again, the oil level is not going down that much.
What I am going to do is watch the oil level during this week, and then drive it to Iowa and keep an eye on the oil pressure gauge that I have in the car (comes as a standard with the focus SVT), and I could check the oil at different times during the trip. So my question is, how accurate will the oil level be? since the car is going to be in operating temperature and the engine will be hot. Do you think that this is a good plan?