Heavy oil leak sourcing with UV dye

[mnathan]

Hello,

I have been trying to identify an oil leak. I typically change oil every 3,000 miles, but even at that rate my car is burning through too quick. Car smells of smoke after running. At the 2,000 mile mark I am already reading lower than the dipstick.

I added some UV dye and drove 50 miles yesterday. I've attached an imgur album with a couple of picture of where I found oil.

-Very light leak from drain plug probably from some goofy crush washer
-Light coating of oil all over the transmission pan
-Heavy coating of UV oil on the crossmember directly forward of the transmission pan.

Does anyone have input on what the source of this could be? Or where to look further? A birdie told me rear main seal or oil cooler.

https://imgur.com/a/VpwsBA1

[VStar650CL]

None of that looks catastrophic. Are you sure you're not just blowing it out from a bad PCV Valve?

[mnathan]

It does feel a bit catastrophic with the oil consumption rate and smoke.

The oil on the transmission didn't show up to well in the images though. I'll remove the valve during and idle and check for rattle/suction.

Unfortunately a back sprain is slowing the process of fixing this and my AC.

[mnathan]

Replaced the PCV valve. The old one's check valve was still functional but it did stick a little bit when shaking it.

Both before and after repair I noticed something odd. Taking off the oil cap at idle, there isnt a vacuum being drawn. It was not really applying any suction to a piece of receipt paper.

When I removed the PCV hose and plugged it with my thumb, the vacuum was so strong that the hose collapses on it self.

Both with the old and new PCV valve, the PCV hose is fully collapsed at idle.

[VStar650CL]

That's your problem, and it's wrecking your engine. A collapsed PCV hose turns your crankcase into a sludge mill. Replace that hose immediately.

[VStar650CL]

PS - If you replace the hose and a new one collapses, you'll need new rocker covers. That will mean the ducts in the top of one or both covers are completely clogged.

[mnathan]

I'll get on that today. The hose on there was really flimsy, it may have came with the rocker covers I replaced a few months ago and probably was poor quality.

[VStar650CL]

I don't have an M35 here on the lot to refer to, but if the hose is molded-curved like the ones on Pathfinders, Maximas, and Muranos, it probably delaminated and lost its strength in the area of the bend. For good customers with that issue, I insert a short length of coil spring into the new hose to assure that it can never collapse again. Keep in mind that a leak in that hose is just a leak, it will cause stumble and crappy running just like any vacuum leak. Collapse is a whole different animal, it basically disables the waste disposal system for the crankcase by cutting off the exit route. The result is a sludged top-end (often in a matter of months) and eventually a destroyed engine.

[mnathan]

Hose replaced. https://imgur.com/a/IsQRg0n

Unfortunately they only had 1/2'' hose so I added some clamps to keep it tight. You can see how soft the old hose was.