Oil Leak After Oil Change

Has it ever happened with you that you have given your car for a routine servicing and the mechanic does the needful. He has changed the oil in the process and low and behold as you take your car back home, you notice an oil leak. You keep on wondering where is it coming from. One of the reasons could be either a worn out oil filter or the mechanic has put in extra oil. It could be anything else also. But if this has happened to you then read the following article.

Causes of Oil Leak

Cause 1
The drain plug located at the bottom of the oil pan, which in turn can be found underneath the car. The reason for oil leak from your car could be that this drain plug could be lose, for one. Another point could be that the plug has not been threaded properly. If that is the problem, adjusting the plug so that it fits properly, can be done. In other cases, it may also need replacement.

Cause 2
Oil leak very commonly happens on account of mis-aligned, loose or worn out oil filter. Ensuring that the oil filter is not in a bad condition and is fitted properly will avoid oil leak. What you can also do is every time you get an oil change, ask the mechanic to check the filter and replace it if required.

Cause 3
Another thing to check is the valve cover gasket. Two metal parts are joined by a gasket made from rubber or silicone. This valve cover can be found at the top of the motor, bolted to the engine.

Cause 4
If the above three do not work, perhaps you can see if anything is wrong with the oil filler cap. This covers the hole where oil in the engine is put. In advent of the cap missing lose or broken, the engine's pressure will lead the oil to spill out.

How to Stop Car From Smoking After Oil Change

# 1
The first thing which you would obviously do is to open the hood and check out for oil which may have spilled on the engine or the exhaust manifold in the process of oil change. Wipe off the spilled over oil as much as you can. Leave the rest to burn off automatically in the course of driving. Smoking will stop eventually. Small leaks can be dealt with by doing this.

# 2
If you think the smoking is due to a leak, a close scrutiny of the engine might be required. Take a look whether there are any lose bolts, oil filter, valve covers and any other things which may have caused the leak. If necessary, you may even need to crawl under the car for confirming oil leaking around the pan, at the filter or drain plug. Tighten the oil pan bolts, the plug or the filter. An oil filter wrench would prove helpful in dealing with leaks after oil change.

# 3
Now we need to check the oil level. Again the hood has to be lifted here. The car manual may give you good guidelines about this. While checking the oil level, some cars need to be hot while some need to be cold. In case there is extra oil, which you can know with the help of a dipstick, drain it. This can be done by removing the drain plug and allowing the extra oil to drain in a pan, kept below the oil pan. After the excess oil has drained out, put the oil plug back again. Ultimately, measure the level with the dipstick once again and add oil to top it if necessary.

You just need to be a bit alert. Most importantly, being completely involved in your car will help in averting such car problems. This is where I sign off! All the best!