Upon oil change, half of oil put in comes out

[pknlotpmp318]

The last two times i have changed my oil, for the gallon that i put in, only half a gallon comes out. I have a small oil leak (sometimes when i park there is one maybe two drops on the floor after an hour or two.) but i don't think it would cause this much of a loss. I use 10w-30 conventional Pennzoil and change it every 3000 miles. Is it normal to lose this much oil or should i get that leak checked out?

[spidertri]

What year is your car? Most of us run synthetic oil, however, I'm sure if you switched the leak would become more apparent. Check around the oil filter housing, the valve cover gasket, oil pan gasket, etc. It should not lose that much oil that quickly.

[Mallard]

cars burn oil

the lack of oil comming out is quite normal, but always remeber to check levels anyway.

[marko]

as already mentioned, car is burning oil - and it seems A LOT of it... 1/2 a gallon every 3K is excessive - & you definatelly look into this quite soon.

What I put in - I get back (within an once or two)...

Originally Posted by pknlotpmp318

The last two times i have changed my oil, for the gallon that i put in, only half a gallon comes out. I have a small oil leak (sometimes when i park there is one maybe two drops on the floor after an hour or two.) but i don't think it would cause this much of a loss. I use 10w-30 conventional Pennzoil and change it every 3000 miles. Is it normal to lose this much oil or should i get that leak checked out?

[pknlotpmp318]

My car is a 95. Like i said there is a leak, not sure where its coming from but there is usually a drop hanging off the oil pan. I will check to see where it's coming from this weekend.

Thanks for the info!

[dave45056]

Check around the oil filter housing. Seems like when it starts getting colder, the hasket and o-rings tend to start leaking. Mine started after an oil change when it was cold. I guess twisting on the filter can get this kind of leak started.
Check out this diy:
http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=20854

[pknlotpmp318]

Thanks for that write up! I will check to see where the leak is coming from this weekend.

[aceyx]

If that's all that's draining you need to check your oil level more often; you could be doing serious damage to your motor!

I've found the easiest way to find a leak starts with finding a big piece of cardboard and parking over it. Wherever the drip mark is, look up and start there.

If there are no drips, you burning off a lot. Find out where.