i need help with friends RX-7 R1. he has an oil leak that only happens when the car is warm( normal opperating temp). the leak burns off (smoke) and does not produce a puddle on the garage floor. the leak started after an oil change. I am not familure with rotories but this sounds to me like a bad oil filter connection. what do you guys think.

 

Could be a bunch of places... Turbos are usually a good place to look...

 

Where is it burning from? You may hav eto wash the engine off to get an idea of where it is starting, although starting after an oil change is strange. Are you able to see oil anywhere?

 

Since it started after the oil change, check the filter and the drain plug. Clean the area and turn on the and check for leaks.

 

Could it also be that some oil was spilled while doing the oil change? The spilled oil could just be burning off?

 

yah, you need to tell us where its coming from, an oil leak is an oil leak



mike

 

Did you switch from regular motor oil to synthetic? I among others have had this happen...aparently synthetic has something in it that cleans so well it can actually cause leaks...hot to stop it? But it does matter where it's coming from though...an oil leak is not just an oil leak...it could be the oil return lines on the turbos which may just need new crush washers, maybe the filter didn't seat properly, or a deteriorated oil line...so i think putting the car on a lift and cleaning the bottom to find the leak would be a good start.

 

synthetic oil doesn't clean so well that it leaks, the problem with it is that it doesn't set itself in the gaskets or anything, which normal oil does. Thats why even if a car comes stock with synthetic oil, before it was shipped it had normal oil run through it to seal everything, then it was flushed and synthetic oil was put in.



kevin.

 

Thaks for the tips.. I'll clean the car and then check for the leak after that.