yet another prob...

[jerrys]

yet another problem...

i have had a oil leak for a while now, but it was very minor, but now a couple days ago, i could smell a really bad burning smell, which i think it was probably oil, and everytime i drive now, i can smell it. so now my question is how do i stop it, what gasket is ths (if it is a gasket) and how much will it cost? im really getting tired of all these problems...although eveything that has been happening needed to be replace becuase it hasnt been done since new, and it has about 168 000km, its starting to drive a hole in my very little pocket...i cant afford this car anymore while juggling school, paying insurance and gas and all the cool things with owining a saab! im very close to selling it if this costs a little too much! When im done school, ill buy another when i have more money!

thanks

[Heiliger]

Where is the oil leaking from? Valve cover? Head?

Gasket changes arnt that much man... I wouldnt sell the car just cus of a gasket leak...

Either way... Valve Gasket can be done yourself with superease and a little time...

Head gasket can cost from 300 - 600 dollars...

[Matthew]

Could be oil leaking from the cam cover or distributor onto the hot exhaust manifold. The cam cover gasket's no biggie to repair, distributor's more difficult but neither are a compelling reason to junk the car

[jerrys]

well im not sure where the burning oil smell is leaking from but my guess is its leaking on the manifold...and as for the leak i can see on my drive way, it seems to be coming from the diff. or the gear box, somewhere around thoses areas, more near the back then the front of the engine.

[cdaly]

Wind will often drift oil to the back of the car even from a leak up front. Best option to locate the leak is to wash the engine (power wash but avoiding soaking the distributor et al) and then hunt down the source of the leak.

[trackside]

Likely it is from the oil pump seal and crank seal. This is a bit more complicated than doing teh cam cover but can be DIY if you know what you are doing. It's not a reason to junk the car

[jerrys]

well, im not too sure how to fix the problem, im not all that familiar with the engine. overall, not too different from my other cars but overall the placement is different, and i dont really want to start taking things apart because its almost winter and its very cold and i dont have a garage to work on the car and also, ive never taken anything apart on this car from the engine and i need this car to get to school still, so i think i will wait till i ahev some money to have someone look at and fix the problem. i just hope its not a head gasket.

one thing too, i removed the spark plug cover thing, and i noticed when i was replacing the spark plugs there was oil in the compartment thing, where the plugs are located. you could see the oil when you take off the cover, it wasnt much but it was enought that im worried about it..

[ProfZ]

The oil in the plug recesses is from the cam cover gasket. Buy a new one from www.eeuroparts.com for about ten bucks, and installl it yourself in about 20 minutes