Black gunk on bottom of engine? UPDATED (Oil leaks)
 

Going to run out and get some pics, but I've got this black gunk built up on the bottom of the engine, right where the oil dipstick goes, above the headers. It was a crapload. My car has been smelling like it's burning pretty often, and I know it's not uncommon but what is going on here? Any thoughts? I will go grab some pics.

Edit:
http://i.imgur.com/1m7iQ60.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/6iRLaac.jpg

10/16 update - Finally took to dealer, 7 to 8 different engine oil leaks, guess I've been stepping on thin ice for a while. Update on 3rd page

Pics would definitely help

Okay here we go

http://i.imgur.com/1m7iQ60.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/wG88ySk.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/zjEHq26.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/6iRLaac.jpg

holy shxxxxx,where do you live ?

Just guessing here, but looks like it could either be coming from the timing cover (the main one, or the one around the pulley), or seeping from the dipstick tube. How often do you check the oil, and where is the level usually at? That has taken some time to accumulate.

If you're looking at what I think you're looking at, that is what road salt does to vehicles...it sucks!

Outside of DC

Oil is checked pretty often, but I could be better with that. Also of note, I had a front pipe with no cat (Amuse) on for a good while and it's no longer on the car, back to stock, but maybe that could've had some sort of factor?

Yes, salt is a nasty evil around here, many a snow storm was seen

I thought something was burned...and become black...
didnt know it was salt...Thank god i live in a sunshine state...

looks like salt and heavy corrosion for a dd lmao

Anyway, sometimes dealers put some sort of glue/sealant around that area. In your case it looks like it caught debris and oil and warped into muk from pokemon.

Your front timing cover is seeping oil and the buildup is from that. If you pull off your metal undercover, it'll be all over that.

Source: my front timing cover was recently resealed and I had the same buildup.

-alex

It may be possible that the extra heat from an un-shielded exhaust could come into play, but I kind of doubt it...someone (s) would have posted such a problem by now. I hope the problem is a simple as the following...I have found that the factory spec (I forget the number now) for oil fill is a little high. I typically find mine is full at between 5.3-5.5 litres. Overfilling could lead to seepage at the dipstick tube which would take a while to build up. Personally, I would clean it up and keep an eye on it for a week or so before I got too worried. If your oil level hasn't been dropping much, it will take a while to accumulate enough to see where it is coming from. Then think about taking it to a dealer. There have been others that have had a similar stain, and it turned out to be the timing cover gasket.


On a side note, did you run the header through the torture of winter driving? How did it stand up to the salt and temperature extremes?

Okay I will monitor, thanks everyone. The car runs fine but smells bad from time to time, actually on most drives.

The front pipe was titanium and I actually sold it on this forum, it was in good shape since it's Ti, but yeah salt is nasty and the seals got messed up from the corrosion of the stock piping. Sucks but it is what it is.

If you still have warranty you should get it taken care of at a dealer, they'll end up resealing the timing cover, I believe there is a TSB for it for 2013s

if you mean florida, i heard that if you are near the beach, salt gets caked on the car

I will look into this, thanks.

YIKES! ...... I've seen old John Deere tractor engines that were cleaner than that ...... :eyebulge:

@tomato86 ...... I like roddy's plan.

If it was due to salt buildup, the next few months may eliminate that theory.

If the buildup returns, I'd buy into the leaking timing chain cover theory.


humfrz

well...i am living in CA...

Dude...get you a $2K beater truck and cover that bitch up when there's salt or snow on the ground.

The WWW says MD uses sodium chloride on the roads. I lived in CA for 8 years on the coast and my car never had a salt corrosion problem, but back then I was more than a little compulsive about car maintenance.

Thank Jeebus we don't use salt on the roads here, just used bongwater.

Cars are meant to be driven not covered!


That black shit has nothing to do with salt. On that topic I am an expert!


45 minutes after a full wash and that ain't dirt:

Damn, cocaine just grows on the ground up there?

How else do you think I can post so much?

Canada gets better all the time. I knew it was not just Elsinore Beer.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1mfXGemJryo/hqdefault.jpg

Added: I almost sharted:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...opie/comic.jpg

A musical tribute to Canada. (Just kidding, BTW.)

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RHVoFpncgA"]Mystery Science Theater 3000 Canada song - YouTube[/ame]

I was talking about the surface rust on some of your engine components, not the oil leak.

I figured that but was too lazy to make another post too point out the black crap wasn't salt related.


Little bit of surface rust on bare steel components never hurt anything. Now in about 10 years...

Looks like you were driving sideways on a salty road ....... OR, you followed a salt truck after you got out of the car wash ....... :eyebulge:


humfrz

Bit of both!

I have some oil buildup around the dipstick inlet as well, though not as bad. I haven't given it much thought, as I never had to add oil. Whenever I change my oil, I have to put in 6 quarts to get to the full line, so maybe I am slightly over-filling and causing the seepage?

Slow pedestrians?

you mean mustang lunch:lol:

Nope, I usually use about 6 quarts as well and I don't overfill it. I know there was a thing with the cam plate where oil was leaking from but mine has never leaked, not sure if it was fixed before I got it or not.

Well I took to trying to scrape around there again, the buildup is not as bad as it was when I did it, nothing new really accumulated. I'm not sure what it was but I'll continue to keep an eye on it. The bad smells aren't really there either.

I still have a small theory that says my former Amuse front pipe was causing it, only because there was an exhaust leak from the pipe not being totally flush with the stock header.

That is an excellent theory and if you mentioned that before then I missed it! Combination of dirt and soot would explain the slightly fluffy appearance in the pics.

Yeah it makes sense the more I think about it, really loud noise from the slight gap caused by a lack of a seal, and I'm sure removing a cat caused some of it.

Did you take your car for service ?

6 months later, I did just that.

Car was smoking, smelled like burning. It was horrible. Black gunk was spreading out even more. Turns out I had 7 to 8 different engine oil leaks. :bonk:

They are fixing the engine under extended warranty thank goodness. I'm lucky I took it in when I did.