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