losing oil? between changes

[mbeach]

It's funny that I resurrect this thread, only to post some bad news right behind my earlier (positive) post.

Last night, (during a snowstorm no less), the wife's Dragon started burning oil.
Well, to be exact, I checked the oil 300 miles ago (at fillup) and it was AOK, but last night, there was NOTHING on the dipstick. 1.5 quarts later and it was alright. That's some pretty heavy usage, even for a VX I figure.

Well, here's what happened, and I suspect that I might not be the only one out there.
While adding the first quart of oil, I noticed a slight amount of smoke/steam rising from the vicinity of the EGR valve -hmm, says I. I have the wife pour in the other .5 quart while I jam my head/hand/flashlight into the little nook at the left rear of the engine bay.
We use a very light (0W) synthetic oil, so it's difficult to see -but there is a leak. It's a small cut/tear in the valve cover gasket, at the rear corner of the cover. When the engine is started, and placed under load, the oil pressure forces a small but steady stream of oil out of this breach and right onto the exhaust manifold/EGR pipe/valve where it is immediately vaporized. Very little smell, and almost no smoke. This leak went from nothing to serious in just a few minutes I figure.

This is a 38k mile VX with an excellent service history. No work has been done to the heads/valve covers since it left Japan.

[Anita]

excellent sleuthing... thank you for sharing what you found.

[mbeach]

My diagnosis was just confirmed.

The nearest Isuzu dealer is 400ish miles away, so I took it to an "authorized Isuzu service center" here in Fairbanks.
The tech there states: "she's leakin' pretty good" (at the valve cover gasket).

The leak is nearly INVISIBLE as well. You really have to get in just the right position to even detect it. The stream is small, and only travels about 1.5 inches before it is burned off. The design of the valve cover seal is such that a small tear will become a major leak very quickly.

I advise all drivers who are experiencing excessive oil consumption, or who have suddenly lost 1+ quarts of oil to check their valve cover gaskets thoroughly. This is not the only problem with the motor, but at least it's something detectable and easy enough to repair.

The new gasket is on order and covered by warranty. YeeHaa.

[Anita]

I think this is an important enough post that it should be placed on the front page of the site so everyone will see it even after days go by and the thread moves down the list. What ya' think? Scott?

[AlaskaVX]

The nearest Isuzu dealer is 400ish miles away, so I took it to an "authorized Isuzu service center" here in Fairbanks.

Ha be glad your 400 miles away from this dealership as they will fight to the death trying not to cover anything. Heck I just went there to see if they had a bolt for the front drive shaft since mine is stripped and didn't want to put it back in. They didn't have any there but would gladly order me one from Japan, "Would you like to pay for second day shipping?" . What would happen if they stripped that bolt while it was being serviced? (throw it back in there for you to never get it out)

[mbeach]

Just picked her up from the shop.

Leaking valve cover gasket -warranty
Leaking coolant at intake manifold gasket -warranty
Leaking coolant at heater tube -warranty

Isuzu was actually alright to deal with, it was the 'local' dealer (same one AlaskaVX was referring to) that seemed to be the rusty bolt. I have to work through them to get anything done locally.

Again, as a reminder, CHECK THOSE VALVE COVERS!

[Joe_Black]

Glad to hear you got that resolved! I bet it was hard to see the leak with that 0W in there!

Here's a good kit for finding all kinds of automotive leaks in any vehicle the easy way: UV Tracer Kit

[crager34]

OUTSTANDING!!! I too have experienced this issue and now have something to look for, other than...."oh, it's just something this engine does".

Thanks (man I love this board)