ericcdong

So ever i purchased my used car, after having it for about a month, it has been diagnosed with an engine oil leak. My mechanic told me that its the seals that are getting old and so it causes the leaks that i have. And to illustrate just an idea of how much oil drips from my car heres a photo.

http://pad3.whstatic.com/images/thum...999818-1b1.JPG

^ thats just an internet photo, but it illustrates one of the THREE drops that i get under my car. I essentially get about 3-3.5 drops of oil under my car every morning that i go and check my car (or anytime i park my car anywhere). My mechanic looked at it and told me the leaks are coming from the upper portion of the engine so it is essentially the seals and he quoted me at around 800 - 1000$ to replace the seals that are causing the leaks and honestly for the price at which i purchased the car, i dont feel that its worth doing. I'm definitely not strapped for cash right now but at the same time, being that this car is 244000km, i dont feel its worth it to fix. Anyway, a few days ago i went to montreal for 3 days with my family and during that time i had my car parked in my garage. On the third day of coming back home (car had not been used for 3 days), i checked under my car and there was a small puddle of oil, and then i checked my oil dipstick and it was previously at MAX but it suddenly went to the middle of MAX and MIN. Which means i lost a bit of oil. I went to purchase oil and poured it in and ever since my car only leaks some drips. I'm just wondering if you guys maybe know what might of happened? How did 3 days of no car use = small puddle, then using car daily = 3 small drips.

The purpose of this post is just to ask you guys what i should do regarding my situation. I mean the car is at 244000 km and i hope to keep this car till 300000. My mechanic told me to check my oil every 2-2.5 weeks just to see the oil level and top it off. My question is, will this leak ever get worse? I tried purchasing some ATP STOP LEAK, and i poured a bottle in and its still leaking. Im looking for straight up advice, has anyone ever dealt with an oil leak? How bad was it? How did you cope with it? How long did your car run with the oil leak? Do you think that i can make this car go to 300000 by topping off the oil when needed and such? Ever since i purchased this car, i've babied it and changed all the oils and tranny fluids and changed whats needed. Just that the 800-1000$ is just too much to devote to fix these seals.

Also, after several observations from parking lots and various parking spaces, i've concluded that many other people suffer from oil leaks as well. Everytime i walk up to vacant parking spots (in front of walmart for example) i see oil drips from small to big and i honestly just wonder if many other people live with leaks as well?
I do check my car oil every few days and im just wondering what i should do? let me know!
all advice will be appreciated

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Just fix it. There's no point of prolonging it and constantly having to worry about it and play the "what if" game.

I had a seep in one of my valve cover gaskets a while back. It never dripped on the floor, it was just forming around the exterior of the valve covers, but I replaced the gaskets anyway.

FamilyGuy

I can't see the photo on my cell but yea like CL said just fix it, assuming you plan to keep the car for at least a year longer?

Many puddles in parking lots aren't oil. They can be tranny fluid, power steering / brake fluid, coolant or just water from the A/C. You never know.