New help quick! Oil / Engine Problem

[Craig_471]

Right, i have been away for a while, and my car has been used whilst i have been away with my promission
Now
Yesterdat, I got back in earliar for the first time and i noticed the Oil light was on

I have checked the oil levels, its fine, its full,
So at first i thought it might be a dodgy oil switch light thing
I changed that
Still exactly the same

But now there is a horid smell of like oil burning in the engine, and i have seen a little bit of smoke coming from under the bonnet but then it goes away when the temperature goes down, could there be a blockage somewhere and the engine isnt getting any oil?

please help, thanks!

[dmiller]

Are there white deposits on the bottom of the oil filler cap? Could be a cylinder head? Also it might be oil pump?

[Craig_471]

Well ive had a look, and i can see like an obvious leak dripping on to the suspension brace thing, i know its obvious becuase it was a boiling hot day and no rain lol, i tried to feel underneath to were roughly the leakage was from, and i got " watery oil " on my hands, is that any more help?

[jordyp]

change your oil mate, the light is oil pressure, just change the oil and filter then it should go out, if your not gettin pressure the light comes on, so you must not have enough oil/too much or its really dirty, so change it and check for leaks then it should go out

[dmiller]

and i can see like an obvious leak dripping on to the suspension brace thing

Is this the bit that runs across the front of the engine bay at the bottom connecting both wheels? If so thats the anti-roll bar.

To be honest any oil that drips from the engine will end up there... Clean it all up and then check the oil level, if its below the max top it up to the max. Run the engine for a minute with a good bit of revs (2 to 3k). Rev it like that to get the oil pressure up. Switch it off. Re-inspect the engine bay to see where the oil is.

Im going to guess that its probably from either the oil filter or the oil pressure switch. The oil pressure switch on mine is at the front of the engine and has a single wire going into it. If its oily then its leaking and needs replaced. Mine cost £5 from eurocarparts and was easy enough to change.

Its worrying that you have a leak and the oil pressure light on - it could be that the oil pressure switch has failed totally, hence the leak and the light. It could be that there is not enough oil to hold the pressure or it could be something like a dodgy filter or pump, or it could simply be old crappy oil gunging everything up. When was the last time you changed the oil?

[Craig_471]

Cheers for all the replys!

The oil is infact due a change soon, infact very soon i think, But would this explain the smell of burning and smoke coming from the engine?

[dandadan]

I had a burning smell and smoke coming from the engine at the same time as having an oil leak (it was like this when I got the car). The leak was due to the cam cover gasket being old and the burning smell and smoke was from oil which had dripped onto the exhaust, so check and see if oil has dripped onto your exhaust.