Hey all,

I'm freaking out a bit right now because of some issues I'm having with my TA. I've been more of a lurker for the most part, but AceBoogie has been really cool to give me some advice on this already...just want to post up some pics and see if I can get more advice before I take the car into the stealership in the morning. So, here is what is going:

On my way to my g/f's place last Friday, I had something hit the underside of my car on the highway. Everything seemed fine, so I figured it hit the floorboard and all is okay. I left my g/f's place a few days ago (Tuesday)...she told me that after I left, there was about a palm sized oil stain on the ground. I was surprised since I usually don't leak oil. I got home and decided I'd check the oil level the next time I drive the car (Oil pressure has been fine and the car hasn't been running too hot or anything).

Today, I checked under the car, and boom, no oil. I should have checked the oil even though the engine was cold, but I ran to the post office down the street and back. When I got back, I checked the oil and immediately noticed this crap caked on the dipstick (most of it comes off when rubbed but the stuff higher up on the dipstick seems more caked on):





So I clean it off as best as I could and stick it back into the dipstick tube. Pull it out, and I notice there is barely any oil and more crud!!!!



So my plan is to fill it with oil (make sure I don't have a luge leak and it just pours out the bottom). If it doesn't, I'll fill it up tonight and take it to the dealership across the street (I'd love to take it someone else, but I am afraid to drive it).

I am not sure if something hit the oil pan and caused a leak? I'll find out tomorrow or when I pour the oil. Also, I ALWAYS USE AMSOIL and high quality filters. I hope my motor is okay and it isn't a major issue.

My questions are, would running on low oil for a while cause this crud??? Also, is plan on filling it with oil and taking it to the dealer okay? Since the oil pressure has been fine and the motor seems to be running normal and at a normal operating temp, what could be going on? I'm just scared about the gunk and chunks so I'll have to see what the little oil in there looks like. Should I have them pull the plugs too while they diagnose?

Any help would be greatly appreciated...had this baby since I was 16 years old and it's like a damn child to me. Thanks in advance...I'm thinking a hole got punched in my oil pan from that debris...

 

Eh, that doesn't look good at all. I've never seen a dipstick like that. Do you have access to lift the car up on jacks and take a look under there?

 

Yeah, no good. Unfortunately I do not since I sold my house and moved into an apt, most of my stuff is in storage due to lack of room, argh!!!!

I don't get why the oil pressure and water temp have remained normal....some people are saying I may have cooked the motor, but wouldn't I see bad oil pressure or a high water temp? Or smoke or something? I did smell a lil burning smell when I parked the car, opened my door and turned the car off?

 

Kinda looks like rust in the pic ....
Seen kinda the same thing before when the dipstick was not all the way in the tube for a while

 

Did you hear any noises when driving?

 

When was the last time you checked the dipstick, prior to this issue? Was it 100% normal at that time (not just the oil, but the condition of the dipstick itself)? That's a whole lot of deterioration to be anything "normal" if it happened in a short period of time. Frankly, I've owned 20-40 year old cars that had original dipsticks and they didn't look that rusted/bad.

Have you checked the coolant by chance?

It certainly isn't going to hurt anything to add some oil if it's low. You might want to drain what's in there first and see what it looks like. At that point you can just toss in some cheap oil in the mean time; no reason to put expensive stuff back in there if there is an internal problem that will require some disassembly.

 

pull the drain plug and see what comes out....ive never seen a stick that bad before....idk what to make of it.......

 

Thanks guys. Yeah, some of that rust was there before...it hasn't been pristine looking for a while (I need to buy a replacement). The gunk towards the bottom with the chunks is new. Also, the portion at the very top of the stick hasn't been that bad before either. I just picked up some oil so I'm gonna pour a quart or two in and see if an comes out the bottom. Too bad my car is so low because I can't get under there to check the oil pan, but I can at least check if any hits the ground. If it looks good, I'll add a few more quarts and start it and check everything.

I'm gonna try and check the engine bay too and see if I can spot any oil leaks....then I'll limp it to the dealer tomorrow or Monday.

Argh, this is so scary!!!