Oil leak but no dripping on the ground

[Rally Sport]

Can anyone explain to me why my 08 Buick lacrosse cx 3.8 V6 is leaking oil but nothing on the ground underneath the oil pan? And there is no belly pan under the oil pan to trap the oil from leaking onto the ground.

 

[02LTD2.0]

Perhaps it's leaking from the valve cover gaskets and burning off on the exhaust manifolds. This is very common on 3800s.

Also if the engine was poorly maintained and/or has high mileage it could also be burning oil in the combustion chambers

 

[Rally Sport]

There is no oily smell and it only has a little over 77000 miles on it and no smoke out of the exhaust.

 

[Rally Sport]

Plus I have checked the valve covers and didn’t see any leaks around them.

 

[RD_Atlanta]

Just curious, how much how much oil consumption volume relative to a unit of miles?

 

[Rally Sport]

It’s not using any there is no exhaust smoke it’s a minor leak where ever it is.

 

[02LTD2.0]

How much oil does it use between oil changes and at what mileage do you change it?

 

[Rally Sport]

It doesn’t use oil I change it every 7500 with full synthetic 5w30 and sometimes I do it before 7500

 

[Rally Sport]

I wait until it get about 40% oil life before I change it.

 

[RD_Atlanta]

I found the service bulletin below on another forum.

Bulletin No.: 05-06-01-035A

Date: October 02, 2007

TECHNICAL

Subject:

L26, L32, L36, L67 Excessive Oil Consumption (Replace Exhaust Valve Stem Seals)

Models:

2005 Buick LeSabre, Park Avenue
2005-2008 Buick Allure (Canada Only), LaCrosse
2006-2008 Buick Lucerne
2005 Chevrolet Impala, Monte Carlo
2005 Pontiac Bonneville
2005-2008 Pontiac Grand Prix

with 3800 Series II, III V6 Engine (VINs 2, 4, K, 1 - RPOs L26, L32, L36, L67)

Supercede:

This bulletin is being revised to update the model years. Please discard Corporate Bulletin Number 05-06-01-035 (Section 06 - Engine/Propulsion System).

Condition

Some customers may comment on excessive oil consumption on 3800 Series II and Series III engines. An engine that has excessive oil consumption uses 0.9L (1 qt) of oil or more within 3200 km (2,000 mi).

Cause

This condition may be caused by the retaining ring on the exhaust valve stem seal not securely holding the seal on the cylinder head boss. If this occurs, the exhaust valve stem seal(s) may move off the cylinder head boss and no longer provide a sealing function between the exhaust valve stem and the valve guide.

Correction

Inspection and/or Replacement of Exhaust Valve Stem Seals

Follow the appropriate Service Information for the vehicle you are working on to gain access to cylinder head exhaust valves on both cylinder banks. Remove the engine valve rocker arm covers, the exhaust rocker arms and the exhaust valve springs.

 

[Rally Sport]

I had a mechanic look at it and he said the power steering fluid was leaking and it was getting on old oil from where the oil filter was changed that was on the fram that I didn’t get all the oil off of.