shadowinlight [he/him, comrade/them]

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Joined 21 days ago
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Cake day: October 18th, 2024

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  • Valve cover gaskets are on the top or side of the engine, depending on the design and when they start leaking, they tend to soil the exhaust manifolds, which are one of the hottest external parts of an engine. That smell is oil vaporizing. It’s not uncommon for engines with some age to leak from several areas, including the valve covers. If you can smell it, then it’s a leak significant enough to warrant a repair.

    As others have stated, the leak will slowly drop your oil level in the engine and if it gets low enough, it will starve the engine of its vital fluid. Engines need oil to protect rotating and moving parts from direct contact with each other. It also serves some purpose as a coolant. The engine oil needs to be kept clean and changed frequently to ensure these parts don’t wear prematurely.

    It’s kinda cool, actually - some of these parts are suspended by a film of pressurized oil. The two parts never really touch each other, although they appear to be in direct contact. Thousandths of an inch or less separate them, and the oil takes up that space, allowing the parts to move and “float”.