engine "sweating"

[bunchi]

My friend's car has some traces of oil outside the engine and some mechanics says it's "sweating". he going on a long drive (to NY and NJ), does he have to have the valve cover gasket replaced before going on the trip? We went to several mechanics some say change it, some say don't bother. whatcha think?

[aris]

If it's leaking i would change it

[Fobio]

no matter how hard your engine works, it doesn't sweat oil...lol...have a qualified mech take a look and repair before a long trip.

[Go_Habs_Go]

no matter how hard your engine works, it doesn't sweat oil...lol...have a qualified mech take a look and repair before a long trip.

I would agree with this assessment, any sign of oil on the outside of the engine is not a good thing and should be looked at ASAP.

[dsichewski]

I would agree with this assessment, any sign of oil on the outside of the engine is not a good thing and should be looked at ASAP.

I agree as well....get it checked out before they leave on there trip....last thing you want is engine troubles in the middle of nowhere....doesn't make for a good vacation!

also check the oil level as well!

[bunchi]

thanks for the replies guys.. i thought so too... as for the oil level, it doesn't seem to drop.. but still you see the outside of the engine is not dry. do the right thing.. be a man! lol

[mzkaye729]

Same problem I had with my car just recently... I opted to replace the valve cover gasket as it was apparently cracked and was saturating my god-forsaken spark plugs with oil and there was also oil that I noticed outside the engine... it was causing my spark plugs to misfire and my car to hesitate/stall so I guess maybe to be on the safe side, just change it. Karen @ Agincourt Mazda fixed mine for me :)

[bubba1983]

sweating is the early stages of a leak guys...

sweating isn't THAT bad...but it will more than likely lead to something worse....
thats why you will get varying answers from mechanic to mechanic...

usuallly its sweating...then seeping, which then leads to leaking!

i see this at work everyday....an oil pan for example...will sweat...we leave it...and then the next time it comes in for an oil change (45k) its usually seeping or leaking, and then we replace the pan gasket......jus for an example...OR it stays sweating and we leave it

[Nova 3 GT]

It happend twice on my dad's 2006 Torrent. The oil pan gasket was sweating a lot and it was changed. So far, it hasn't re-occured but it seems to be a common problem on GM's infamous 60 degree V6s...:loco

[cwp_sedan]

It happend twice on my dad's 2006 Torrent. The oil pan gasket was sweating a lot and it was changed. So far, it hasn't re-occured but it seems to be a common problem on GM's infamous 60 degree V6s...:loco

Let's not even get into the problem of the 60 degree motors...:bang

Mine was nothing but trouble.