Dirty Engine... Possible Leak?

GasHog369 · April 21, 2011

So i was under the hood the other day adding a little bit of coolant.. and noticed my engine is dirty! Especially by the valve covers / intake... Plus im not sure if i'm leaking a bit of coolant or what but the 2 lines near front left of fan / radiator look wet / almost leaking...

Also what would make my valve covers be that dirty or oil / soot? The left one i wiped off a smear as you can see, and it looks like soot / dirt.

I'm planning on getting some engine degreaser and covering any electronics / including my new alt... Hopefully that will make it all look bettter.

any suggestions whats going on with the engine ? or does this look normal for 47k miles?

I'll be first to admit i dont know much about engines.... so looking for advice. thanks

Ape0r · April 21, 2011

I wouldn't worry too much about the crud on your cylinder head. Is the other one dirty as well? Motor in my corvette is filthy with oil, but the oil level still doesn't go down appreciably between changes.

However, you should NEVER EVER EVER EVER have to add coolant after the initial top off after a change. If you are adding coolant, you have a leak.

My truck developed a pretty good coolant leak. It would empty the reservoir in 3-4 months. Turned out the water pump gaskets were gone. Hard to believe your hoses would be leaking at the ends, but anything is possible.

ujtruck · April 21, 2011

check your transmission cooling lines if you have them, I have a little leak like that, which I'm going to fix soon

GasHog369 · April 21, 2011

i think thats where its coming from possibly... how would one go about fixing that? Would the whole line have to be replaced?

Both cylinder heads are dirty but the left one is more....

about a year ago tho i got a oil change done and when my mechanic dumped the oil in he missed a bit and i had a smokey mess near the fill tube.. So i think that why its so bad over there.

I bought some gunk - degreaser today and engine shine to finish it up... Gonna make sure i cover intake, fuse box, my new alt, battery , battery jump box..... anything else i should cover before cleaning it? I know to use a light water spray for cleaning it off... I dont want to nothing..