After an almost 4 month Winter nap, I had it in the other garage safe and sound covered up with a battery tender on it. I pulled the cover back checked the oil and started it up. No problems other than a low tire but once it started to get up to temp there was a little smoke from the drivers side of the motor, like the valve cover seeped some oil or something. I wanted all the fluids to come up to temp before driving it, never did go for a ride but did let warm up good so she can drive when she wants too.

My question, I am hoping that whatever the oil smoke was it will go away once it has been driven a while and all systems are hot. Is this normal after a car sets like that. We are new owners getting the car late Fall and only getting a few hundred miles before Winter hit. I know this is a dumb question but one that had to be asked....
TIA

Joe

 

You probably have the valve cover leak, so it will not go away. The leak may be small and hardly noticeable during normal operation. The leak may be stopped by re tightening all the bolts lightly and systematically to the correct torque values. Do not exceed the stated torque values.
Is there much oil visible? If there is a lot then repair is the only solution.

 

That sounds expensive............ any time the dealer touches a motor take out a loan.

 

Howdy,
I just went through the same exact thing here in Montana.
Car was put away late October and only came out a couple weeks ago kind of like Poncitawny Phil
As with every Mercedes Benz 3.2 the RTV "gasket" decided to go. I haven't yet replaced it but do realize it's a very common and also very easy situation to fix. Don't worry about it unless it seems to be more than just seapage.
Remember a couple of drops of oil can really cover a lot of area when aplied slowly.
There are a number of RTV products out there my favorable pick is
Permatex Form a gasket Blue
Also there are high temp RTVs that I have used at work that are a very good all round sealent. Most any product from the "Big Name" companies are good these days. Wecome to the 21st century
On the DIY engine compartment 1-10 scale of difficulty, it is only a 2

Good luck,
Mike

 

JoeR, I agree it sounds like the Valve Cover leak issue.

Light smoke is usually from oil burning when it hits the manifold.

If you jack the car and remove the oil splash pan, a telltale sign is oil accumlation on the bottom of the pan (usually old dirty dried up oil).

Sometimes you may even see oil stains on the garage floor.

If you pull the pan and look up at the bottom of the engine and see oil there, it's most likely the covers.

As a DIY, it's not difficult, search the forum as directed for details.

If you go that route, my advice is to do both sides of the engine, and be done with it.

I had mine done by the Dealer under warranty, so I'm not sure what they would charge, but it's probably not pretty.

Here's of pix of my driver side cover when it had the problem:



I had both sides done for the fix...

If you decide to do it yourself, be carefull with those bolts, they are aluminum and you don't want to tighten too much (torque to Service manual specs)...

 

If it is the smaller emissions section of the valve cover, all you need to do is spend about $10 for a bottle of sealant at your local auto parts store, and follow the instructions in the write up on how to redo the seals.

I did it on Bat's '08 Crossfire late last year, with ~11k miles on it.
No more smoke and burnt oil smell in the past 3k miles.

Much better than taking it to the dealer, having them screw it up, and not having the car for a week while they fix their mistakes. Or maybe its just our dealer that always makes a mistake when the car is in the shop for something simple.

BC.

 

It is an easy "do it yourself" fix if you are somewhat mechanicly inclines. You will need a "TORX" adapter though.

 

Any car with a few miles on it that sits that long will leak a little. I don't care what people say. Just relax and drive the car. Keep an eye on it to see if it is a small seep or an actual leak. If it is a small seepage I wouldn't touch anything! When my car sits a month a get a little smoke at the start up. If it sits a couple weeks it is ok. I would rather a couple drips (as long as it is anot "leaking" than let a technician touch it. In my opinion they could make it worse.

But any 5+ year old car with 10K- 50K miles that sits for months without running is going to get a little seepage. I don't care what people say...

 

I hate to point out the obvious, but if your technician makes the valve cover seal leak worse, then he's a horrible technician, and shouldn't be working on anyone's vehicles.

You can not have an easier repair on the Crossfire than this one.

I have a motorcycle with over 50k miles on it that is 22 years old sitting in my garage for the last 3 years, and it doesn't seep anything at all. If your 5 year old car is seeping oil, there is something wrong with your car. Bat's 10 year old PT Cruiser doesn't leak or seep any oil.

Having an oil leak on an engine is NOT normal.
Engines are supposed to be oil tight.

We won't have a discussion about the things you don't care about.
We understand that they are grandiose in their quantity and subject matter.

BC.

 

I noticed this problem through the winter. For about six weeks, I didn't drive much. It would set for about 10-12 days, then, I would start it up and take it for a drive. Noticed a small amount of smoke and oil smell. Opened hood and noticed oil, on left side of block. Cleaned it up, tightened cover just a bit and it's been fine. I think what happens is that it gets down to 10 degrees, metal shrinks, you start it up and it expands, thus, leak. Since it's warmed up and I tweaked the covers a bit, no more leak.

 

So I can safely assume that the motorcycle is not a Triumph.

When the metal shrinks or expands we can generally average out the effects on gaps and say that they will remain about the same. The oil will leak out of gaps, we are talking of a very small change in size, negligible in fact.
Tweaking the bolts will have had an effect far far more than contraction and expansion.

The RTV gasket should be an even thickness when applied to the surface so that it is evenly crushed, any thin area will have little compression on it and will be the first to leak. Conversely thick areas will not allow compression of the thinner areas.

 

Your motorcycle is not a car and should not be compared to the crossfire. If Bat's cruiser doesn't leak then maybe they haven't seen the leak. Maybe they drive it often and don't notice it. I don't know Bat and I can't speak for a car I haven't examined. I guarante with a closer look under the hood they may find a small surprise.

Engines are not 100% air tight. You let a car engine sit too long and it will have a little seepage. I am not talking about a leak. I am talking about seepage. I know there are people out there **** about their engines. I am **** about my car as well.... but I have come to reality on this subject! This is normal in my book... I will not disturb my engine unless it is absolutely needed! I don't care how good the mechanic is. Some things are better left alone until they absolutely need to be tampered with. A small amount of seepage that I can't smell or see unless I break my neck looking under the car is not worth my time or effort.... even for a guy as **** as I am about my toys.