can thick oil cause a leak?

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People always say that thin oil can cause leaks, but does thick oil cause leaks? My dads always uses 10w40 in his 94 subaru impreza and the valve cover gasket is leaking. The car calls for 5w30 and were in california.
 
The only thing I can think is that the gasket is going out on its own, and a thicker oil might be pooling a bit more since it wont drain down as fast as a 30 weight oil. But no, it should not cause a leak. The gasket just needs replacing.
 
No thick oil cannot cause leaks. Have you ever stoped and thought about how much empty space their is in an engine???Oil viscosity has nothing to do with leaks any more then sacrificing a chicken would!No voodoo in motor oil!
 
Originally Posted By: JohnBrowning
No thick oil cannot cause leaks. Have you ever stoped and thought about how much empty space their is in an engine???Oil viscosity has nothing to do with leaks any more then sacrificing a chicken would!No voodoo in motor oil!


I was trying to figure out why exls said thin oil would cause leaks..If that was the case there would be a ton of leaks out there with all those people using 5w20...That would include a ton of patrol cars.
 
Originally Posted By: CROWNVIC4LIFE
Originally Posted By: JohnBrowning
No thick oil cannot cause leaks. Have you ever stoped and thought about how much empty space their is in an engine???Oil viscosity has nothing to do with leaks any more then sacrificing a chicken would!No voodoo in motor oil!


I was trying to figure out why exls said thin oil would cause leaks..If that was the case there would be a ton of leaks out there with all those people using 5w20...That would include a ton of patrol cars.


I may have said it in a wrong way. I meant to say that people say thin oil can cause leaks in cars that have been abused.
 
why does everyone think that using diff. weight oils can stop leaks that is a result of not maintaining your car.. yes there are other things to do other than changing oil.
 
Originally Posted By: haci_corolla
why does everyone think that using diff. weight oils can stop leaks that is a result of not maintaining your car.. yes there are other things to do other than changing oil.


Are you saying that engine leaks are caused by a lack of maintenance? What about poor materials? The rear main seal on my wife's Malibu Maxx started seeping oil at 45K miles with perfect maintenance. There was no way in heck I was changing it! After several OCI's of Supertech HM, the seepage has almost stopped and not returned and it just hit 68K miles.
 
Originally Posted By: Zaedock
Originally Posted By: haci_corolla
why does everyone think that using diff. weight oils can stop leaks that is a result of not maintaining your car.. yes there are other things to do other than changing oil.


Are you saying that engine leaks are caused by a lack of maintenance? What about poor materials? The rear main seal on my wife's Malibu Maxx started seeping oil at 45K miles with perfect maintenance. There was no way in heck I was changing it! After several OCI's of Supertech HM, the seepage has almost stopped and not returned and it just hit 68K miles.


I think there are always cases of seals just going, regardless of maintenance, care, or usage.
 
Originally Posted By: cchase

I think there are always cases of seals just going, regardless of maintenance, care, or usage.


+1
I have heard about alot of rear seal problems from chevy v6 engines in the malibus.
I changed to sythetic in my truck at 90k and it started to leak from the front main seal - the guy before me had all the records of oil changes, and the truck was a 2005 so it wasnt old. Just bad luck I guess.
I agree completly though with seals going, regardless. Its part of having a car.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: JohnBrowning
Oil viscosity has nothing to do with leaks any more then sacrificing a chicken would!


Not what I hear...chicken blood will degrade seals.......
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Using a thicker oil is going to slow down leaks and burning, because it's THICKER!
This is the oldest oil fact in the book!

Thicker oil does not fix mechanical problems, but can attenuate them.
 
Originally Posted By: rengnath
Originally Posted By: cchase

I think there are always cases of seals just going, regardless of maintenance, care, or usage.


+1 ...

+2

My wife's '99 OB is developing a left valve cover seal leak and I (or the dealer) have done all of the oil changes on it since new mainly using xW-30 with a couple of experimental runs on xW-40.

Recently had both valve cover seals replaced on a '00 Impreza RS, although it was bought used with 60k on it and it currently has 90k.

-Dennis
 
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