Car trouble--I know, it's a long shot

[Wayne C.]

Originally Posted by Beth Sweet

Ok, so I know that a lot of the people on here are car people and I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on quite what is wrong with mine. It is a 12 year old Buick Skylark that is otherwise in perfect condition, but I have a little oil issue. I drive my car maybe once or twice a week, and it's either a really short trip or, about every 3 weeks, a really long one (1 hour). Problem is, every time or every other time I go to drive my car, it tells me I'm out of oil. I'm not leaving puddles on the ground and I fill it each time. Any ideas?

a 12 year old Buick probably has a pretty worn out engine-

check the exhaust while the car is running- if you are putting out a nice white smoke you are probably burning off the oil. It could be that the rings are shot or something of that nature.

are you actually seeing the oil level drop with the dipstick? or is the oil light coming on?

I am not a mechanic- but when a car starts making oil disappear at that age it is time to start shopping in my book....

I'll let all the car guys on CD tell you the right stuff now...


WC