TN Frank 10 Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 (edited) Each time I wash our Spark, I clean and dry the engine compartment. After washing it this afternoon, I lifted the hood and noticed dusty a coating of oil around the side of the engine compartment with the Dipstick & Fill Cap. It covered a radius of about 18". Both the Cap & Dipstick were down tight, and the oil level was right at the mark where it has always been. It's been about two weeks since the last wash, with nothing abnormal in our driving, but this hasn't occurred before. It kind of looks like blow-by from a loose cap. Has anyone else noted anything similar? Our Spark is a 2LT - Automatic. We took delivery the first week in January, it has just over 3,000,miles on it, virtually all rural country driving. We are averaging 38.8 MPG, and it has been absolutely trouble-free. Edited April 15, 2013 by TN Frank Link to post Share on other sites
bluer101 241 Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 How many miles and how long have you owned the Spark? Link to post Share on other sites
WaltK 305 Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 From the way you explain it, I doubt it is oil. If your level is where it should be, and the cap and dipstick are tight, you can rule that out. Is your coolant tank capped tightly? That would also leave an oily appearing residue. All you can due, is clean it up, check all levels, and then check it every day for a few days. If it should happen again, check your levels carefully, to try to determine what it is. Dexcool would have an odor, but who knows. They dropped the ball on not putting in a temp gauge. Let us know what you find. Hopefully, it's just a fluke. Link to post Share on other sites
TN Frank 10 Posted April 15, 2013 Author Share Posted April 15, 2013 (edited) I've already have an appointment on Thursday to have my Navigation software downloaded, so I'll have the dealer also look at the leak to see what they think. I'll report on both after they finish the download. Your coolant comment started me thinking, and it dawned on me that with warm weather finally reaching our area, we have been using the air conditioner for the first time during the past couple of weeks. That may well be where the leak is coming from. Thanks for the tip. Edited April 16, 2013 by TN Frank Link to post Share on other sites
Greg_E 211 Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 You don't want the oil spraying out of the A/C system, it will wreck the compressor. They may need to put a dye in some of the fluids to see where it is coming from, I wonder if they have enough colors to put a different dye in engine oil, coolant, and A/C??? Link to post Share on other sites
TN Frank 10 Posted April 20, 2013 Author Share Posted April 20, 2013 The coating of oil in the engine compartment of our Spark was caused by a leaky Cam Shaft Actuator Sensor. I have to go back next week for something else, so I'll have them point out the sensor so I can post a picture of it on the Forum. They replaced the sensor and cleaned up the oily mess. They said it took a while to find because I had them looking for and tightening all of the air conditioning connections. So far, these guys have really been great. ChevyMan 1 Link to post Share on other sites
WaltK 305 Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 Oh, for the good old days, when a new valve cover gasket fixed 99% of all engine compartment leaks. Glad to hear you got it straightened out. Link to post Share on other sites
TN Frank 10 Posted May 7, 2013 Author Share Posted May 7, 2013 (edited) I waited a couple of weeks to assure that the oil leak in my Spark's engine compartment was indeed fixed. Replacing the Exhaust Camshaft Actuator Sensor did the trick. It remains as clean as a whistle. The attached picture is the mechanic that did the work pointing out the sensor he replaced, for anyone else that experiences a similar problem. Edited May 9, 2013 by TN Frank GRarchitect 1 Link to post Share on other sites
austex04 48 Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 Glad to hear it's fixed. Thanks for the heads up, I will check this area whenever I check oil or open the hood. Could just be a random defective part, these things happen, and usually crop up within the first few months on new vehicles. My old car had a defective a/c compressor that would lock up, and caused the belt to snap, requiring a tow, after I had it a few months. After that one issue, it was trouble free until I bought this car a few years and 60k miles later. Enjoy! Link to post Share on other sites
Lazerface 24 Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Thanks for the post and actually following up with a pic and an explanation. Thats what makes these forums great. Link to post Share on other sites
malibuguy 14 Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Thinking ours may be suffering the same issue...popped the hood to show my friend and it has the slightest wetting of oil around the same area with a tiny spot on the manifold heat shield directly below. Im really not a fan of anybody working on our ish...but im going to call the dealer and see whats up Link to post Share on other sites
Mudflap 1 Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Oh, for the good old days, when a new valve cover gasket fixed 99% of all engine compartment leaks. Glad to hear you got it straightened out. LOL The coating of oil in the engine compartment of our Spark was caused by a leaky Cam Shaft Actuator Sensor. I have to go back next week for something else, so I'll have them point out the sensor so I can post a picture of it on the Forum. They replaced the sensor and cleaned up the oily mess. They said it took a while to find because I had them looking for and tightening all of the air conditioning connections. So far, these guys have really been great. I actually went out and checked ours, and it's okay. Thanks for the tip. Link to post Share on other sites
jibb3r 29 Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 I noticed when I opened my hood the other day, that I had, what looked to be oil, on my engine. So it made me think of this post. Mine doesn't look as bad as yours sounds, but I wonder. It looks like it's coming from under that plastic S-Tec cover. Is this something to be concerned about? I have around 5100 miles, and it's been flawless thus far. Link to post Share on other sites
Lazerface 24 Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 Yeah Jibb3r Thats not right Link to post Share on other sites
bluer101 241 Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 20130711_124257.jpg 20130711_124319.jpg I noticed when I opened my hood the other day, that I had, what looked to be oil, on my engine. So it made me think of this post. Mine doesn't look as bad as yours sounds, but I wonder. It looks like it's coming from under that plastic S-Tec cover. Is this something to be concerned about? I have around 5100 miles, and it's been flawless thus far. That does not look like oil though. When I first got my Spark parts of the engine was covered in a transparent style grease protectant. I cleaned all mine off with a damp rag. I notice this on another Spark on the lot. It was like burnt on the shield. I also saw it on a review video of a Spark. Link to post Share on other sites
Lil Dew 14 Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 20130711_124257.jpg 20130711_124319.jpg I noticed when I opened my hood the other day, that I had, what looked to be oil, on my engine. So it made me think of this post. Mine doesn't look as bad as yours sounds, but I wonder. It looks like it's coming from under that plastic S-Tec cover. Is this something to be concerned about? I have around 5100 miles, and it's been flawless thus far. I have this same stuff on my manifold shield. Link to post Share on other sites
malibuguy 14 Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 I looked more closely at ours the other day and I believe its that grease shit that dripped onto the manifold. Ill probably pop off the coilpack cover to triple check this weekend. Link to post Share on other sites
Dori 13 Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 20130711_124257.jpg 20130711_124319.jpg I noticed when I opened my hood the other day, that I had, what looked to be oil, on my engine. So it made me think of this post. Mine doesn't look as bad as yours sounds, but I wonder. It looks like it's coming from under that plastic S-Tec cover. Is this something to be concerned about? I have around 5100 miles, and it's been flawless thus far. Before I was even reading this thread, I was out cleaning up the engine compartment and found a sticky residue right in that same area. I shook it off as being some sort of factory line or something that hasn't burnt off yet. It wasn't looking as bad as yours, but there was defdienently something there. Makes me wonder now..... Link to post Share on other sites
bluer101 241 Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 If you look in the engine bay and touch all the brake lines and hoses especially behind the engine you will feel all that protectant grease. I believe this is sprayed there to coat everything for the transport on the ocean from S Korea. Link to post Share on other sites
bluer101 241 Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 Look at this video. You can see the mess on the manifold. It's at 1:40 into the video. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xZ9v_8h-4Nk&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DxZ9v_8h-4Nk Link to post Share on other sites
ChevyMan 2 Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 On 21.04.2013 at 2:15 AM, TN Frank said: The coating of oil in the engine compartment of our Spark was caused by a leaky Cam Shaft Actuator Sensor. I have to go back next week for something else, so I'll have them point out the sensor so I can post a picture of it on the Forum. They replaced the sensor and cleaned up the oily mess. They said it took a while to find because I had them looking for and tightening all of the air conditioning connections. So far, these guys have really been great. I am glad Frank shared his story @ this forum, as having put together the fact, that I also have got very similar symptoms. I've got an appointment with a tech tomorrow, so will see whether this is this sensor or no, but sounds extremely familiar to what I have. Anyways, hopefully the repair job and that sensor will not break the bank. Link to post Share on other sites
robstacles 1 Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 I have a thick film of dust and oil on the air hose with the mass airflow sensor. Should I be concerned? Link to post Share on other sites
ChevyMan 2 Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 (edited) An update to my previous post. Was at the station, and they said that really the camshaft sensor failed, and they have to replace it ( https://www.carid.com/engine-camshaft-position-sensors/ ). Now will check on the prices for the piece, as repair job is also quite costly... Edited January 20, 2017 by ChevyMan Link to post Share on other sites
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