![]() I found out that the rear valve cover gasket was leaking oil onto the exhaust manifold and onto the front engine cover. I was originally told that it was caused by the front engine cover seals / gaskets leaking onto the crossover exhaust pipe below the engine because that is a common and VERY expensive problem on these engines. It seemed to develop about 2000 miles after I changed from conventional oil to full synthetic but that may be a coincidence. I had the same oil smell problem on a 2004 Merc Sable with the DOHC Duratec engine with 166000 miles. The caveat is you have to do this for every oil change, but it's still no comparison in cost to having the gaskets replaced, which can cost anywhere from $1500-2000 today. I have found that changing the oil with 5 quarts of high mileage oil and adding 1 quart of Lucas Engine Oil Stop Leak dramatically reduces the amount of oil leakage on these engines. Leaks can also develop between the upper section of the block and the lower bearing section, which was sealed with a film of RTV only at manufacture. They run down the engine on to the bottom front of the oil pan and drip on to the hot exhaust pipes below it. The gaskets tend to shrink and the RTV deteriorates with heat/cooling cycles over the years and small oil leaks develop. They sealed small areas of the timing cover where castings mate called "T" joints with RTV sealant when the engines were made, and used a multi-piece gasket. As a mechanic I can't see doing what is involved to remove the timing chain cover on these vehicles as it would cost a good portion of what many of these now older cars that have the leak are worth. This oil leak is common to the Taurus/Sable, Fusion/Milan, Jaguar S, Lincoln LS, and Mazda 6 models with the 3.0 Duratec V6 along with the Escape/MPV. My leak is small enough that my levels never get too low between services. I would still check your oil levels from time to time, depending on how often you have your oil changed. Actually, I just purchased a can of engine degreaser and will clean it when required. You can purchase from you local parts store. I also have a drip pan in my garage, even though the leak is small. Every time they change my oil, they will just shoot some engine degreaser on that area and clean it for me at every service, so that holds off the smell for most of the time. With nearly 170K on my 2003 and recently having the transmission replaced (not happpy and big $), I will let this leak continue. (They see a lot of these!) There is a lot of hours of work to replace the cover's gasket. The guys there said it would be more cost effective to just let it remain. I get my Escape serviced every 5,000 miles (oil changed) at the local Ford Express Quick Lane at my local dealer. ![]() What I hate the most is shutting of the air (heat or AC) when I come to a stop, just so I do not have to smell it! This is a small and somewhat annoying leak due to the fact it drips onto the exhaust and causes that oil burning smell and sometimes visible smoke coming from the right front side of the car. What you have is the very same issue many Ford Escape owner's have: A leaking timing chain cover. I don't think I'll be fixing it myself, unless I could find it to be something very minor, but I'd like to have an idea before I go to the shop with it. but where are some likely places I should look? I suppose I could expend some more effort looking. I have looked a bit from underneath while changing the oil, and from above, but I really don't see any obvious signs of where the oil could be leaking from. My thinking, up until recently with the smell/smoke, was that it was a minor thing and checking oil levels would be OK until I could get it repaired - especially since there is no mixing of oil/coolant. We have a very small oil puddle in the garage that stays roughly the same size it seems as much is burnt as is leaked otherwise, and it doesn't seem to leak much when parked (though obviously, some!) I have also not noticed any particular odd smoke coming from the tailpipe. I have never noticed any evidence of coolant and oil mixing, nor is the vehicle losing any coolant. Lately, we can notice a small amount of white smoke from the vehicle after stopping, as well. I am wondering what types of issues I am most likely looking at with this My 2003 Ford Escape (V6) has an increasingly pronounced burnt oil smell that has developed slowly over a year or so, coupled with a slow leak of oil.
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