| Re: 2000 Catrea has an oil leak
Ok, this is really strange.
Today, the car is fine. I added just under 2 quarts of oil, and that topped it off. I started the car and looked for leaks. I found nothing, so I let the car run for about a half an hour. After that, I checked it again, and still found nothing. After checking the oil level again, I drove the car for about 45 minutes, and never smelled burning oil, the light never came on, and when I got back, the oil level was unchanged.
The only explaination I can come up with is this:
I know the Catera's have a problem with the oil cooler mixing oil and coolant. I do have some carmel colored 'goo' inside the oil filler spout that sticks out of the valve cover. This morning, that goo was frozen. So, if there is coolant circulating with the oil, I am thinking there might have been some frozen goo circulating with it. It was about 5 degrees last night when this happened. Today it was about 14 when I drove. I am considering the possibility that if the frozen goo got into the filter last night, it built up enough pressure to force oil out and past the filter seal, squirting it everywhere. Today must have been warm enough to let the engine heat take care of anything that would stop it up.
I know that's pretty far fetched, but it's really the only thing I can come up with to explain such a strange set of circumstances.
And...is that even possible?
If so, I have to keep warning the car up every few hours tonight...it is going to be 3 below zero.
Then, I need an oil change, flush and a new oil cooler. | 
