My 93 Max -- 171,000 miles -- developed a small oil drip a year ago. It's dripping 3-4 ounces a week. Damn if I can find the source.
Someone suggested a dye test. I assume you clean the bottom of the engine and undercarriage, change the oil, and put some kind of dye in the oil -- then you poke around under the car and look for the dye stain??
Is it this simple and can I do it myself?
Thanks.
Most of these dyes are UV dyes that show up when an ultra violet light is used to look for the leak. Unless you have a strong UV light source (with the protective goggles..) these dyes are useless.
You could try using a $20 flourescent UV lamp found in the mall at those 'fun stuff' stores, or maybe even get a cheapo UV tube at the auto-parts store, the kind that some people like to mount in their cars, or even at a CompUSA.
This might sound funny, but as a gag I got my wife a $10 (true)UV LED keychain flashlight so she could try and find dog pee on the rug. They actually sell bigger ones in the pet store for this. Of course you'd have to use this one in the dark.
No idea on where to find the dye though :( as I've never heard of this being used to detect oil leaks.. just A/C leaks.
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