What does oil leak PTS mean? It’s important to get to the bottom of this issue if you don’t want your engine to get seriously damaged.
When fully understanding the meaning and obvious signs of oil leak PTS, you may find the proper repairs to protect and prevent the further failure of your vehicle.
Keep reading to learn about the oil leak PTS problem!
What Does Oil Leak PTS Mean?
When PTS (Prior to service) goes together with an oil leak, it means the leakage on the oil system has just started, and you have to address the leak soon.
Oil leak PTS warns you of serious failure in your engine system.
If you ignore it and don’t find the right fix, it can cause other severe problems with your car.
Thus, it’s essential and critical to take your vehicle to the auto shop and ask for support from the expert mechanics when you discover an oil leak in your engine.
After understanding what the oil leak PTS means, you’d better track down the root cause of this.
What Are the Causes of an Oil Leak?
The oil leak may originate from various causes, such as worn seals, leaky or faulty oil filters, damaged filter caps, or cracked gaskets.
In addition, the severity of this problem depends upon the area and size of the leakage.
Damaged or Worn Seals
Over time, seals are easily worn out or damaged, making the oil in your car seep across the gaps. This issue is common in older cars.
The worn or damaged seals cause the oil leak, which will become more serious to ruin your engine if you don’t detect and fix it properly.
Malfunctioning or Loose Oil Filter
The oil leak in your vehicle also stems from a defective or loose oil filter.
This may be due to the oil filter not being installed and tightened properly, or it gets clogged and needs a replacement or repair.
Besides, I once chose and utilized the wrong filter size, and it also led to leaking oil.
Cracked & Rubberized Gasket
Another culprit that may cause this problem is a cracked or defective gasket. It can make the oil leak appear after the oil change.
Gaskets are made of rubber and urethane, which may harden through time.
As such, cracks will occur when the part is exposed to impacts or sudden temperature changes, such as going from a hot summer to a severe winter.
When the gasket no longer holds the oil, the fluid can drip under the car, gradually reducing the engine oil level.
Rubberized gaskets may compensate for the imperfections of the engine metal parts being bolted to prevent sealing between engine components.
It’s not uncommon for the valve cover gaskets and oil pan to fail, mostly on older, high-mileage vehicles.
As engine temperatures increase, acids and sludge build up in the engine’s oil over time. These deposits will lead to oil leaks and gasket damage.
I even noticed the bad valve cover gasket causing vacuum leaks in my car, so keep that in mind.
Loose Drain Plug
Drain plugs help prevent oil in the engine from draining out if your car doesn’t run. Thus, the oil can easily leak out if this component is loose.
You just need to re-tighten the plug to fix this problem.
Degraded & Faulty Oil Filter
An oil filter can get worse over time and cause an oil leak. After prolonged use, this filter will be degraded and damaged to make the oil in the engine leak out.
Therefore, you must monitor this problem to repair the faulty oil filter and the oil leak. You can also change the filter without changing oil to save cost.
Broken or Missing Oil Filter Cap
The oil leak can also happen if your vehicle misses an oil filter cap or it’s broken.
The oil filter cap is where you have direct access to the engine to add oil or inspect the oil level to determine if your vehicle leaks.
Severe leaks occur when filter cap seals are broken, loose, worn, or missing.
Therefore, check and monitor the seal conditions while inspecting the car’s oil level and changing the cap if symptoms of wear or damage appear.
Wrong Drain Plug Installation
The drain plug is at the car’s oil pan bottom. You must remove this component often to make oil changes.
Thus, leakage can occur if the drain plug is over-tightened, misaligned, or too loose when installed.
What Are the Symptoms of a PTS Oil Leak?
Visible Leak
The visible oil leak under the car is one of the clear signs. Check underneath the front of your vehicle before getting into it.
If you find small puddles of black or dark brown fluid under your car, your car has an oil leak.
I also checked and found the problem with the oil pan in my engine, so I took car oil leak repair near me to prevent further failure with the other parts.
Overheating Engine
Another symptom indicating your car gets an oil leak is an overheating engine.
When your vehicle leaks oil, the engine may not cool or effectively lubricate its parts due to lacking the necessary oil amount.
So, it will become overheated when parts move and rub against each other.
Abnormal Smoke
If abnormal smoke appears out of the front of the engine parts, your vehicle has an oil leak. In addition, the low oil level in your car also indicates it gets an oil leak.
So you must often monitor the oil level to detect and fix the problem correctly.
Illuminated Engine Warning Light
Another common signal of an oil leak you can’t skip is the illuminated engine warning light. When you see this light flashing on the dashboard, inspect whether your engine has an oil leak.
How To Fix an Oil Leak PTS?
Can an oil leak be fixed? Yes, it can. Following the simple guide below will help you drive an oil-leak-free vehicle.
First, you must identify the location where the problem is happening. It can be the oil dripping under the car while parking or the low oil level while your car runs.
Identifying the origin of the failure will give the mechanics useful clues to repairing the problem faster and easier.
Suppose you find anything wrong inside your engine.
Don’t hesitate to take your vehicle to the expert mechanics for proper fixes and replacement to avoid more serious damage at a higher cost.
Although fixing the oil leak is as easy as tightening or losing the filter cap, you should still seek the support of an experienced mechanic to make the best repair for your engine.
FAQs
Can I Drive With an Oil Leak?
No, you can not. Driving with an oil leak is dangerous because the leaky oil may generate a fire risk in the engine parts.
Besides, the oil leak leads to insufficient lubrication, causing serious damage to the engine.
How Much Can It Cost To Fix The Oil Leak?
The service cost for fixing the engine oil leak can range from $85 to $155. Yet, if it’s a more serious problem, the fee can be higher, depending upon the damaged conditions of engine parts.
Sometimes, you must pay for the additional labor cost of around $70 to $1120.
Conclusion
Now, you’ve got the right answer to the question, what does oil leak PTS mean? The oil leak PTS is a serious failure with most automobiles.
It originates from various causes, such as worn seals, faulty filters, broken filter caps, or wrong installation.
You can identify if your car gets an oil leak based on common signs, including overheating engine, abnormal smoke, low oil level, or an engine warning light.
If you find an oil leak, ask for the help of an expert mechanic to have the proper replacement and fix it.