So I brought in my Jeep today to get the cracked header/manifold replaced and to have all of oil that is leaking from pretty much every orifice looked at and taken care of.

The service writer calls and leaves me a message az I was in a meeting and couldn't answer my phone and he said "yes the manifold is cracked and they are going to fix it but they had to order the parts and it should be done tomorrow" ok that's cool! Then he said "as for the oil that you see that is ""operational seapage"" and that is COMPLETELY normal"...

So what should I do with this guy now? He is super nice and seems genuine in wanting to help me, but this is not my first rodeo and I have owned more than one car I'll tell you that, and I have never had "operational seapage" and ever considered it "normal"...

Thanks for any and all advice about this

 

I'd bet the EPA doesn't like "operational Seapage". I gave up on the dealer's service department.

 

Yeah they definitely try and get out of doing what they should to make things right on our vehicles.

The more I think about it, I really dont want some tech that I know nothing about tearing apart my engine and replacing gaskets. I guess I will just keep an eye on things and make sure it doesnt get any worse. At least there is a trail of the inspection and that they claimed it was normal, incase it gets any worse.

 

Operational Seepage? That's a good one. I am going to add that to my vocabulary list, I bet I can get some good use out of that that one in all sorts of situations.

Look, a seal is exactly that, a seal. It is supposed to seal something in or out. You do not have a "main seepage," you have a main seal. Now, after time, and exposure to fluids and heat and all sorts of things, eventually seals will degrade and eventually leak. nothing is permanent. There could be other factors as to why a seal leaks - it is trying to mate imperfect surfaces, or a foreign object got trapped in there, etc. Basically, if something is leaking, you can be pretty much assured that there is something wrong. Sometimes it just takes a long while to find the problem, or you make the discovery that there is something seriously wrong, like your heads are warped.

Clean off the engine, lots of degreaser or steam clean it. Figure out where the oil is coming from, and go from there. If it is still under warranty, once you identify the leak, do a little research as to the potential problem, then go to the dealer and show him. Ask for a customer service number and to use their phone and make a complaint right there if they don't help. Go to another dealer if possible.

 

Thanks Red, I agree whole heartedly with you. I've in in the auto body industry for 21 years now and have built, re-built and restored countless vars of all makes and models and I have NEVER EVER heard the term "operational seepage"....it is a copout in my opinion. Its a way of not fixing the root of the problem.

Like I mentioned before I really dont even want some tech whom I dont know anything about tearing into my engine and working on it.

I like Reds idea of cleaning it and monitoring it then pin pointing the problem then going from there.