How recalls really should be done

Intake manifolds don't "leak poisonous fumes."

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE53D31P20090414

No fumes, just fires.

Maybe even burn your home down:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2008-02-11-tahoe-probe_N.htm

Your point?

 

Having just read it, I notice there is no reference to stopping the oil
leak, just an attempt at fire prevention.

 

Good point.

 

All engines will eventually leak a small amount of oil. It just
shouldn't be channeled to a place where it can start a fire that could
spread.

 

Perhaps you should tell my eight year old Nissan that, it obviously
hasn't heard, though it might start leaking tomorrow, I'll have to wait
and see.

 

He is right, but it can take a long time these days. My cars from the 50's
through 80's all had some drips but my '91 took over 10 years for any signs
of oil and it was a couple of drops a week, my '01 LeSabre, for all its
fault, does not leak a drop. Eventually, front and rear seals will wear or
a valve cover gasket will leak, but it may be years before I see it.

In the case of my '53 Mercury, if it was liquid, it leaked.

 

Now that is what the old British designs did.

 

My 13 1/2 year old Nissan Pathfinder didn't leak, had 200,000++ on the odo.

No real reason for them to leak other than a cheap design. Not
ergonomic and green either.

 

You must never have owned an old flathead engine with cork gaskets! Even
with new gaskets, I still get little "weeps" every once in a while. Plus,
having to clean the road tube, or some oil comes out of there also. I am
talking about a 1941 Windsor. My 48 Plymouth, 40 Royal also leaked a little
oil, but the old flatheads were dead-on reliable.

 

Add cars from the '40s in there also. All my 40's Chryslers leaked, those
old flathead engines all leaked a little. Even the road tubes will leak
oil.

 

I had a 77 MGB, original engine, that never leaked a drop in the 14 years
that I owned it. After re-doing the electrical systems with waterproof
connectors and shrink-wrap, I never had a "prince of darkness" problem
either.

 

Even if it didn't drip... it DID leak a small amount. Show me ANY engine
over 5 years old and in regular use, and I'll show you a few damp spots
around various gaskets. If you haven't seen them, then you just haven't
looked.

 

Feel free to come and examine my seven and a half year old Nissan car,
once we have agreed betting terms.

 

Have YOU actually taken a good hard look at every seal? And I don't mean
in the case where you wash the engine every few months, either.