Excessive oil leak, now car wont stay on.

[LincolnLS05]

Wife was driving car and said CEL was blinking, car was sluggish and shaking. She got car home and just before getting there, she stated engine compartment was smoking. I see n ow by the oil all over the place that it was burning leaking oil.

My examination shows oil in the bottom portion of the engine compartment, on the left side (center), just under the valve compartment. Try to start car, will start, but will not stay on when I hit accelerator.

Do I have a blown head gasket and if so, what will it run me to get parts? Can i do it myself? Does anyone have instructions?

[shorod]

If by "valve compartment" you are referring to the valve cover, your leak is not a head gasket. The head gasket is below the head. The valve cover is on the top of the head. If the valve cover gasket is leaking, chances are pretty good the spark plug well seals are leaking too. Leaking plug well seals will lead to a misfire as the coil boots and spark plug contacts start to swim in oil.

Head gaskets fail more often in engines where there is a Cte mismatch between the block and the head since the block and head expand and contract at different rates. Your LS has an aluminum block and head so the Cte should be essentially matched.

-Rod

[LincolnLS05]

Rod, I tried uploading a pic of the RH Engine compartment and circled the area I saw oil leaking from last night. I may have said Left preciously and i do apologize for that. The leak is actually coming from below the valve covers and all the oil splatter was in the bottom portion of the engine. Have not noticed any oil around the COP's, they look clean.

[shorod]

The circle you drew in appears to cover two "seams." Your LS has a goofy oil pan/lower end configuration. The circle covers both the oil pan and the lower piece of the block. I can't recall what it's called. On my wife's 2002 we did experience a leaking oil pan gasket and fortunately it was covered under warranty. Your best bet might be to thoroughly clean the area, then install some dye in the oil system to see if you can pinpoint which seal is leaking. From the area you circled though it doesn't appear that it would be the head gasket. The engine roughness is likely something different.

-Rod