Had the car for about a month, and doing the normal checks was amazed to see the oil was almost off the end of the dipstick, I knew it had a leak (camshaft oilseal, sorted now) but the car still seems to use a lot of oil, almost a litre a week (about 250-300 miles) checked the plugs and 1-3 are perfect (light tan, perfect burn), 4 is a little dry carbon (maybe a little rich) no oil fouling on the electrodes, though there was a little oil on the threads.

Question is, do Polos like oil that much? There is a tiny, tiny puff of smoke when the car is booted, you cannot notice it inside the car, i only discovered it at night when i saw it in the headlights of the car behind.

here is a quote from the handbook... "Every engine uses a certain amount of oil. The oil consumption can be up to 1.5 litres per 100km. The engine oil level must be checked at regular intervals, preferably when filling the tank"

Now I know the engine is not a Polo, its a 1.4 ABD from a Golf, and has been tuned with a hotter cam etc etc, but even stock it looks like they are responsible for the oil crisis!

Engine was rebiult 5k ago, so I assume rings and valves are good? the plugs certainly dont show any oil foul.

Somthing to live with or be scared of do you think? any help would be appreciated!

T

Edited 5 May, 201016 yr by Tee42

think that vw figure is per 1000km not 100

none of my vw engines use any to speak of , i have 1300 polo at the moment with about 180k miles on it and it doesnt use any

That does sound like a lot of oil to go missing to me, the valve guides wear fairly rapidly on the small block 8v engines (not sure about the valvers though) which leads to very high oil consumption. Changing the stem seals generally isn't enough either. I've rebuilt two engines that showed clean plugs but had very sloppy valve guides and oily exhausts. The only real way to find out is to pull the head though, which is such a shame on a freshly rebuilt engine. If the engine's had rings recently, it's just possible that they are still bedding down, especially if the bores are glazed. This will definately increase the oil consumption and should improve with mileage. One last thing, are you using a thin oil with this engine?

The 1.3 MH in my Derby uses less than half a litre of oil per 5,000 miles - it doesn't normally need topping up between oil changes, but this is a freshly rebuilt engine.

think that vw figure is per 1000km not 100

none of my vw engines use any to speak of , i have 1300 polo at the moment with about 180k miles on it and it doesnt use any

Yep I think its a misprint too, hmm now I am worried, this really is drinking oil like you wouldnt belive, any thoughts on where to start? compression test first I think.

It has an oil catch tank, not sure if thats relevant? its a bit strange as the plugs are clear, a tiny bit of smoke when booting it but nothing i can notice unless its dark and has lights on it, no puddles anywhere...

I'm a bit stuck

One last thought, is the engine breather system pumping all the oil in to the catch tank? If so, then you might have a blocked crank breather system.

That does sound like a lot of oil to go missing to me, the valve guides wear fairly rapidly on the small block 8v engines (not sure about the valvers though) which leads to very high oil consumption. Changing the stem seals generally isn't enough either. I've rebuilt two engines that showed clean plugs but had very sloppy valve guides and oily exhausts. The only real way to find out is to pull the head though, which is such a shame on a freshly rebuilt engine. If the engine's had rings recently, it's just possible that they are still bedding down, especially if the bores are glazed. This will definately increase the oil consumption and should improve with mileage. One last thing, are you using a thin oil with this engine?

The 1.3 MH in my Derby uses less than half a litre of oil per 5,000 miles - it doesn't normally need topping up between oil changes, but this is a freshly rebuilt engine.

I haven't done its oilchange yet, so I'm just topping it up with a 10/40 semi. The car belonged to polopete, and had been stood for a while before I bought it, i have had it about a month and done less than 1000 miles, i think its had nearly 2 litres of oil (but there was a leak, fixed now) maybe i should flush it and fill with a 15/40, drive it for a month and see what happens? (obvioulsly keeping an eye on things) i did think it strange to loose that much oil, but not owning a polo before I needed to ask.

any more thoughts or ideas would really be welcomed, thanks guys...

One last thought, is the engine breather system pumping all the oil in to the catch tank? If so, then you might have a blocked crank breather system.

just checked the catch tank, and it was mainly full of water, condensation from the crank case i guess? so i assume its doing its job. there was a little mayo in the pipes but no blockages as far as i could see

It all sounds healthy to me, try it on the 15/40 (I use that in mine, the Quantum stuff's very good incidentally) as the 10w sounds a bit too thin for these old engines.

It all sounds healthy to me, try it on the 15/40 (I use that in mine, the Quantum stuff's very good incidentally) as the 10w sounds a bit too thin for these old engines.

Thats reassuring to hear Vic, well then the plan is compression test, oil change and wait and see. I have been told that there is a product called 'winns stop smoke' (not that its smoking) that works very well and may be helpful here. any thoughts?

wouldnt use stop smoke in anything but a total banger

if its not dripping on the floor , its either the rings didnt seat well , or its getting through the valve guides

wouldnt use stop smoke in anything but a total banger

if its not dripping on the floor , its either the rings didnt seat well , or its getting through the valve guides

So you think maybe thicker oil wont help either Stevo? What does this stuff do?

Sigh... i really dont need to pull it all apart...

Edited 5 May, 201016 yr by Tee42

id try the 15/40

these stop smoke products are either stupidly thick oil , or an additive to make rubber seals swell up...it wont be a proper fix and may end up causing more hassle

have you had a word with pete...seems like a reasonble fella , maybe he has some ideas , could be something as easy as a damaged valve guide seal

id try the 15/40

these stop smoke products are either stupidly thick oil , or an additive to make rubber seals swell up...it wont be a proper fix and may end up causing more hassle

have you had a word with pete...seems like a reasonble fella , maybe he has some ideas , could be something as easy as a damaged valve guide seal

Glad you said that about the oil, hope it cures it, its set for next tuesday so ill keep you all posted,

yep have pmed pete, hope he can shed a little light on this for me, it might be the thin stuff that i put in burning off!

thanks for all the input guys, it makes me feel a little better!

T

keep us updated how it goes...I've got a abd waiting to go in mine , will angry if that uses oil

I'm running 5w/40 fully synth in my 1.4 16v in a mk2 coupe and its breathing heavily, spots out of the exhaust and a bit of bubbling in the expansion tank but nothing too major. the car has been given some thorogh abuse over the last few months so i wouldnt be surprised if it dies.

i think on average shes taking about a 3/4s of a litre every 1-1.5k miles, but to be honest if the car is running well i wouldnt worry too much, may be worth getting a compression test done just for peace of mind

I'm running 5w/40 fully synth in my 1.4 16v in a mk2 coupe and its breathing heavily, spots out of the exhaust and a bit of bubbling in the expansion tank but nothing too major. the car has been given some thorogh abuse over the last few months so i wouldnt be surprised if it dies.

i think on average shes taking about a 3/4s of a litre every 1-1.5k miles, but to be honest if the car is running well i wouldnt worry too much, may be worth getting a compression test done just for peace of mind

Could it be a timing be a problem? I checked it this morining and found it out by a bit, (cant say how much, a degree or so?)

Grasping a bit a straws here, still no smoke, oil fouled plugs or puddles!

no timing wont make it burn oil

i took note on mine at the weekend as i had a 400 mile round trip to do , didnt use a drop and was sat around 70mph all the way there and back

no timing wont make it burn oil

i took note on mine at the weekend as i had a 400 mile round trip to do , didnt use a drop and was sat around 70mph all the way there and back

Thanks Steve,

argh its sounding like its burning bloody oil then dammit i dont need this...

is the aircleaner all clean and dry inside?

is the aircleaner all clean and dry inside?

Its got a K&N rudebox type filter, the shiny metal thingy, and yup its as clean as a whistle in there,

I have some nice new 15/40 ready for its first change tomorrow... maybe it will help after a flush, i dunno :(

Edited 10 May, 201016 yr by Tee42

right..

wheres the block breather directed to now? would go to the air cleaner on a standard one , if the breather was blocked it might make it use more oil, although id expect it to make the seals leak too

right..

wheres the block breather directed to now? would go to the air cleaner on a standard one , if the breather was blocked it might make it use more oil, although id expect it to make the seals leak too

Its got a catch tank, I assume the block breather is the large one at the 'back' of the engine, I cleaned the catchtank, it had water in it and a bit of gunk, the breathers were mayoey (is that a word) but I would expect that, hmm perhaps I should pull them all off and deep clean the lot. Thing is if oil is escaping there, its not collecting in the tank (BTW have you looked at my Dipstick question? I know I know...)

i was getting at ...if the breather is blocked , then instead of breathing the internals will be presurised somewhat and possibly force more oil past the rings /seals than it should

i was getting at ...if the breather is blocked , then instead of breathing the internals will be presurised somewhat and possibly force more oil past the rings /seals than it should

Hmm thats a point, ok ill get it all cleaned out tomorrow when i do the change, thanks for the tip Steve

Oil change done, 15/40 Castrol Magnatec in there now, time will tell...