oil usage

[Pedro_The_Swift]

yes, yes,,, another engine oil question---

since I changed to HPR30 BUB had not needed a top-up inbetween 5000 services.


after my change in work places, Diane has been driving BUB to work and back,,
the concern is after only 2 weeks of this BUB has used over a litre of oil,,

The trip is only 3 kilometres.


The question is,,,
is this a symptom of a problem?
is this normal for a 280,000 motor under extreme usage?

[PhilipA]

If you used 1 liter in 60 kilometers, the car would be laying a smokescreen. Either you misread the oil levels on either of the occasions you checked , or you have a serious oil leak, which should be evident by oil all over the bottom of the car.
regards Philip A

[incisor]

have to agree a litre in 60k = smokey and smelly if it is burning it....

is the vehicle running hot?

i once had a wonderful little vauxhall viva that devoured a heap of oil without reson and it turned out it was overheating a bit but not enough to boil and it evaporated all the fuel etc out of the oil making the level drop, they told me then it was common on motors that did little work..

no oil in water?

not dripping down back of block?

hope it is an easy one for you mate....

[72pug]

sorry to hear about your oil probs......just another couple of things to ask you, and for you to possibly check...

1. is the vehicle suddenly using more fuel????......if yes, internal pump( INJECTOR) seals may be on way out, over-fueling possibly and washing oil down the bores....Bad!.......how long since pump was reco'd, low sulphur fuel.... may have shrunken the seals??......usually should be done every 10yrs or around 150k's.

2.sometimes when a vehicle has had a wear pattern established with a type of oil, it may take a couple thousand k's to adjust, but usually shows up when vehicle has gone from only doing short journeys to long ones....but no reason why it could not be reversed!! .....so hopefully a couple extra k's and it may settle................just one thing though, pull out the dipstick when cold and have a good smell of the oil, see if it has a particularly acidic or burned smell.

anyhow, hope it turns out to be something simple (cheap), and the heart rate settles soon.

wayne.

[seqfisho]

Hey Pedro TS, you did allow for the Filter didnt you ???????? :roll:

[DEFENDERZOOK]

Originally posted by seqfisho
Hey Pedro TS, you did allow for the Filter didnt you ???????? :roll:



<span style="color:blue">i think this may be the answer.....</span>

[shaunp]

It's winter, if the car has been doing really short trips you may have diluted the oil with fuel while the the mixture is fat. If you then give it a big run it will burn oil cause it's thin. Normally once the engine getts hot it burns off the fuel that has bypassed as vapour in the PCV system but if it doesn't get hot it will thin the oil.

[JohnE]

The disappearing oil question is one that most of us are familiar with.
The leaking oil lines are usally our first port of call. While mine does leak it doesn't change the oil level in the sump even after a large drive.

However to change vehicle brands, my number two car the pajero turbo deisel, is fine day in and day out on trips to town and 1/2hr trips up the coast. When I take it on long drives, the other week went to Wagga,Sydney and back. It used about 2 1/2 litres of oil. The engine doesn't leak ( no puddles in the carport) The motor has only done 30k from a rebuild doesn't throw out a cloud of smoke when on the freeway. I posed this question on the pajero owners site and still couldn't get a reason why. I am thinking its the oil, I have been using the same brand in that car for over ten years,in both motors, 5k oil changes, but the motor now in it is the next model 4d56 up from 4d55 that I had.

Anyway back to yours, you mentioned since you changed oil, consumption was fine on long trips then changed on short trips. While not being an expert on oils and looking at the reverse from my problem to your problem.
Perhaps the culprit could be the oil, brand, type, viscosity and so on. I am going to change to another brand and see if it fixes my problem. Perhaps if you went back to what you were using before it might stop.

Just a bit of food for thought.

john

[PhilipA]

John, this is pretty normal. water from combustion settles in the oil and boils out at higher temps. probably with a diesel some of the lighter diesel fractions that go into the sump (the black crap or part thereof) also boil out.
Oil is being used all the time but the volume remains constant because it is replaced by water and fuel . When you go on a long trip it gets hot enough to vaporise.
From experience the Turbo seal may also leak into the inlet tract.Did you rebuild the turbo when you did the engine? Does the intercooler get oily? There is quite a pressure gradient across the turbo bearing on boost.

You do not notice any smoke anyway, if diesel drivers I know are any indication Koff koff. what stink??/My diesel???

BUt this does NOT happen the opposite way. You do not all of a sudden use oil on short trips.
regards Philip A

[JohnE]

While not trying to hijack this post with my little concern.
I appreciate what you are saying Phillip.
No I did not do the turbo up, its on the 'will do one day ' list
it doesn't have an intercooler, so I can't check for excess oily blowby, it does have oil on the turbo vanes, I have been told this is normal.. however i did find out from the pajero site, the 4d56 motors have a problem with the wire filter in the rocker cover, where they blow out oil with the fumes to the inlet. I suspect that is the problem but can't quite work out how to fix it.
But for volume to be replaced with fuel and water then evaporating, thats a hell of a lot over a short period of time, if that is whats happening. I'll try an oil change before the next big drive i do and see if the same happens.
I thought that would happen when you used in on short trips ie motor cold using more lube in the cylinders, nothing is hot so hasn't expanded and so on.
I know diesel owners are reluctant to admit their cars smoke, but coming from a law enforcement background I am really conscious of excessive smoke, especially with the EPA requirements and their enforcement . Thats why I ditched the other motor, more smoke than the smoking lounge at the international airport.

The thing I have found with oils ( and I'm not an expert), most engines I have owned ( even the odd worn one) like a particular brand and designation, they will happily chugg along with minimal usage. thats what I think Pedro's car is doing, aside from the small trips the only other factor has been a change of oil type. On long trips that oil was fine on short trips is isn;t.


john

[Pedro_The_Swift]

hmm,
thanks to all---

will change oil this weekend,,
draw a line in the sand,,
and start fresh,,

just to clarify,, BUB91 was nearly due for an oil change when "this" occured,,
so it had done the vast majority of its usual 5000 at the usual running.

[Hellspawn]

Originally posted by Pedro_The_Swift

just to clarify,, BUB91 was nearly due for an oil change when "this" occured,,
so it had done the vast majority of its usual 5000 at the usual running.

Sounds a lot like the boss's sahara, uses no oil except when a service is due and comes out staining sooty black (turbo diesel). Probably the oil breaking down yet the oil pressure stays up, you would think the gauge would show a drop even if the oil pump "tried" to maintain pressure. Usually "it" happens just before the 5000km change and there's nothing wrong with the motor, just likes clean oil I guess even if it has travelled 392000km and driven hard often.

The other thing I should mention is Penrite is fairly heavy on detergents so it's probably cleaned all the gunk out from between the rings and is now allowing minute amounts of oil past. Changing the oil won't fix it if that's what's happened however the next few hundred km will show what's going on inside the motor regarding oil usage.

[UncleHo]

G'day Pedro style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif
Yours is a Bent 8 isn't it, check the rear valley cover gasket, if not try underneath between sump and flywheel housing, as that's where the rear main oil seal lets it out style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif
cheers.