Thread: So where do we think my oil is going

What about a rear main seal?

Originally Posted by bee utey

It is possible to replace the valve stem seals with the heads on the vehicle, a bit of lateral thinking and an air compressor to keep the valves up. So worth a try.

On a 300Tdi it's easy to do the stem seals without the need to hold the valves open with compressed air down the glow plug hole.

Just make sure each cylinder in turn is at TDC when you do the springs and the piston holds the valves up (ok they drop a little, but not far)

Mine used a little oil over a change interval, eg. around 600ml/10,000km.
Three of the stem seals were floating with the stems, ie. not pressed onto the valve guide protrusion.

Replaced all the seals and voila, no more oil consumption at all.

Also, the small amount smoke you are seeing at night in a following vehicles headlights and at each gear change is normal fuel smoke, not oil.