High oil consumption

[dsitum]

Hello guys,

my 197 is consuming up to about 1 liter of engine oil per 5000-6000 kilometers. I'm just wondering if that's normal and should I be concerned.

So far it made 145k kilometers. There are no traces od oil inside coolant. The engine looks dry at the first glance, and there are no leaks from the drain bolt.

I'm not going to a track, but my Clio usually lives above 3k RPM range, since it barely pulls below that. Only when I'm coasting sometimes it can get to around 2.5k rpm, but it doesn't happen that often. I avoid driving it below that range, simply because I don't feel safe (due to the lack od power).

I tried Elf and Motul oils, and the result is the same.

How much oil do your cars drink?

 

[RSRowe]

Seems like completely normal use.
I generally top up 500ml after a day of use on track.

 

[Onrus]

Same as above. No leaks, no smoke and car is strong.

 

[bedoef]

I found with Castrol, I would only burn off 1/3 to 1/2 of a Liter every 7,000 kms. With the Motul, I would go through a full Liter every 7k. Thats a mix between a few track days and spirited daily driving.

 

[Shocker]

Change your oil to a slightly thicker ester based oil
eater based oil is really sticky and bonds to the metal
worked for me in the past

 

[Lauzmmj]

you dont feel safe below 2500 rpm? lmao

 

[swarox]

Hi Team,

I changed oil 5W40 ELF for 15w50 Motul 300V -> its GOOD

advice from a car preparer

My car have 118 000 kms away

! your consumption will reduce // Warning it is recommended for track use

 

[Onrus]

How’s that oil working out for you? Do you use your car daily or just for track?

 

[swarox]

i use m’y car for trackday and week end

 

[dsitum]

I read somewhere that increasing winter viscosity could be bad in cold weather. I also read somewhere that in extremely low temps (-35 degrees celsius or sth like that), it takes one minute for oil to flow to camshaft (5W oil), and more than 2 minutes for 10W oil. It means that the engine runs without oil for that much time. Now these are extreme temps, but still, I wouldn't experiment with it on my car

 

[Shocker]

I read somewhere that increasing winter viscosity could be bad in cold weather. I also read somewhere that in extremely low temps (-35 degrees celsius or sth like that), it takes one minute for oil to flow to camshaft (5W oil), and more than 2 minutes for 10W oil. It means that the engine runs without oil for that much time. Now these are extreme temps, but still, I wouldn't experiment with it on my car

yip your right but in summer use heavier and change for winter for lighter
You should be doing oil every six months at least if driving the car hard
And certainly upgrade your oil if tracking it

 

[skny]

heard 15W50 might have an effect on the valve seals... it is a bit thick when the engine is cold... mine showed a bit of oil consumption, after about 75k, did a quick change of oil after 5k with a flush done, changed to the 5w40 motul xclean, covered about 800 miles since and cant see the oil level dropping yet, guess it might have worked

 

[dsitum]

After going for a regular oil change after cca 9k kms to my father in law which happens to be a car mechanic, we discovered that the car had very small amount of leak from camshaft seals, but quite larger portion of oil coming from the oil pan seal. We will replace the oil pan seals, but camshaft seals will be replaced during next cambelt replacement service in a year or so because leakage is not critical there. So, if you are having oil loss, be sure to check for these two things. They can be seen by looking behind the engine with a flashlight (by removing the plastic underneath the engine), if you can get your car elevated above the ground.

 

[DS197]

Take your crank sensor out and have a look at that. Mine was caked in oil as there a slow leak from the crank seal. This along with hard driving can contribute to increased oil consumption.

 

[Dutch_197]

Take your crank sensor out and have a look at that. Mine was caked in oil as there a slow leak from the crank seal. This along with hard driving can contribute to increased oil consumption.

Good tip, and TDC sensor might not work properly with that brown tar on it as well.

 

[Dutch_197]

I have found the cause of the oil consumption which was getting crazy with 100ml / 100km.
Which these amounts burning in the combustion chamber the car would smoke for sure. I checked PCV hoses, changed the valve, checked camshaft seals, valve cover gasket/bolts, intake for oil debry, spark plugs for oil deposition, compression test, emission test (perfect even with racecell cat). I started to suspect the type of oil. So I asked my mate who did some work on the car and I asked change the engine oil while your at it. He said, not sure if I used 5W-30 or 5W-40, but I have topped off the oil many times now so viscositie should be like 5W-35 now and oil consumption got worse. That is not logical.

I changed my engine mounts last week and used the lift to get to the rear one, I noticed fresh motor oil on the timing belt side and it was also up the engine block, but there is nothing there where it could leak, I checked the camshaft/VVT seals before remember?

So I left the plastic tray off and drove an hour, I took the car back home and put a piece of cardboard under the engine block and the next day : VOILA! Big oil spot (10x10cm) under the crankshaft pulley. In short, probably most oil is spilled during driving and thrown out by centrifugal forces not leaving much of a trace on the plastic drip tray or (luckely) in the timing belt housing. I did not see it at home because my car is parked next to my garage on black/grey gravel.

Work to be done!