oil usage (burning?)

[dutch-van-driver]

Hi all,

I'm just back from a vacation to danmark, sweden and norway. During this trip I noticed that the oil usage was very high during "high" speed driving. Everyithing above the 100 kmh (60 mph?) is seen as high speed :laugh: . During the trips through the mountains 12 % incline (?) and decline (?) only second gear was usable and with 25 degrees celcius even the radiator had troubles keeping the temp in the save area. The engine survived.

But the question I have at this moment is what could be the cause of the high oil usage under the higher speeds. During a short test run the car reached 165 kmh on the speedo (100 mph?). Probably 155 real kmh's.

Marc

[E_T_V]

Oil burning is fairly common it seems with this engine. if the engine temp is getting high during normal running then it might be a leaking head gasket which is another common problem at around the 100k mile mark.

[dutch-van-driver]

Hi,

I'm now back in the FLAT Netherlands and the oil-consumption is moderate again with moderate speeds. I just noticed something else and I'm thinking of starting a new thread about this. It looks like the top of the injector pump is now dripping some diesel. when running stationary it just drips a little (1 drip every 1-5 seconds). I have a spare pump but I'm not sure if I get the distributor wheel of that one and I'm not sure if I get the distributor wheel of the one in the car.....

Something else is disturbing to me as well. It seems I have to fill coolant fluids again (not much but still). I'm plannning to put something in the coolant first before replacing the headgasket (again). The headgasket was replaced 3 orso months ago (more then 300 miles ago). Maybe looking at how fast the car would go (or a temperature that was just a little to high) has damaged the headgasket a little. Sure there could be also some other places where it could loose coolant but they are not noticable. It is not producing white smoke as well but seems to start not as quick as before (could also be due to "old" glowwing plugs).

To be continued.........

Marc

[E_T_V]

Can I just make sure you are talking about the injector pump on the front of the engine rather than the diesel lift pump which is on the top of the engine. (It is a very common fault fo them to leak). I just wanted to make sure because I have first hand experience of dutch and uk people calling the same part different names!

The injector pump is driven by the cam belt, and the toothed wheel is easily removable from the pump if you need to swap them over, (indeed this is how the timing is adjusted when setting up the pump).

If diesel is dripping from the pump top then if there are no leaking pipes or gaskets (I think there is a small plate that bolts on the top of the pump) then I think either refurbishing the existing one or swapping it for another seems the most sensible option. Also check that it isn't a injector pipe, or leak-off pipe leaking and dripping back onto the top of the pump as the leak off pipes quite often leak.

As for coolant loss then re-check all of the hose clips for leaks. I had to go up the biggest hill I'd ever seen in scotland before I lost much water from a hose clip which I'd forgotton to tighten. Also check that the floor inside isn't wet (indicating a leaking heater matrix) and look for white deposits around hose joints and the radiator to indicate a small leak.

Also with the engine cold, run it for a couple of minutes and try squeezing the main radiator hose on the top. It should still be soft and squashable. If it is hard and pressurised then I would suspect the head gasket.

The poor starting could well be a dead glow plug or two. disconnect the electrical feed to them (ignition off!) and measure the resistance of them. From memory is should be around 1-2 ohms. If it is zero the plug is dead and if it is more than 3 ohms then it is likely to be dead too. If you find two plugs which are suspect at this stage it saves you the effort of removing them all which is a pain due to poor access to them. (if you are changing the pump do the glow plugs at the same time as access is easy with the pump and pipes removed!)

[dutch-van-driver]

Hi,

It is for shure the injector pump. It is in the front of the engine and it is dripping alongside the plate where the throtle (?) or gas-cable is connected to. The rest is clean (and dry). I think it got worse over the last month but I'm not sure. It will be a hell of a job to replace the injector pump since I suspect the distributor to not come off.......... Also because there isn't much room with the engine mounted in the car. I could try to remove the distributor of the (spare) pump with a hydrolic press. But this is no option for the one that's mounted at this moment.

I checked to see if there where air-bubbles comming from the expension tank so I could determin if it is the headgasket. I added coolant to top it off and during the first minute there came some coolant out of the expansion tank (but that seems normal since the coolant is heated). Nu bubles. I will try the presurised hose test this evening (allthough the engine won't be that cold).

I will try to check the glowplugs this weekend. Lately it is starting OK again. I had realy much problems in Norway (around 100 metres above sealevel) but this could also be due to the fact that I forgot to push the gas-peddle just prior to starting.

Marc

[E_T_V]

100 m above sea level really won't affect a car at all it is when you get to much higher altitudes that adjustments need to be made to petrol engines, but usually not diesels. However it is interesting that I believe the bit of your injector pump that is leaking is the bit that compensates for atmospheric pressure. (on the turbo models there is a pipe from the turbo into this part of the pump to detect the boost pressure). This may be the cause of your poor starting. Also check that the cold start advance solonoid functions correctly as if it doesn't engines can be difficult to start when cold. (to test connect 12v to it on and off and listen carefully, there should be a little click as the solonid moves).

[dutch-van-driver]

sorry typing err. should be 1000 mtr.

BTW. There is nothing on top of that part. I saw in Haynes something on top of the throtle part of the injector pump. This isn't available on mine. It looks like it is leeking along the shaft where the throtle axle (I don't know how to call it) is going into the injector pump. For now it is still using somehere around the 45 miles per gallon (1 litre for each 15,500 mtr).

Marc

[dutch-van-driver]

Hi,

I checked the radiator hose after a 20 mile run (work -> home). It is maybe a litle presurised but still good squisable. I probably have to track every coolant hose and pipe now to check if i see anything suspicious then :giveup: .

to be continued,

Marc

[skipweasel]

It is maybe a litle presurised but still good squisable.
Don't forget, hoses will always be a little pressurised when the engine's hot 'cos the water's trying to boil.

[E_T_V]

Yes that is why I suggested doing it before the engine had warmed up fully so it is easier to notice the difference. If the hoses are hard and very pressurised when the engine hasn't warmed up fully it is a common indicator of head gasket failure. It sounds in this case like it isn't that so it looks like you'll have to check every hoseclip etc to try and track the leak. Also take a look at the waterpump as sometimes these leak.

[dutch-van-driver]

Hi,

I now did the hosetest after 4 km and it was just as squisable as cold. I see this as a plus since I now know the headgasket must still be intact. But still no sign where the 1 ltr per 500 km is leaving the cooling-system......

Marc

[Rich]

Check the pipes on the waterpump. Where these go on at funny angles sometimes the hose clips don't shut on the pipe properly and cause the slightest leak which can be hard to spot.

This happened to me after the timing belt was changed, I ran about screaming as i thought the water pump was knackered, but tightening one of the clips, and taking the other off, pushing the hose on better and moving the clip slightly solved it in the end!

HTH, Rich