losing oil

[steve smith]

as it says i am losign shed loads of oil somewhere form my 1992 2.0 dlx turbo form somewhere every three days or more iam having to refill with oil could the sump gasket be knackerd and losing it out of the seal ????

[talkingcars]

do u have access to a pressure washer?
wash the engine off and see where it leaks.

James

[steve smith]

i wil take her to the car wash later and do it it's not the head that leaks its comign form around the sump the box is also cover underneth

[e692wtt]

Firstly, how long has this been a problem?

Secondly, if the oil was leaking oil I would expect an oil slick where the car is parked - and you don't mention this.

Thirdly, when you say 'refill with oil' how much oil do you need to add?

You may not have a problem at all, just summat daft like an incorrectly-calibrated oil dipstick (marks for 'low' and 'high' are too high, leading you to overfill every time?) fitted by a previous owner - it's not unknown...:)

[steve smith]

only been in the past 2 weeks shes been smokin a LOT WHEN STARTING HER inthe morning the dip stixk is one i got from the brakers out of a diesel monty estate. could it be a knacerd turbo ??i have to refil the oil from below the minimum line

[talkingcars]

Does it smoke when warm?

James

[steve smith]

yes she does the bottom end was rebuilt btu it cold be the rings
btu she does nto smke when runign aong the road btu she mokes badly in the mornings and does not idle right until shes warmed up
....

[e692wtt]

Just a thought, and not an experiment to try for long, but once the oil level has dropped over 3 days, does it keep dropping (ie don't top up the oil and continue to monitor the level)? If so, this would indicated oil leaking out or burning - but if not, you said that the oil dipstick is from a non-turbo diesel so mebbe you are overfilling the engine with oil by believing the marks on the (non-original, non-turbo diesel) dipstick? Just a thought.

Or if there is a lot of oil on the bottom of the engine and box, is the crankcase ventilation system blocked? This is a system of hoses that allow excess pressure from the crankcase to escape and be controlled. If so, the engine crankcase pressurises and oil gets blown past oil seals and gaskets it shouldn't. As the engine warms, the gases that 'blowby' the pistons into the crankcase are better controlled and reduced, and this would possibly account for the engine running rough from cold and then being ok when the engine is warm? It will cost very little but time to check this.

[E_T_V]

First thing to do is see where the oil is going. Is it physically leaking out of the engine and ending up as a puddle on the floor?

If not then it must be being burnt/lost in the engine. Smoke on startup is usually worn valve seals which isn't usually too critical.
Oil smoke all the time indicates engine wear (piston rings, or turbo oil seals)

The sumps on O series are quite low and so are vulnerable to damage, mine leaks from the sump whjere it has been clobbered.

[steve smith]

the dip stick came from my TD countryman which had a terminal rust problem there does'nt seem to be any oil on the floor i suppose it could be the oil seals on the turbo gone as there is a lot of oil on the bcak of the block around the turbo

[E_T_V]

Oil seals on the turbo usually dump oil in the exhaust rather than in the engine bay.. Perhaps one of the feed or return lines is leaking?

[e692wtt]

Ah, that messes that theory up then... try cleaning round the turbo and see if any more oil appears. In fact, Gunk the whole engine (or steam clean it, or both...) then see where the leaks appear. My Monty seems to smoke in town, but leaks more than it burns... parking on a public road nowadays (after moving) and in different spots, I don't notice the oil stains, but when he was parked on a drive I was surprised that Greenpeace didn't make an appearance...

If I drive several hundred miles a week the oil consumption is about 2000 miles per pint, whereas in day-to-day motoring of mebbe 60 miles a week the consumption is 600 miles per pint... figure that one out...