I have a standard 1600cc engine in my van and I seem to be forever topping her up with oil. She isn't dropping a great deal on the driveway, at least no where near as much as I am putting in her and her spark plugs look clean enough. Is this right? How often is considered normal? Your help is greatly appreciated.
As well as the driveway she will be dropping it all along the road too remember... Got much in the way of smoke - it could be burning off as well as leaking out...
It could be leaking from a point above the oil level when stationary. ie only dripping on the road when moving
Realistically you shouldn't be topping up between services.... but more than 1L per 3000miles would suggest that you have a leak that needs addressing!!
I could probably go the 2k miles I do between oil changes without reaching the bottom mark on the dip stick, but I though it was best to keep it topped up to the upper mark, helps with cooling, and gives you more margin is something happens that causes a leak/burn?
Wow - a litre per 3000 miles. I guess that's what you can expect from a fully rebuilt engine. I did all the usual crank seals, push rod tubes, dipstick boot, rocker gaskets, fuel pump gasket. There's evidence of a tiny weep from one of the cylinder heads but it doesn't seem to be active. I have a piece of cardboard under the bus so I can see if it drips, and there's next to nothing. It might lose 1 cc in a week standing still, though I take the point above about how it might leak on the move. I assume most of the oil gets burned though. I've got 130 psi on all 4 cylinders, and get around 1000 miles per litre which I can live with. I've never stripped the engine right down, so I guess it must be stuff like valve guides. It's done at least 30,000 miles since I had it and 110,000 total. T4 2 litre
