I bought a 1.6 2005 stilo, I had the car for 5 days and the oil pressure warning came up on the dash. I stopped the car and checked to oil, the dipstick wasnt showing any oil, so I topped it up with about 2 litres. The car had only just had a service before I bought it. So I put 2 litres of oil in it yesterday, I drove about 60 miles today and the same thing happened, dry dipstick and another 2 litres of oil went in it.
That is a lot of oil to use in 60 miles, anybody know what the problem could be?????

If the car is loosing oil, it has to be either leaking out or being burnt by the engine. If leaking, you would be able to see the oil under the car. If that amount of oil is being burnt, you would see smoke coming from the exhaust.
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the larger Stilo DO burn some oil.., but that's rediculous..

either BIG clouds out of the exhaust.. or you've got a major leak..,
just 1 question/ suggestion,

worth getting the oil changed, topping up with the correct quantity AND GRADE of oil, and check that you've the correct dipstick..,
SOME engines USE oil if overfilled..,

Charlie,

I filled it up yesterday with w10 40 semi synthetic oil, so it was right in the middle of where it should be on the dipstick. And it was all gone after driving 60 miles. I just looked under the car with the engine running and I couldnt see any leak. No excessive smoke in from the exhaust.
Im doing level 3 mechanics at college so I have a bit of a clue, but Im no expert.
I baffled by this.

If it was the wrong dipstick why does the "oil pressure low" warning come up on the dash? It only comes on when it is showing no oil on the dipstick.

varesecrazy said:

the larger Stilo DO burn some oil.., but that's rediculous..

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They may 'use' oil normally, but still shouldn't 'burn' it

Most Easterly Pandas said:

They may 'use' oil normally, but still shouldn't 'burn' it

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OK agreed Jon,

the smaller FIRE series of engines are generally Fantastically oil-tight,
I've read on here that the larger Stilo are NOT.. the 2.4's are notoriously "thirsty"

OP - when you say not too bad from exhaust.. = modern engines are usually CLEAR , once warmed-up

so if it's at all BLUE smoke - then it's passing oil out.

it's not unheard of for the wrong dipstick being put into an engine,
if you've never changed the oil - you'll have no idea if it's marking"FULL"
at the normal specified capacity

our Alfa 1.8 used to lose the top half from the dipstick quickly, then stabilise for the lower half..

Charlie

pedroofn19 said:

I filled it up yesterday with w10 40 semi synthetic oil, so it was right in the middle of where it should be on the dipstick. And it was all gone after driving 60 miles. I just looked under the car with the engine running and I couldnt see any leak. No excessive smoke in from the exhaust.
Im doing level 3 mechanics at college so I have a bit of a clue, but Im no expert.
I baffled by this.

Click to expand...

Crankcase breather system would be a good starting point,
:idea: remove oil filler cap , and see how pressurised the gases are,
Charlie

The smoke from the exhaust is good, white and not too much of it. Not blue at all, and I cant smell oil burning. If the dipstick wasnt right why does the oil pressure low warning come on only when there is no oil left? And go off when I top it up?

I will check out the crankcase breather. Its a good idea. Thanks for that.

varesecrazy said:

OK agreed Jon,

the smaller FIRE series of engines are generally Fantastically oil-tight,
I've read on here that the larger Stilo are NOT.. the 2.4's are notoriously "thirsty"

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From experience I've found the 8v lumps use little or no oil, and the 16v use a reasonable amount (especially if regularly driven hard).

Most Easterly Pandas said:

From experience I've found the 8v lumps use little or no oil, and the 16v use a reasonable amount (especially if regularly driven hard).

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:yeahthat::nerner:

OP ;
the oil light coming on , means there is too little oil for the pump to pick it up and work.., so that's easy.., it's having a mis-match of levels ( volumes) that could pose a problem.., chances are there is back-pressure in the engine block though that's forcing oil out unnaturally..,

Charlie

Yes varesecrazy Im leaning towards some kind of blockage, and oil being blown out somewhere. But I dont know where to look to find the blockage. Any ideas? I have tried the crankcase breather ( I think thats what it was ) and it was clear. Im not too sure where else to look.
Thank you for your advice so far.

ive known them to pass oil from the cam seals, although this should show as the drivers side of the engine would be drenched... can you tell us if there is oil anywhere on the engine regardless if its dripping or not when running?

youd DEFINATELY be able to see if its running through 2 liters of oil be it external signs or massive amounts of smoke. if it is passing oil internally it wont be long before you have a goosed cat.

My 1.6 used to gobble oil, not quite this bad but not far off, which why I sold it. New car doesn't use a drop.

richydraper said:

ive known them to pass oil from the cam seals, although this should show as the drivers side of the engine would be drenched... can you tell us if there is oil anywhere on the engine regardless if its dripping or not when running?

youd DEFINATELY be able to see if its running through 2 liters of oil be it external signs or massive amounts of smoke. if it is passing oil internally it wont be long before you have a goosed cat.

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I will get the rocker cover off and have a look at the cam seal, the gear box does seem to have oil on it, not dripping but a coating of dry old oil. I need to get the intake manifold off but one of the bolts is rounded off, so it may take a while.
Thanks richydraper I need all the help I can get at the moment.

no need for the rocker cover to come off... infact i'd strongly advise not to do that... its not so much a rocker cover as a 'cam box' the cams are slid into these 'boxes' that are bolted onto the head. if you remove them without removing the cam belt youll end up having a right game to getting it back on not to mention running the risk of shifting the timing.

if you look up from the bottom at the front of the engine you should be able to see 'fresh' oil if there is any.

for checking cam seals take the black plastic cover off the left hand side of the engine (as you look at it from the front with the bonnet) there is a small inspection plate at the top but it may be difficult to see from there.

if you clean all the old oil off it you should be able to see a leak relatively easily (visit to sainsburys to get it cleaned off with the jet wash, keep it on the block and try not to spray directly into electrical connectors etc etc)

Would that be the cambelt cover?

I have taken off the cambelt cover and there is no oil in there that I could see. I took off the inlet manifold (the plastic bit) and there seems to be oil in it. Not loads but it is deffo oil, as far as Im aware there should be no oil in the manifold. So where is it coming from?

you'll usually have a bit in there... and i mean a bit... if its dribbling out then something is wrong. could be coming from the crank breather or valve guide seals