General 1.2 8v burning oil

Currently reading:
General 1.2 8v burning oil

after adding 750ml of oil, i notice a bigger patch from drips on the ground. Basically i think it also leaks more out, the higher the oil level.

But its still burning quite some!

So it could still be sump related, or may p*ss out somewhere else on the engine the higher the oil level.

After wiping things clean, I shall go around with an old toothbrush, mole grips, and sealant, and seal around on seams, wherever i can see that could do with a dab, on the sump and anywhere else on the engine!

and also the compression test - think my dad has the kit.....
 
Last edited:
CHANGE OF PLAN!

it appears as though the cylinder head/Cylinder Head gasket is leaking oil at the front on the oil filter side, dripping down the engine block and near to the oil filter. This is the main leak, there is a 1/2 size smaller minor leak on the other side of the engine maybe from the sump.

Its not a massive drip from the head gasket, and it is just an oil leak from the gasket, not oil and coolant mixing.

Tomorrow night will do a compression test also.

I'm gonna see how many miles i get out of this 4.5 litre oil carton, and take it from there. This car only needs to last me the winter, really. As long as things dont deteriorate.

It is still burning oil, and thats the vast majority of the oil usage, not the leaks, i think, but this cant be helped by the stuck open stat (which i will replace at the weekend), as more fuel is used as its running cold and thus petrol is washing oil off the pistons??? (or some internal part like that according to my dad)????

Just need to keep it topped up properly, as today it had dropped below the minimum without me noticing :eek:

But if things stay as they are, and i just need to add 0.6 oil litres per week, thats not too bad to get me through the winter.

As long as things dont deteriorate further, i am hopeful it will last the winter :)

EDIT : But at least i will never have to do an oil change. Will also keep an eye out for a good engine as a replacement.
 
Last edited:
CHANGE OF PLAN!

it appears as though the cylinder head/Cylinder Head gasket is leaking oil at the front on the oil filter side, dripping down the engine block and near to the oil filter. This is the main leak, there is a 1/2 size smaller minor leak on the other side of the engine maybe from the sump.

Its not a massive drip from the head gasket, and it is just an oil leak from the gasket, not oil and coolant mixing.

Tomorrow night will do a compression test also.

I'm gonna see how many miles i get out of this 4.5 litre oil carton, and take it from there. This car only needs to last me the winter, really. As long as things dont deteriorate.

It is still burning oil, and thats the vast majority of the oil usage, not the leaks, i think, but this cant be helped by the stuck open stat (which i will replace at the weekend), as more fuel is used as its running cold and thus petrol is washing oil off the pistons??? (or some internal part like that according to my dad)????

Just need to keep it topped up properly, as today it had dropped below the minimum without me noticing :eek:

But if things stay as they are, and i just need to add 0.6 oil litres per week, thats not too bad to get me through the winter.

As long as things dont deteriorate further, i am hopeful it will last the winter :)

EDIT : But at least i will never have to do an oil change. Will also keep an eye out for a good engine as a replacement.


Mine appeared to be leaking from there but turned out to be camshaft seal.

Anyway, is it rocker cover or head gasket? Head gasket is literally level with where the thermostat is.

Headgasket isnt too bad, aslong as other parts are in good condition. Mine is having trouble burning oil now, so my question is, how do you know it is burning oil? Can you smell it? See smoke? Etc.

The more details you give, best we'll be able to help.

San
 
best fully clean enging and double check where leak is after, its very rare for these headgaskets to go between oil way and the out side, normally they go between oil n water way or oil and/or water way and a cylinder, its more common to be leaking from cam seals or cover gasket and running down.

sumps rust and leak too.
 
Sump is new, whether we got it to seal 100% is another question.

Burning some oil cos the smoke can be blue on start up. I can't tell if this continues as i drive.

Yes, knowing exactly where leak is coming from is another story. There may well be a small crack somewhere. But it starts where the engine block meets the cylinder head, so have assumed its at/very near the head gasket.

Will try and clean it up and see further.

Going to do a compression test this evening too. Do i need to completely remove/disconnect the air filter housing for a comp test?

Cheers
 
right so, i've got a pretty accurate calculation of -

800ml lost/used per 400 miles travelled (at an average of roughly 30 miles per day) =

2 litres per 1000 miles.

This doesnt seem a ridiculously high amount. Maybe double what is normal if that were 1 litre per 1000 miles ?????


The difficult part is knowing how much of this is lost through drips, and how much is being burnt off.

I can do an experiment catching drip for 12 hours, then get a rough ml figure for how much oil is dripped off in 1 week/168 hours. But more is probably lost when the cars running and the oil/leak is under pressure......
 
I can do an experiment catching drip for 12 hours, then get a rough ml figure for how much oil is dripped off in 1 week/168 hours. But more is probably lost when the cars running and the oil/leak is under pressure......

For sure it'll loose more from running, but your consumption is about 2 x the most FIAT will consider "allowable" which is already pretty extreme.
 
Hi,

Loads of good advice in this thread. Only thing I would add is... Dont underestimate the amount you will be losing through the various leaks you have. When the engine is running and your driving, the fluidity of the oil will increase as will the pressure, meaning it will leak far more than when standing still/ engine off.

Id be surprised if your burning as much oil as you appear to be losing if you only notice a little bit of smoke on startup. As per ziggys video you would see clouds as you pull away etc.

So basically the the calculations of x oil/ x miles sort of doesnt help you as you have no idea what % is through leaks and what % if any is through combustion.

As the guys have said, compression test is the only way to really find out once and for all where your oils going.

Fingers crossed for you!

Alan
 
on my old punto i didnt have any oil leaks, only a weaping rocker seal - nothing new and such small amounts

Depending how many cold starts i did - it'd plume out the back end, run rough, misfire, hesisitate, make noise but no go

I was putting in a full 1L in about 400miles

The more stick i gave the car, the faster it drinks in,
Ie the more i lfloored it, the more it drunk

I brought the oil from asda, when they did castrol 4l for £10

Ziggy
 
on my old punto i didnt have any oil leaks, only a weaping rocker seal - nothing new and such small amounts

Depending how many cold starts i did - it'd plume out the back end, run rough, misfire, hesisitate, make noise but no go

I was putting in a full 1L in about 400miles

The more stick i gave the car, the faster it drinks in,
Ie the more i lfloored it, the more it drunk

I brought the oil from asda, when they did castrol 4l for £10

Ziggy

Thanks

i think the compression is probably a bit low. will check on saturday, and monitor the next 250 miles for oil loss, which hopefully will be less than the previous 500ml after the thermostat change & improved running.

Assuming the engine is slowly dying due to a lack of compression, might it be better to keep it topped up with a thicker cheaper mineral oil, due to the cheaper price, and may this possibly also improve the compression?
:)
 
Last edited:
Assuming the engine is slowly dying due to a lack of compression, might it be better to keep it topped up with a thicker cheaper mineral oil, due to the cheaper price, and may this possibly also improve the compression?

How cheap do you want to go? ASDA are doing 10/40 semi synth for £14 for 5 litres. 15/40 isn't substantially thicker.
 
How cheap do you want to go? ASDA are doing 10/40 semi synth for £14 for 5 litres. 15/40 isn't substantially thicker.

i mean, as cheap as poss, but only if there are other benefits such as reduced leakage. cos its not really about the cash, i can just about afford 1L extra per 1000 miles :)

Like for like - so 10w40 mineral, instead of semi synth

But does mineral oil make an engine designed for semi synthetic run bad?

quality save can have some oils in. £11-12.50 for 5L (pro rata) semi synthetic 10w40. wilkinsons also for £14 5L.
 
Last edited:
yes

i am now leaning towards believing the majority of the oil usage is through leakage, not emissions, particularly from around the bottom of the cylinder head/gasket/top of the engine block.

I wiped clean the covered part of the engine and fresh wet oil is back there now.

So besides a new engine, in the meantime i am looking for suggestions to slow down the rate of oil leakage.

IDEAS -

Use a thicker (cheaper, mineral) oil?

do any of those bottled formulas that claim to seal a leak/slow a leak actually work?
 
Last edited:
I'd clean the engine down, find the source(s) of the leaks and cure them (or swap out the engine). I really can't see it being the head gasket, so all else is -- relatively -- easy.

Magic cures don't tend to work and -- short of running the car on a straight 50 weight oil, which won't be cheap -- nothing out there is much thicker than 10/40.

Do check that the crankcase breather isn't all gummed up: soak it in degreaser for half an hour and flush it out under a running tap.
 
Thanks mate
ive also been advised it could be the camshaft seal, and this can look like the leaks from the cylinder head gasket.

The spills on the ground are from what has leaked out of the engine while in use, then dripped onto the ground.
If i then move the car forward hours later, drips are a lot more minimal. So it is a leak coming out when engine is running and under pressure....

http://www.aa1car.com/library/oil_viscosity.htm
 
Last edited:
Back
Top