Author Topic: 1.6 TD oil consumption (Read 5510 times)

Doug · « **on:** December 07, 2006, 07:52:27 pm »

Okay, so I just got home from a 1500 km trip to the north. The little beast ran fine although the temperature guage hovered at the 3/4 mark the entire trip even when the outside temperature was at -25C. What's with that? The car used about 6 litres of oil!!! The crankcase vent was disconnected with an extension hanging below the car. Was the bottom of the car wet? Does a duck quack? Today I pulled the exhaust pipe from the turbo manifold to check the T bearings for leakage. All was dry on the in and out sides of the turbo. I guess that there is a serious blowby issue. Rings and valve guides I guess will neegd attention. But how soon? The car got good mileage, 50+ mpg (imperial gallon) so the valves must still be seating well. There is no oil in the coolant. Would you keep using the car even though there will be more commutes to the north (snowmobile season) or would you push it in the shed for future rebuild? Remember this commute is in Northern Ontario...no service nearby and cold temperatures.

burn_your_money · « **Reply #1 on:** December 07, 2006, 08:31:41 pm »

How's your air filter? any oil leaks?

I usually use about 1 liter/1000kms but most of that is leaking out. I have yet to get over 50 MPG

LeeG · « **Reply #2 on:** December 08, 2006, 01:41:31 am »

3/4 on the temp gauge sounds hot, especially with that ambient temp. Were you towing sleds?

6l /1500 km is getting up there. Mine is 2-2.5l / 1000km, but I find it can vary quite a bit and I am not sure why.

I think if mine started burning that much oil, I'd rig up a 20l jug with a hand pump so I could give it a half liter ever hour or so while driving!!

I bet you could catch a lot of that oil by running that vent hose through a big can. Especially with those low ambient tems to help chill & condense.

jtanguay · « **Reply #3 on:** December 08, 2006, 04:23:22 am »

Quote from: LeeG

3/4 on the temp gauge sounds hot, especially with that ambient temp. Were you towing sleds?

6l /1500 km is getting up there. Mine is 2-2.5l / 1000km, but I find it can vary quite a bit and I am not sure why.

:shock: i wish i could get that mileage!!!! hehehehe damn...

sometimes my needle sticks to 3/4 of the gauge too.. wish it would have numbers so i knew just how hot it really was.. might have to install an extra gauge that will tell me that. pretty much means that you have an awesome thermostat. does the fan have any problems kicking on? mine does... it doesn't seem to want to kick on at the right temps

and its the thermoswitch (jumping the wires from the thermoswitch makes it work)

if you're burning that much oil... thats insane! i wouldn't drive that car long distances at all.. but thats me.

burn_your_money · « **Reply #4 on:** December 08, 2006, 07:24:50 am »

My guage sits cose to 3/4, always has since I put in the hottest thermostat. I need to hook up my real gauge though so I can see what it's actually at. If you have a properly working thermostat outside temperatures should not effect what temperature your engine runs at

jtanguay · « **Reply #5 on:** December 09, 2006, 10:35:48 pm »

reading this post twice... i just found out that you meant litre of oil burnt per km... :oops:

burn_your_money · « **Reply #6 on:** December 10, 2006, 07:34:37 am »

Quote from: "jtanguay"

reading this post twice... i just found out that you meant litre of oil burnt per km... :oops:

lol. I had to re-read everything twice to get what you meant there, but that's funny.

Doug · « **Reply #7 on:** December 11, 2006, 01:55:56 pm »

The question still remains to be answered as to why the temperature guage rises to the 3/4 mark then sits there? System is pressurised, rad is flushed with no restrictions, waterpump is solid with no impeller slippage, interior heater works great, new OEM 87C thermostat in place after a non OEM thermostat replaced prior, no hoses collapsed. Is it just because the engine is beat internally? If it is that bad why does it get decent fuel mileage? Is the guage a piece of crap?

By the way, I was not towing anything with the Golf. These things can barely pull themselves down the road.

jtanguay · « **Reply #8 on:** December 12, 2006, 06:35:32 am »

Quote from: Doug

The question still remains to be answered as to why the temperature guage rises to the 3/4 mark then sits there? System is pressurised, rad is flushed with no restrictions, waterpump is solid with no impeller slippage, interior heater works great, new OEM 87C thermostat in place after a non OEM thermostat replaced prior, no hoses collapsed. Is it just because the engine is beat internally? If it is that bad why does it get decent fuel mileage? Is the guage a piece of crap?

By the way, I was not towing anything with the Golf. These things can barely pull themselves down the road.

i wouldn't be too worried about 3/4 on the gauge. the only thing you need to be sure of, is that the fan is kicking on at the right temp. basically drive the car around to get it up to 3/4 on the gauge, and then stop open the hood and see if the fan is running. if it isnt then just rev the motor until the fan does turn on. keep checking the gauge to make sure its not climbing steady and going to overheat.

if your fan is kicking on, then fear not!

burn_your_money · « **Reply #9 on:** December 12, 2006, 07:52:14 am »

I consistantly run at 3/4. What it probably is is the previous thermostat was a lower one, which is why you never saw it run so hot or it was always partically stuck open. Now that you have a quality one installed it is holding the temperature where it is suppose to.
Yes the factory gauges are crapola. You should get one that gives you numneric output so you actually know what you engine is running at. 3/4 on your guage probably isn't 3/4 on my gauge

Doug · « **Reply #10 on:** December 12, 2006, 07:59:51 am »

Yes, I can see your point. But why would the T guage register that high when the ambient is -25C? I have had several n/a diesels prior that never ran above the midway point on the T guage unless there was a problem with the cooling system or the motor. Why in hell would the fan have to come on at 105 km/hr at -25C??? On the n/a diesels it was a struggle to get enough heat to warm the inside of the cabin. In fact often had to cover the front of the car with cardboard or something to break the air flow over the rad and motor just to get the T guage to rise above the cold mark.

burn_your_money · « **Reply #11 on:** December 12, 2006, 08:45:55 am »

What you are describing with the cardboard in front of the rad etc is a bad thermostat, which is why the car would never heat up properly.

The purpose of the thermostat is to keep the engine at a constant temperature, regardless of load or outside temperatures (hot or cold).

jtanguay · « **Reply #12 on:** December 12, 2006, 09:48:07 am »

i remember i had the same problem with my 86 jetta td. i had to drive 120km/h just to get a little heat out of the motor.

before i changed my t-stat, my newer '92 jetta td took forever to heat up, and on the highway it held its temp but not as high with the new t-stat.

right now my temp gauge climbs if i go 100km/h, to the point where its kinda alarming, which is why i want to install a gauge that actually tells me the temp in celcius so i know what is going on.