Burning Oil hardcore and bad fuel economy

[AndrewSE]

1.9TD in my 91 VW Jetta.

My situation seems almost the same as another thread going, but did not want to highjack his.

I go through about 1ltr of oil about every 4days give or take. I can smell the oil burning when driving.  I notice burns more after the 80km mark.

I have to check again the suggestion of taking the oil "fill" cap off when the engine is at idle and operational temp.

I get what looks to be oil on the ground from the exhaust if I let it run for a good 10min in my drive way. I don't have any major leaks in the front, aside from a very slow leak in my oil return for my turbo (feed is brand new)

I'm thinking it could be rings or maybe just time to put this thing to rest. I'm gussing the engine has about 260k on it while my body has about 523k.

It runs pretty good otherwise and seems to have good pick up and go. More so when I use gold diesel ! got it started during the last freeze we had last week in the GTA at about -25 in Brampton.

Also I am getting down right crappy fuel economy about 550k a tank ! not sure if I want to invest in new injectors till I figure out the oil problem.

I know its a good idea to get a compresstion test, but I have no clue how to do this. Does not mean I don't want to learn.

Cheers,

Andrew
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[Vincent Waldon]

No man, don't let 'er rest... these babies are precious !!!

The question to be answered is:  are you burning it, leaking it, or both ? :wink:

Although your oil consumption is completely abnormal some of what you're reporting is reasonably normal... bit of an oil spot from the exhaust after 10 minutes of idling, slow leak here and there.

With that amount of consumption I'd expect some pretty blue exhaust if it was all going out the tailpipe... any signs of blue ?

The smell of burning oil suggests a leak at the back of the engine by the exhaust manifold... often the valve cover gasket... even on the 1.9 TDs.

If you drive it hard and then park on a clean surface (or fresh cardboard box) are there tell-tail oil drops / puddles ?

One plan would be to soak the engine in Canadian Tire's finest citrus engine cleaner at a wand wash one day and then power wash the front, back, sides, top, and bottom of the engine carefully but aggressively.  Use a flashlight and mirror to inspect the engine afterwords... taking careful note of any existing oil stains you weren't able to clean off.

Then, after a day or two of normal driving grab the flashlight and mirror and have another look... if you have any active leaks they should now be pretty apparent.  

I personally cannot get my 1.9 to not leak at the valve cover gasket... and if I pull the valve cover I can see then see the oil leaking down on top of the exhaust manifold... you could try that too if it looks like it's leaking.

That's the "leaking" side of the equation.  From a "burning" perspective... you can start by letting the engine come up to operating temperature and then removing the oil filler cap for a second or so... tons of white smoke suggest blowby and worn rings.

Or, as you mentioned, a compression test.  This involves removing the injectors and using a diesel-compatible compression tester... if you don't want to buy the gauge itself you might be able to find a local shop to do the procedure for you.  My local guy charges 45 bucks (1/2 hour labour).

[AndrewSE]

Cool thankz for the reply.

I ran the S#$% out of the car this AM on the highway and took the oil fill cap off when I got to work and had no visable smoke.

I do have a VERY slow leak comming from the oil return line on my turbo and an even slower one from the oil dipstick. I don't think this would account for the oil loss I am seeing.

The exhaust manifold seems to make alot of sense to me, which I'll have to further investigate when the weather gets warmer. I take it I should change the manifold with a new gasket if thats the case ?

I do get a couple of drops of oil after a long drive when I get home, but once again nothing to freak out about.

Any suggestions on the fuel consumption ? I'm leaning towards shot injectors and a bad bearing or two in the front. My passwnger side axle is shot and needs to be change as soon as the weather gets warmer.

The car shakes a little when i step on the peddle, which could be from the bad axle or bearings. Sorta feels like a bulge in the tire, but goes away when I take my foot off the pedle.Mounts for the motor look good.

[arb]

What does the bottom of your car look like? That is, looking up at the floor pans from the road? Are they wet? Often a big leak like this results in some spray on the under carriage from the oil that does not get cooked on the exhaust.

[AndrewSE]

I took a look and see no oil on the under carriage.

Which is a good sign I guess.

On a side note I do get a little blue smoke.

[8v-of-fury]

On a side note I do get a little blue smoke.

means its burning it sadness.. rings?

[arb]

On a side note I do get a little blue smoke.

means its burning it sadness.. rings?

Yeah, bummer. Sounds like it started life with too few oil changes and maybe low quality oil on top of that.

Its also possible it sat for an extended period of time and one of the cylinders rusted causing the rings to become damaged and pitting on the walls.

If you pull the head you'll see. But wait !!! Maybe you have some leaking intake valve guides ! I've only seen this a few times, but that certainly can cause excessive burning too.

[Smokey Eddy]

On a side note I do get a little blue smoke.

means its burning it sadness.. rings?

Yeah, bummer. Sounds like it started life with too few oil changes and maybe low quality oil on top of that.

Its also possible it sat for an extended period of time and one of the cylinders rusted causing the rings to become damaged and pitting on the walls.

If you pull the head you'll see. But wait !!! Maybe you have some leaking intake valve guides ! I've only seen this a few times, but that certainly can cause excessive burning too.

stem seals. Aie, they can leak a horrid amount.
Good thing about these engines is you can do this work fairly easily with some reading/questioning on here. From my experience, the fellas on here like to help and i'd love to help you out come the time, if you choose, to do a tear down mini-rebuild. I managed with basically no money to do a mini-rebuild+head replacement with just the help of the guys on here and a friend with a ball hone

I'm thinking of drilling my aaz head, cam cover and gasket and using short carriage bolts to really make sure that dang thing seals. I would not tap the head as it doesn't have very much thickness to get many threads in there (and its alluminum) but im SERIOUSLY considering drilling those holes and using studs of some kind (or carriage bolts) to really sinch it TIGHT. Oil all over a new head doesn't look very purdy   neat little black studs would though.

Vince, do you concur? if only we weren't a province apart we could have a cam cover drilling party and celebratory no-leaking-oil party afterwards.

[AndrewSE]

Good info guys...

I really do appreciate all the information !

Before this car I did not know SH#$ about cars and have learned so much after doing a long list of things.

The car did sit for 4-6 months in a storage garage before I purchased it since the PO said the timing belt was about to go and had no place indoors last winter to take care of it.  This was last summer!

So since we are getting towards the end of the winter I am mapping out my plans for this car. I have ball joints, passenger side axle, tired rods and maybe a control arm and bearings to deal with in the spring. Don't want to waste my time if the engine is about to die on me.

Pluss I another project car in my drive way I have to do both heads in the spring. 1995 Cutlass ceria 3.1L V6. Yes i know a gasser, was my grandparents does not even have 200k on it and both heads are blown. Just hope old man winter did not F@#& the engine up from sitting from the fall time.