High oil usage

[Scarlet Devil]

Having just bought my ZT 1.8T i started using it start of this month. It had been sorned from end of last Nov. Its on 48k and had £750 head skim and cam belt kit replace last October. Ive used it on short trips until yesterday when i had a 200 mile round trip. Ran really well between 60 and 70 on motorway. On last few miles i opened the tap in 4th, just as i changed into 5th it gave a couple of kicks so i eased off and continued home with no problem. It was nowhere near the rev limiter.. On checking the levels this morning i was horrified to find very little oil on the dip stick. No sign of any leaks and i obviously checked the levels before i bought it. Water is fine. Engine management light works as it should and is not showing a problem. I was aware of the tail pipe being a bit black. I put that down to the head being done in Oct last year and maybe the usual gasket had gone, Hopefully it was that and not the cam belt going and its caused some internal damage that was not repaired at the time. I suppose the next step is to have a look at the plugs, maybe a commpression test. The car still runs fine though, water temperature stays constant at half way. Water system not pressurising at all. Im now hoping for something easy like plugs or the like. Any ideas most welcome.

[Falcon Flyer]

All may be OK.....

These engines are not known for oil consumption.

There is a set procedure for checking the oil, as the first indications are unreliable.

Engine off, remove the dipstick and clean it well. Replace the dipstick and withdraw again......I hope the level is now between min and max!

[Click4]

£750 for a head skim!!!!

Place here I thought was expensive and they charge about £65

[Scarlet Devil]

The £750 bill was for head skim , cam belt kit and doing the job. Still expensive though aint it. Just thinking if the turbo is starting to play up would that give you those symtoms.

[chrissyboy]

The £750 bill was for head skim , cam belt kit and doing the job. Still expensive though aint it. Just thinking if the turbo is starting to play up would that give you those symtoms.
still £300 to much.your jerking when you put your foot down is most likely a coil pack or ht lead or a dodgy plug.

[Scarlet Devil]

Just fitted new plugs. While doing so i noticed 1 coil pack per 2 plugs. Inside the plug cap direct from coil pack has a spring that makes contact with spark plug yet the one off the lead has a conventional plug cap fitting. Thought i had lost something until i checked the other coil pack and its the same. Is this right ?. Oh i still have the occasional kick when i open her up. Seems like something breaking down under load. Number 1 and 4 plug tubes had a small amount of oil in them as well and number 4 plug looked a little coked up. At £750 i would like to think that the head was re torqued after a few miles.

[Scarlet Devil]

Its over a week now since ive fitted new plugs. Im reading various threads here and think the occasional kick i get could be a vacum pipe gone hard or come off or the solenoid by the air filter box could be playing up. All has been fine with oil consumption, (checked every morning) on short trips until my son borrowed it for a day. He had about a 70 mile trip on the motorway. When back he said it kicks quite a bit. Ive only found it does this if you have a bit of a lead foot. Next morning i checked the oil as usual only to find the level is lower than half way. I would have thought the amount it uses that the exhaust would be wet out the back end. But its just sooty. No leaks or signs of HGF. Could the problem be with the turbo in some way.

[chrissyboy]

your jerking is a coil pack...your oil lose can only be from a leak somewhere if the car was burning the oil your smell it and see the smoke from the rear

[thegreatdaddo]

your jerking is a coil pack...your oil lose can only be from a leak somewhere if the car was burning the oil your smell it and see the smoke from the rear

I agree. I had the same misfiring problem on my 1.8t. New coil packs and HT leads cured the misfire. Found a good deal on fleabay - £60 for both coils / leads. Easy to fit!

[thegreatdaddo]

I agree. I had the same misfiring problem on my 1.8t. New coil packs and HT leads cured the misfire. Found a good deal on fleabay - £60 for both coils / leads. Easy to fit!

Forgot to say that my other car is Rover 45 with 1.8 NA engine. I swapped the faulty coils / leads from the 1.8t to the 1.8 NA and had no misfire. This suggests that the 1.8t is more critical and needs a stronger spark. The most critical engine speed for the 1.8t seems to be around 4000 rpm, whereas NA engines usually give problem at low speed. I guess this is due to the turbo generating maximum pressure inside the cylinder at this speed.

[Scarlet Devil]

So are the 1.8 na coil packs different to the turbo ones. Its just the odd kick under lead foot conditions. To drive it normally you dont notice anything. Also any ideas if this would be linked in with high oil usage. Like i said no sign of any leaks, just the exhaust looks sooty. Valve oil seals perhaps.:shrug:

[Scarlet Devil]

Well after doing some research ive tracked down where the £750 head skim and cam belt kit job was done. Apparently an MLS gasket full kit was used and the head was shipped out to another company for the head skim. Overheating was the reason for the work to be done last Oct. A compression test revealed between 205 and 215 on the 1st 3 cylinders only 150 on no.4. Having stripped it down yesterday i felt the bore of the liner could notice a slight mark on it. So i put the cylinder head to one side i thought i would run a feeler gauge around the edge of no. 4 piston. Sure enough part way round the feeler gauge dropped past the rings. Oh well here we go so i removed the liner knowing that a lot more work lies ahead. The rings had welded to the piston. Cant believe the car ran as well as it did like that. So now its a bit more involved. More news to follow as and when i get to it... money permitting. So much for an expensive job being done. Think the previous owner was well ripped off.

[Scarlet Devil]

Back on the road now. After going through the relavent threads on here i sourced replacement liner, piston, rings and conrod set all from a 1.8T. Just as well i done my research on here as local scrapper had a 1.8 n/a with head already stripped on it and i nearly went for the parts off it. Rebuilld went well apart from being sent the wrong sump gasket. Again through t thread on here i sourced the correct replacement. Had a slight airlock with cooling system but was soon resolved. Running really well now with levels remaining constant. So some gentle running in of the replacement parts and i should have nice car again. Well pleased,, for now.

[Click4]

Glad to hear all is well and fixed :)

[chipsceola]

A compression test revealed between 205 and 215 on the 1st 3 cylinders only 150 on no.4. Having stripped it down yesterday i felt the bore of the liner could notice a slight mark on it. So i put the cylinder head to one side i thought i would run a feeler gauge around the edge of no. 4 piston. Sure enough part way round the feeler gauge dropped past the rings. Oh well here we go so i removed the liner knowing that a lot more work lies ahead. The rings had welded to the piston.


Back on the road now. After going through the relavent threads on here i sourced replacement liner, piston, rings and conrod set all from a 1.8T. Just as well i done my research on here as local scrapper had a 1.8 n/a with head already stripped on it and i nearly went for the parts off it. Rebuilld went well apart from being sent the wrong sump gasket. Again through t thread on here i sourced the correct replacement. Had a slight airlock with cooling system but was soon resolved. Running really well now with levels remaining constant. So some gentle running in of the replacement parts and i should have nice car again. Well pleased,, for now.

Standard garages can leave a lot to be desired, due to AA poor work my 1.8T overheated 4 miles from roadside repair. Booked with trusted local garage but unable to agree on repair of HG & general procedure, removed car and booked with specialist (MJS Worthing) who travelled to fix last summer, all been fine since, and at slightly less than yours, did include water pump, cambelt, tensioner, MLS and all other gaskets + coolant, filters, oil and Vat as AA insisted Vat reg garages only. In your case may have to travel over the bridge to TS auto's - but you can't beat attention of the real experts.