Where is my engine oil going?

My 130K 2.5TD has for the past few weeks started needing its engine oil topping up much more often than normal. It still runs fine, no black smoke, even on start up and feels as strong as even.

I'd noticed that the engine block around the base of the rocker cover had a good covering of oil along with what lookied like oil trails from the fixing nuts at the top of the cover - i thought they might be loose and dripping but they were not.

Had a 400 trip to do yesterday so gunked the engine in the hope that i would be able to spot to source of the oil when the engine block was cleaner.

Did a 100 miles on the motorway, when i pulled into the services oil warning light come on at tickover - opened the bonnet to find the engine oil covering the inner bonnet and most of the engine and the filler cap was off.

I'm pretty sure i didnt leave it off - topped the oil up, replaced the filler cap and did another 100 miles and all seemed well but the level had gone down a bit.

Did a further 100 miles and the warning light is back on at tickover agaian - topped up again and drove (slower) home to find the level had dropped, but only a bit.

Last last night i gunked the whole engine bay with a view to cleaning it this morning - from what i can see the problem is going to be anything from a blocked breather to dead rings - am i thinking along the right lines with this diagnosis or is there another angle i should be looking at?

Reply to
Sean
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Run the engine with the oil filler cap off - does it "chuff" (a sort of pop-pop-pop....), and equaly run it with the dip stick out - does it pump oil/fumes out? If either (or most likely both) are happening then he crank case is pressurising. A compression test would be a Good Thing - number 4 cylinder is the usual suspect. If No.1 to No.3 are low, then head gasket/rings/melted piston crown are likely suspects (the 2.5TD engine is amazingly good at running with the entire crown truned into a blob of molten alloy by a duff inlector!), plus possibly stuck/bent valves.

If it's No.4, coupled with the large oil consumption, then it could be the above, or it could be the block has gone porus - you'd need to take the head off and look at the bores for evidence of blow-by (soot on the bore not being "cleaned" by the piston rings.

Check all the simple stuff first before panicing but the TD does have a certain reputation...

Richard

Reply to
beamendsltd

In message , Sean writes

Typical 2.5TD trait.

They are a sod for breathing heavily when they are knackered. Has some one already carried out the bodge / modification to the breather pipe, so that is does not fill up the air filter with oil ?

If you strip the engine you will find the pistons cracked and prob some cracks in the head too.

Most cost effective action is find a Tdi to drop in or a good 2.5 petrol (if you don't do many miles).

Reply to
Marc Draper

It does do the puff puff puff thing and it hasnt had the breather pipe mod done.

I'll go dig my compression tester out - knowing the state of the garage it'll probably be quicker to go and buy one.

Anyone recomend a decent make/model of a tester? - i assume the standard easy to buy petrol ones arent up to the job.

Reply to
Sean

In article , Sean writes

Bet it's pressurizing the crankcase. Mine did, then finally dropped a ring and started consuming its oil, which is frightening when you turn the key and it doesn't stop.

Early symptoms were oil all over the LHS of the engine bay (via the breather and an oil-drenched filter). It only smoked (white) on the first few revs of startup.

I followed a TD of similar age to mine down Cheddar Gorge a fortnight ago. It was producing loads of smoke on overrun and acceleration. The driver stopped in Cheddar, so I did too and mentioned it. He was confident it wasn't about to give out, blaming valve guides instead. I'm far from convinced, but at least I'd told him it was happening.

TBH, now I've got the 200 I'd never want to se a TD lump ever again. It doesn't seem to even need the glowplugs most of the time.

Regards,

Simonm.

Reply to
SpamTrapSeeSig

Well i'm just about to pull the filters and have a general peek at things - can't find anywhere within 25 miles of Stafford where i can get a compression tester from so i'll get one shipped for tomorrow, when it will probably be cold wet and windy outside.

Other than a wiff of white/grey smoke on startup mine doesnt smoke, has allways started and has never let me down. I sold a mondeo 2 weeks ago that I'd had from new - it had 170K on the clock and was only kept as a backup, seeing as my 110 had been so reliable i felt happy to sell it, i should have known better.

I'm very reluctant to condem the engine without first working through all of the options, althought a 200Tdi would be nice and it being my daily transport i'm am in a bit of a hurry to resolve it, my 110 is allmost totally orginal and would prefer to keep the orginal engine.

This morning I did spot a thin plastic tube on the rhs of the engine that has been melted by the bottom of the turbo housing, it along with a couple of other tubes seem to dispear into the bulkhead, what would they be for?

Reply to
Sean

"This morning I did spot a thin plastic tube on the rhs of the engine that has been melted by the bottom of the turbo housing, it along with a couple of other tubes seem to dispear into the bulkhead, what would they be for?"

Axle and gearbox breathers at a guess ....

Reply to
Neil Brownlee

Yep that makes sense.

I'm not sure if any of the below is good news or not.

1 - air cleaner filter was oily but not soaked. 2 - 2.5" dia pipe from top of air cleaner to turbo was loose at the turbo end, was actually just hanging on and come off with no encouragement. 3 - pipe from air cleaner to turbo shows signs of oil on internal walls but again not soaked. 4 - 2.5" dia pipe from side of air cleaner to outside world tight and very clean inside. 5 - 4" length of 1" pipe from base of turbo going into engine had both clips snapped and again came off very easily. 6 - pipe from oil filler again shows signs of oil on internal walls and build up (but not blocked) where it enters the air cleaner.

Everything has been cleaned down and the filters will be replaced later today - am off to get some clips now and a portable floodlight - roll on the long summer evenings.

Reply to
Sean

On or around Thu, 15 Mar 2007 14:01:36 GMT, SpamTrapSeeSig enlightened us thusly:

it's only really frightening if it gets to the point of flying apart due to excess speed...

Reply to
Austin Shackles

In theory you can stall the engine to stop it happening, but what if you have an automatic?

Reply to
Ian Rawlings

On or around Thu, 15 Mar 2007 21:14:38 +0000, Ian Rawlings enlightened us thusly:

Oh yes? if it's already up to 7000 revs in full runaway mode you're gonna have fun getting it into gear and there's no guarantee the brakes/clutch/shafts will be up to it. I've seen one run away (but not self-consume, just the governor in the pump stuck at full throttle) on a tractor, and (admittedly, no synchro) there was no way it would go in gear.

Blocking the air intake is the best bet. summat good and solid like a heavy coat, starve it of air and the fire goes out, irrespective of what it's burning.

Reply to
Austin Shackles

dont halford sell them? gunsons ones? or possibly machinemart? (hanley branch is about 20 miles from you)

Reply to
Tom Woods

get out, open the bonnet and wrap something like a coat or similar around the air intake to suffocate it.

Reply to
Tom Woods

Get the air filter off and stuff something large down it.

Reply to
GbH

In article , Austin Shackles writes

Marge's engine departed this world in some style: 'twas the day after Boxing day, and I'd been down to the plumbers' merchants to buy a new loo. I'd just got as far as the n-point turn to line up for the back lane (it's very narrow and at right angles to a narrow residential street).

Behind me on the opposite side of the road a family was unloading their car to visit grandpa in one of the posher houses in the street, when she let go, big time. The Tirpitz couldn't have done better (at least on

20/50). She filled the street with an amazing (and smelly) thick blue haze and I imagine they thought they'd found some entry-level of hell, rather than a twee bit of suburban Bristol. I could do little other than let her run downhill down the lane, and finally managed to stop her about 18" from one of the back fence posts (meets the lane at right angles).

I was then totally stuffed as she'd ended up across the garage apron, effectively blocking the door completely. I wasn't going to try to push a 110 uphill on my own (family was away at in-laws because of the original plumbing crisis etc.), so she sat there for a week until we could get her winched. That took about an hour, as we had to use a snatch block for the cable and long rope and put bights in it to pull her back onto the road in stages - the lane's about 150ft and too narrow for the low loader to get down.

I'm still smiling every time I beat something off the lights now though. Menacing dents, and rust, absence of roof leaks, a working heater (sort-of) and now acceptable welly too - what more could a chap ask for?

Regards,

Simonm.

Reply to
SpamTrapSeeSig

In article , Ian Rawlings writes

That's what I did...

I've managed to stall one of they too (at speed - it wasn't fun), but it weren't in runaway mode though.

Regards,

Simonm.

Reply to
SpamTrapSeeSig

I'd put the clutch in, select 5th gear then let the clutch out slowly-ish, and see what happens, hopefully it wouldn't grenade the gearbox ;-) I'd have my fingers crossed throughout of course.

Yep, probably the best option thinking about it, although knowing my luck I'd open the bonnet and get a valve stem in the face!

Reply to
Ian Rawlings

Block it's air intake - it stops them in a hurry. A lot of the large GM

2 stroke diseasels have a air intake flap built into them specifically to shut them down when they become self-fuelling.
Reply to
EMB

Just for fun i did ask someone in Halfords for a compression tester suitable for a diesel engine and he gave me their sub =A320 petrol one telling it would "be fine" - i'm sure i have seen him burning rubber in his Corsa in Tescos car park.

I'm sulking slightly as i allready have a tester which i brought a few years ago on the basis that it would come in handy one day, but the garage appears to have hidden it.

Screwfix, Machinemart nor any of the local tool suppliers have one in stock, so i'll have to wait for the one i've ordered to arrive, no doubt at the same time as this weekends forcast snow.

Last night i replaced all of the jub clips on all pipes running to the air cleaner and the turbo, including the turbo to engine block link - all of which were either hanging off or very loose.

I've only done 10 miles since and theres deffo much more urge in it now - and there is next to no puff puff puff from the oil filler, fingers crossed that the compression test shows all is well.

Reply to
Sean

Bear in mind that under the distance selling regulations you can send an item ordered remotely back within 7 days, so use the new one to flush the old one out. Put the new one on the bench then "tidy up" and you'll find the old one. Be careful not to tidy up the bench or you'll need to buy a third!

Reply to
Ian Rawlings

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