Fiesta Zetec 1.25.. Using a lot of Oil

If it is not leaking then it needs to come to bits for inspection. Almost certainly a set of rings and a set of valve stem seals will bring it back to like new again. However, this may cost more than the car is worth.

mrcheerful

Unless of course they have the ability to do it themselves. Or their trainee mechanic brother could do it for them.

Just check its not leaking oil into the cam carrier area above the plugs..

Otherwise you invariably have shattered rings- this is quite a common problem on the Zetec S / SE engines when they are habitually revved hard from cold.

Obviously the Cat will be burning up some of the oil smoke- but do you see any from the tailpipe at all??

Tim..

If it where pistons rings or valve stem seals you will see the oil smoke coming out of the exhaust and smell it!

At such a low mileage I would look for a leak first.

Not necessarily, a good cat can make a lot of oil smoke disappear. when the engine/cat are cold and you get blue smoke are the giveaway signs.

mrcheerful

In message , snipped-for-privacy@tesco.net writes

I think Tim was spot on with his diagnosis. 79k miles might not be a lot but its about right for when these engines suffer ring failure. Its not a widespread problem but its a known problem.

Ok.. so it may be the piston rings i will have to accept defeat on that. How can i tell for sure? We have checked it for oil leakages and that area seems to be allright. It doesnt puff out smoke (well it does when started from cold) but the cat would obviously be hiding it to a certain extent. After a long journey well say about 12 miles if the oil cap is taken off the engine, steam does rise from the hole. How much would the piston rings be to replace and have any of you had them changed? Is it worth it? I love this car to pieces. But not that many pieces

Thanks for the replies!

Ooh by the wat my brother was on about the valve stem seals. Is that a worse problem or better? Could the Oil feeds be blocked?

I guess the next thing i best start worrying about is the Cam belt snapping. This car bussiness is to stressful!

As I said, if it is not leaking then it should be stripped and inspected.

A set of rings is probably a 100 quid, valve seals / gaskets another hundred, cam belt and tensioner plus water pump another hundred and fifty, oil, coolant and odds and sods another 100

so if you can get the labour free then a nice round 500 will cover it. If you have to pay labour then another 500 on top. So a grand will do nicely.

But oh yes, throw in a clutch kit at another 150 quid. (no extra labour, unless you change the slave in which case add another 150 quid)

So we have a nice round 1300 quid if you have to pay for labour.

Now you see why I question the possibility that it is worth more to fix than the car is worth.

mrcheerful

In message , snipped-for-privacy@aol.com writes

That would be an easier problem to fix but the biggest symptom of worn valve stem seals is blue smoke when the engine is started after a long period stationary. What happens is that the oil runs down the stems, past the worn seals, and builds up in the combustion chamber. When you start the engine, the oil burns off quickly giving blue smoke but it disappears fairly quickly.

The cam belt is due to be changed at 100k miles. The belt almost certainly won't fail before then but the tensioner just might, with the same drastic results. If you intend keeping the car for a while, it may be worth doing it now. It's not a difficult job and you and your trainee mechanic brother should be able to do it for the price of the parts.

having recently done a 1.25 cambelt then I have to say that it is NOT an easy job, or one to start your career with. the engine needs to be suspended, there are NO timing marks at all (so you need confidence as well!!), the bottom pulley requires special tools to undo it, there is NO key to position the bottom pulley, the pulley needs a puller to remove it.

the timing tools are cheap, but you need to fabricate the bottom pulley bits (or buy them, and I don't imagine they are too cheap)

The tensioner must be replaced with the belt, and I would recommend a water pump, as this is a lot of work to change on its own.

mrcheerful

Water pumps on Zetec engines aren't cam belt driven.

Correct, and I didn't say it was, but have you changed one? Everything on the outside has to come off, before removing the pump. While the cam belt is off it is very easy to change the pump, but it is a major job to do on its own. At 100,000 miles (recommended belt change) the pump also tends to be getting a bit worn anyway.

mrcheerful

To satisfy yourself that it is indeed leaky piston rings and/or valve seals, I would invest in a PVC Catch Can. This should also slow down the present rapid destruction of the cat.. Who knows if this is successful, you might just be lucky enough to get by without an engine overhaul.

Sorry, PCV.

"> To satisfy yourself that it is indeed leaky piston rings and/or valve seals,

Catch can wont make a jot of difference if its the rings.

Err i meant not the rings lol

If its valve seals it will blow blue clouds on cold morning startup. If its the rings it will more than likely smoke on accel. But either way - whats excessive, IIRC some manufacturers claim up to a litre per 1000 miles is normal.

My instinct says stem seals.