oil consumption 1.2

[gordo89]

Hi, I have a fabia 1.2 comfort (azq engine) it has done 116k miles it has recently had the cam chain replaced this was carried out at around 112k. as part of this it has had new valve seals on all valves, new inlet valves (damaged from cam chain),head gasket, head bolts, cam chain and guides.

 

all started up fine and has been running without any problems since, although the oil consumption seems to be pretty high. originally there was a slight oil leak from the sump which has now been resealed.there are no signs of any leaking oil.

 

i have compression on all 3 cylinders around 16Bar this was performed with all plugs removed and it was done dry.

 

what other options/ remedies could i try?

Edited 8 October, 2014 by gordo89

[Breezy_Pete]

Best case scenario is that the breather/separator system isn't working as it should, resulting in excessive amounts of oil mist getting recirculated back into the intake. 

 

Couple of things you can try to investigate.  The PCV valve is straightforward to remove from the engine, located just behind the oil filler cap. It can be (carefully) dismantled to check the diaphragm inside is intact and to clean up any crud accumulation. 

 

The other thing you could check is the cyclonic separator just in front of the oil filler cap.  The main body of the separator seems stuck in place on ours, a couple of plastic clips which look like they're supposed to pull the thing out with the cover part don't hang on hard enough and I haven't got brutal with it to try to prise out the main thing.  Not sure what cleaning/checking you could do if you do get it out. Would be good to find out.

 

Here's a screenshot showing a diagram of these bits:

[gordo89]

pcv valve seems easy enough to get off, i wasn't sure what the cyclone separator was will have a look friday / saturday and post back 

[gordo89]

Haven't had chance to check any parts as of yet. I drove 300 motorway miles and engine was below minimum(oil consumption seems higher on motorway) . The plug condition is attached.

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B036ksGKW5QpM1BuRDc4TEVtVlE/view?usp=sharing

Edited 15 October, 2014 by gordo89

[sulayman95]

I know a friend who has the same problem on a VW Polo 1.2 2004. Same engine as the fabia. Hes been told by a mechanic he needs a whole new engine.. OUCHH. But he has to top up the oil every week costing him a fortune. 

[gordo89]

What was the problem in the end as the cost of the oil is massive.

Mines every 300 miles from what I can see. Slightly more around town less on motorway

Edited 16 October, 2014 by gordo89

[gordo89]

That's the condition of my pcv valve.

https://drive.google.com/folder/d/0B036ksGKW5QpbWd1UlpXdnROTmM/edit

It looks like it has a small amount of oil in the outlet of the engine not sure if this is normal or if it's the cause of my oil lose

[sulayman95]

What was the problem in the end as the cost of the oil is massive.

Mines every 300 miles from what I can see. Slightly more around town less on motorway

 

He still hasnt got round to fixing it. Every week or 2 weeks hes gotta top up the oil. Pain in the back side. I think the previous owner had used the wrong oil and messed something up in the engine. Not fully sure but hes looking for a new engine. 

[Alexandru]

Did your friend already check (and if required, replace) the piston rings? IMHO, it looks like these are causing the trouble. 

[gordo89]

The main body of the separator seems stuck in place on ours, a couple of plastic clips which look like they're supposed to pull the thing out with the cover part don't hang on hard enough 

 

 

i pulled mine out but broke the 2 little clips you were on about but he whole thing looked pretty clean I don't think it can be dismantled without ruining it. 

[sulayman95]

Did your friend already check (and if required, replace) the piston rings? IMHO, it looks like these are causing the trouble. 

 

Yep he mentioned that to me. They replaced them but still happens. 

[Alexandru]

Checked the valve guides also? And one more thing, what's the condition of the air filter? Isn't it oily ? A friend of mine replaced his valve seals with brand new ones and after 2000miles they turned out being faulty, even if they have been correctly fitted .. so he had to replace them again and then the oil consumption dropped drastically. I wouldn't consider the cylinders are requiring a honing procedure, because if this scenario,  due to the fact it burned so much oil in ~300miles, the compression would be very low and the engine would be starting very hard or not at all.

 

Don't replace the engine..yet, maybe just change the mechanic .. look for a second opinion. It looks like a simple problem causing a lot of headaches.

 

P.S.: If the engine is burning so much oil, the catalyst will be affected, maybe the O2 sensors from the exhaust as well. The car should stay off the road unless the owner wants to face some other expenses - and these ones aren't cheap at all.

Edited 22 October, 2014 by Alexandru

[sulayman95]

Checked the valve guides also? And one more thing, what's the condition of the air filter? Isn't it oily ? A friend of mine replaced his valve seals with brand new ones and after 2000miles they turned out being faulty, even if they have been correctly fitted .. so he had to replace them again and then the oil consumption dropped drastically. I wouldn't consider the cylinders are requiring a honing procedure, because if this scenario,  due to the fact it burned so much oil in ~300miles, the compression would be very low and the engine would be starting very hard or not at all.

 

Don't replace the engine..yet, maybe just change the mechanic .. look for a second opinion. It looks like a simple problem causing a lot of headaches.

 

P.S.: If the engine is burning so much oil, the catalyst will be affected, maybe the O2 sensors from the exhaust as well. The car should stay off the road unless the owner wants to face some other expenses - and these ones aren't cheap at all.

Yeah will let him know.. Hes driving it round like normal !! I better tell him!

 

Cheers for the advice mate

[gordo89]

what sort of mileage are the engines good for? 

[Breezy_Pete]

Ours is on 125k. I did see someone proudly pronounce they'd had 150k out of one without any major trouble. Probably mostly too young to have  many on higher than that (AZQs introduced in Fabias in 2003 I believe).

 

 

How confident are you that all your new valve stem seals were correctly seated in position? Just thinking aloud really.  If one or more had become dislodged upwards, you could have leakage down the valve guide(s) (still original, yeah?);  especially if it were an inlet valve.  Wouldn't show up as a problem on compression test, but might be expected to be betrayed by a spark plug that looked different from the others (blacker) especially if you did a bit of urban running with lots of idling before examining them.

[gordo89]

iv done a bit of reading and with the amount of oil loss it can only really point to the valve guides or stem seals. might try and get hold of a leak down tester and see what that brings up.

will be glad if mine gets to 125k could really do with another year out of it 

[Toxicvrs]

He still hasnt got round to fixing it. Every week or 2 weeks hes gotta top up the oil. Pain in the back side. I think the previous owner had used the wrong oil and messed something up in the engine. Not fully sure but hes looking for a new engine.

I may be able to help, which engine code is it?

[sulayman95]

I may be able to help, which engine code is it?

 

Its a friend of mines so I will try find out for you when I see him..

 

Apparently the mechanic hes taken it to is a cowboy so I wouldn't listen to a word he says lol