wills

...so all still seems well after nearly 400 miles... I dipped the oil this morning before I left when it was stone cold and this was the result... I haven't had a chance to dip it hot yet as it's either been raining or dark! I will dip it tomorrow when it is warm so I can show a comparison photo... -Will

Hi everyone, Sorry, haven't had a chance to post since I got the car back as I have been busy with work - booo! :( Anyway, I got the car back yesterday (Thursday) at around 1630. When I got the car back I had a few questions lined up that I wanted to ask, these were as follows... 1 - Engine number - the same or different? - The engine number on my vehicle has remained the same. The new engine comes with a blank that is then stamped by the dealer upon installation of the new engine into the car. 2 - How should I drive it? - I was curious as to how I should treat the new engine. My original engine I treated 'normally', i.e. I just drove it as normal, if I wanted to use the full rev range I did and if I wanted to just potter along I would. However, the dealer said to me I should be "gentle" with the engine for the first 500 miles, I was not to "drive it like I stole it" and I should not "redline" it at all during this time (all their words not mine). I am following this advice and just pottering around in it - not going much past 4k RPM at all. 3 - Servicing? - I wanted to know whether I needed to bring it back in after 1,000 miles for an oil change like when I first got the vehicle. I was told this was not needed and I should come back at the next service point should I not encounter any problems. I did comment that this seemed odd as it was a new engine but got told that it was no problem. So since getting the car back I have covered roughly 100 miles and all seems well. I have been listening out for anything strange and also been keeping an eye for anything strange. Everything has been put back together to a high standard - I have gone over the engine quite closely and I can't find anything loose, no hanging cables and no missing bolts. All is working well and I have got my fingers crossed everything will stay that way. I shall be dipping the oil tomorrow at some point as part of my weekend checks I do - hopefully I can go back to this rather than every other day as I got to at one point. Hopefully this brings a close to my oil consumption issues. The dealer has been fantastic through all this and has always kept me up to date so thumbs up to Progress Skoda of Northampton! -Will

Another update - went to the dealer today as I was passing and nipped in to see how things were going... As expected - engine already swapped and to be honest, not far off being done - this was at around 1400. Tech expected to have car running that evening with test driving tomorrow... Fingers crossed it all goes smoothly! -Will

Hello everyone... Just an update - car went in today and it appears it is getting a long engine and not a short one as previously told... Here it is in all it's glory... Was surprised at quite how light it is to be honest - I asked the tech who was going to be doing the work on my vehicle some questions about the new engine and he lifted the whole thing up towards him with no difficulty at all - it seems so light! Anyway, it comes with all new sensors, injectors and even a new oil filler cap! Everything else looks like it is going to be transferred from the previous engine. Will keep everyone updated... -Will

Just come back from the garage... The car used 0.15kg (150 grams) of oil is just over 189.7 miles (just over because I didn't reset the counter the moment I left on Monday). This is OUTSIDE of SUK's tolerance and a new engine is being ordered for me. The work will commence on the 5th November. I guess I am finally happy with the result but it was a bit of a marathon getting to this point, that, plus the fact I have never owned a car that has needed a new engine within 30,000 miles! I asked what exactly a new engine meant and it would seem it means a new short engine. So existing ancillaries plus head and assorted bits will be re-used. I will be interested to see the state of the 3rd pot when it is pulled apart as I would like to know whether that spark plug really was burnt away or whether it has damaged the cylinder walls or head or anything else for that matter. Will keep this thread updated as things pan out. To everyone who is having oil problems just keep an eye on it and start recording data, as in, how often you are topping it up, how many miles between fills, any smoke coming from the exhaust under acceleration, misfiring etc. It would appear that this all really helps in getting things sorted, that along with being very persistent at the dealer! -Will

ok, got car back, got to cover 180 miles now! Cylinder 3 is the 3rd one from the right of the oil cap/timing chain end. I don't really know what to say about your situation but if you read my thread I started getting trouble with engine light, the 3rd coil pack was replaced. Then I started having trouble with Cyl 1. I had this coil pack replaced along with all plugs and this temporarily fixed the fault. If you read this entire thread you will see the history of whats been happening with my vehicle. Its got high oil usuage. The problem hasn't been truly fixed yet, its just had new plugs and two new coils which has temporarily fixed the issues of misfiring. I think I have problems with my piston rings which has caused all of the above trouble and so I am now in the process of going through SUK's troubleshooting process. The solution to my woes is an engine rebuild I believe but we shall see what happens at the end of this week when I return on Friday to have my oil usuage measured! -Will

ok, just to keep this updated - after the last message I went back to the dealer on the Monday and the tech immediately arranged for me to be booked in for today (Monday 15th). They are going to do the oil test procedure that I have read about on here. They will drain the oil and leave the plug off to make sure it fully drains, turn the engine over a couple of times to make sure they have it all out and will then refill with a specified amount that has been checked and weighed from a clean container. I then have to cover 180 miles and it will then be checked by draining it all out again, turning over twice and then measuring/weighing the amount left. Hopefully this will then reveal that my engine needs some more love and attention from Skoda! Am in an Octavia vRS today (diesel version though) and I must say, not too bad - heated seats could have a bit more oomph about them though! -Will

Just to say - when I drove into the dealers for them to re-check the oil level yesterday, I arrived and switched off the engine and the tech came out and checked it immediately, was maybe a max of 2 mins before it was checked. -Will

ok, so i went to the dealers yesterday and got my oil level checked. I had covered almost bang on 200 miles by this point. The oil was exactly where it was when it was topped up apparently - at the top of the chequered area. This is where the mechanic topped it up to and it appeared as though it had used none. He told me to keep an eye on it and see how it goes with the recommendation that if it uses more than 1 litre in 750 miles then they would need it back. Apparently, according to the tech, in cases like this it's fit modded breather pipe first and then if that doesn't work its on to major engine work/new engine. He said when he fitted the breather pipe it didn't look any different to the previous one however, he didnt know whether there were any internal differences though. I left feeling a little happier and thinking maybe, just maybe it was something as simple as this pipe - how wrong could I be?! Went out in the car this afternoon and noticed every now and again a lovely puff/haze of blue smoke behind me. By the time I had got back I had only covered about 10 miles, meaning around 20 miles covered in total since dealer checked oil. As I had seen the puffs of smoke I lifted the bonnet and checked - oil at 87*C and 3 mins after stopping - this is what I found... ...level down by a quarter in just 20 miles. I have informed the dealer and left a message for the service department to contact me on Monday - not particularly happy right now!! -Will

hmmm, the pic I've posted looks exactly lik the pics you have posted George. The part I have posted in the pic is definitely new when you look at it up close so not sure what to think, maybe there are internal differences on the pipe?? I shall ask later when I pop into Skoda for them to check things over. -Will

George - I didn't dip the oil at the dealer at all, the service manager told me it had been filled correctly according to the specs and I took her word for it. Due to the fact I picked it up late in the afternoon and I was going out with some friends in the evening I got home, parked it up and then went out. I did check it this evening. I have covered 156 miles since picking it up from the dealer. I checked the oil at an indicated 83*C on the dash. I then waited 3 mins before dipping. At the moment the oil is sitting exactly at the top of the hatched area on the dipstick. IF the car was filled as per the manual the oil should be 3/4mm higher up the stick at the top of the smooth area. I shall check with them at the dealer tomorrow. The modified breather pipe... Annoyingly I can't find my older pics of the engine otherwise I would compare a before and after pic. The pic above is what was taken tonight. Anyone got a before pic?? -Will

Got the car back yesterday evening with the modded oil breather pipe fitted. Have got to cover 250 miles and then go back for the dealer to check the oil level. I have been told I am under no circumstances to add oil UNLESS the warning light comes on and then I have to make a note of any that I add. So, covered 150 miles so far, shall see what happens when I whizz it in on Friday. -Will

Well, just had a call from the garage, SUK want them to replace an oil breather pipe before doing any further diagnosis. Im not sure this is going to make one scrap of difference but I guess its the process that has to be gone through. Part won't arrive until tomorrow though so in courtesy vehicle tonight. -Will

Well, just to keep the thread updated, car has gone in this morning and investigations are starting today. Will hopefully know something by the end of today as I have to go back that way so will keep things updated. -Will

ok everyone, here we go, latest update to this. I will try and answer everyone's replies before carrying on... I always top up the oil according to the manual. I generally let the oil temp rise to around 85ish *C and then turn off, wait a few mins and then check it. It was just below half when I did so I decided to top up with my usual 5w/40 fully synthetic Castrol Edge. Previously I have always thought my oil consumption was high at around 1 litre every 750-1000 miles but I was told it was in the normal range by the dealer so have always just kept an eye on it. I was informed that if it was using more than 1 litre in 500 miles then that would be cause for concern. I have ALWAYS had black spots over the back of the car though when doing anything more than driving round town. Obviously the problem I am now having has occurred since they had it in for the A/C repair but I don't believe the two are related, in fact, as you read on I think my higher than usual oil consumption is finally coming to a bit of a head :think: George - I did check the tech manual on the engine and I believe that the ignition coil(s) were at fault again and 'turning off' the affected cylinder. Anyway, to carry on - the RAC re-appeared on my doorstep this morning at around 1130ish. I made him aware of the situation and out came the laptop and he went straight into reading the faults. This time the faults were: Cyl 1 misfire Cyl 1 coil pack fault So he immediately went and pulled coil pack and checked for any signs of damage or funny smells. Nothing evident so he decided he would replace the coil pack and put a new set of plugs in too just to be on the safe side. As he had the first coil pack out he removed the first plug and found this... Now, this to me doesn't look great and having had cars in the past I have never seen a plug looking like this. The RAC man was not too bothered by it though and said that can be normal in these engines as they do run quite lean and can build up carbon deposits on them. The plugs for cylinder 1, 2 and 4 all looked like this... ...the plug for number 3 looked like this however... It was covered in oil and carbon and there was not much left of it! How the car still ran alright im not sure to be honest. Even more annoying is it only had a service 3500 miles ago - I assume plugs are not a normal service item, never thought to ask really! The RAC man fitted the plugs, put the new coil pack in number 1 and then wrote me out a report sheet. He reckoned on piston ring problems which from the state of the 3rd plug I tend to agree with. He left the codes in the ECU for Skoda to see too. After he left I immediately went down to Progress Skoda and have got it booked straight in. The batch of plugs I put on the desk helped my case immensely I reckon So, who knows what will happen next - I will be having a car off of a rental company apparently so they obviously think it may take some time to sort. Just hope that when they do their investigations they can find whats wrong and finally fix it! While its in there I have a good mind to insist they replace the DSG box as well as it will be all apart! Will keep the thread updated. -Will (rather worried!)