Hi, read many a post on the issue but can't seem to find the answer, can I keep driving and dumping oil in for a while? I know there may be cat issues at the next MOT but will it be bad to not replace them straight away?

Car is a w reg AUB with 60k, 13 service stamps, cam belt all done, drives well and is in good nick and well looked after. But...... It drinks oil, and there are no leaks.

Another Q, has anyone had this fixed recently by a independent and if so what was the cost? Car cost £1300 so I feel it's probably not worth it.

And finally can I as a competent mechanic do the repair myself? I know I will need the tools to remove and refit the rings. Never done something this big before but other repairs are no issue.

Oh and lurker finally posting as I have this great car with this cr*p issue.

Thanks all!

Why do you think piston rings have gone to start with,

with 60k and good service history i carn't see why rings would be shot

The early 1.4 petrols go through rings like there's no tomorrow. I think you've done well to get 60,000 miles out of them. I assume the AUB engine is the 1.4?

How much oil is it using?

Changing the rings is easy....it's getting the pistons out that's the bugger! I wonder if it's possible to take the sump off, undo the big ends and get the pistons out from below....that would certainly be do-able by a diy mechanic.

But it may not be as simple as changing the rings.......are there liners in these engines that need replacing at the same time? If not do they need re-bored?

The amount of oil it drinks without any leaks, lots of carbon on the exhaust and in the egr/throttle body... I guess a compression test is the first port of call. Do you know how much on of these would set me back?

Can't you get basic compression testing kit for cars so you can DIY ?

http://www.ebay.co.u...cat=0&_from=R40

I can't imagine it would cost a fortune though to get it done by a competent garage, I personally wouldn't aim to spend more than 1hr or £60 to get it tested.

I wouldn't rush to make this conclusion yet, as Volvomeg says. What about signs of oil in the coolant, HGF?

For a car that cheap you could easily spend over half its value in attempting to repair.

I would 1) establish its fault and 2) see if its expensive and look to replace if it is, if you can't DIY it yourself to get it in a better state.

Without taking crank out you won't get pistons out of bottom and then you won't be able to get them back in again,

I would do a compression test at least before taking head and sump off to do rings

Thanks all, will get the compression done and hope its a blocked breather pipe pumping oil in to the air filter or something like that!

I've done a piston ring change on one of these, it's fairly labour intensive but it can be done with the engine still in the car, it's an all aluminium block with cast iron liners, you need to remove the cylinder head and the sump, but you MUST NOT remove the crankshaft from these engines otherwise it damages the main crank journal pedestals, besides even with the crankshaft removed you still wouldn't be able to remove the pistons from underneath anyhow..

A genuine vw piston ring set is approx £120 plus the big end bolts you must renew are about £20 for the set, plus obviously you will need a new cylinder head gasket and bolts... All in all it's quite an expensive job to be honest, last time I did one I had the car back on the road again the same day but it's an all day job and you need some speciality tools!

Try thicker oil

Linky to a post I made over 1yr ago which has suitable info as to the main causes of Piston ring failure on these engines.

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/194495-petrol-recommendation-for-14-16v/#entry2314875

HTH......

Sorry, I should have elaborated further on the cylinder liners, they are dry lined on these engines, which means they cannot be removed, so there's no faffing around with shims like you get on a wet lined engine.. when the block is being made on these it is actually cast around the liners!

Due to the nature of having to hone them bores to a crosshatch pattern while making the minimum amount of dust and dirt inside the engine block while the crankshaft is still fitted, I recommend using brake fluid rather than honing oil while glaze breaking the bores for the new rings.

I had an AUB 1.4 16v Fabia that I was told the rings had gone. Being a tight Scotsman I thought that I might try a few other things first.

I suggest you check the valve that the crankcase breather pipe enters the engine cover / airbox. Mine was gummed up tight and wasn't being a valve so I drilled it out and hey presto no more oil issues. The back pressure was causing oil to come up past the rings.

Up until I sold it in October it had done 170k and never had a ring issue. It used the same amount of oil every month, around half a litre every thousand miles, which is apparently within factory tolerance. The new owner really loves the car!

Good luck.

Ace, I'll try that tomorrow

Good luck. I've my fingers crossed for you it ain't the rings !

I've had one of these and no problem with rings and sold it at 65k and the engine was still strong (slugish car, came to life properly on motorway, but still strong) and find it hard to believe they have a massive ring problem, unless the vast majority of drivers are dickheads who don't know how to run a car in from new !

Doing a compression test wont tell you much, the compression ring will be fine, it's the oil control rings that will be bust.

Got it of the car but is it possible to open the valve to clean? No bolts just a seem that might pop open? Lots and lots of mayo completely blocking the pipe and filter so hopefully culprit found.

Car runs much better now. Not sure if its due to this or the new oil or the 99 petrol... Probably a combo of all three. Will post back here soonish with oil use update.

Good luck. I've my fingers crossed for you it ain't the rings !

I've had one of these and no problem with rings and sold it at 65k and the engine was still strong (slugish car, came to life properly on motorway, but still strong) and find it hard to believe they have a massive ring problem, unless the vast majority of drivers are dickheads who don't know how to run a car in from new !

It's pretty hard to ignore the number of people who've had personal experience of the 1.4 AUB (100bhp) and been faced with a large repair bill due to failed seals, some with as little as 30k on the clock, you can put a small number down to other factors but a lot seem to go around 60k. Fuel quality is often blamed as owners tend to run them on 95RON ignoring the recommendation for 98RON, either way branding them as d*******'s just because yours didn't die isn't exactly fair or backed up by others.