Hi, 

 

I have a fabia mk1 2005 1.2 petrol (with nothing fancy on it). It gets used pretty much at weekends on the motorway between York and the Dales or York and Sheffield. 

 

Coming back the other day driving back from Sheffield to York, all ran fine, no funny noises, engine not lumpy, no smoke or blue haze - but as I pull into my street the engine starts clicking and making louder noises (didn't sound catastrophic). I did drive it the 300 or so metres back home, and once I did so checked the oil which was quite low (although no warning lights came on on the dash). Once it had been topped up with oil to a proper level the sound went away and it idles fine (although ive not tried using it on road yet). 

 

It doesn't seem to have the other symptoms of piston rings or valve guides that I've read about, but was serviced in Feb so probably shouldn't be losing enough oil that it starts making noises. 

 

Is this something I should monitor regularly? Is there any other causes there might be for this - and most importantly, should I start saving now for a £500 shock somewhere down the line? 

Yes you should monitor it regularly. Assuming there are no major or obvious leaks then the first step is usually to determine how much oil is being consumed over a fixed distance.

 

Also make sure the correct grade and spec oil was used for the service and the top up - if not then you should get the oil and filter changed again with the correct oil.

How long ago did you last check the oil level?

There's no oil level sensor, so you need to check the dipstick reasonably often.

 

Burning oil can happen without obvious smokiness, as the cat does a reasonable job of burning off the oil smoke into less visible products.

What oil was used at the February service?

I would check the sump plug area for signs of an oil leak, it's pretty common on these cars for hamfisted mechanics to overtighten the sump plug and strip the thread or crack the sump.

?

Was it you that did the oil change and you know how much oil was put in.   Or if done by 'another' did you dip the oil when changed?

What Miles on the Car odometer.

Then when was the oil last dipped to check that there was enough oil.

What Miles showing on the Odometer then and now.

 

Monitoring usually means checking the oil level regularly.

Edited 20 September, 20187 yr by Offski