wheres me oil gone ?

Post by **grainger** » Fri Jun 27, 2003 12:14 pm

hi

i had a great trip to stoke and back yesterday - its more than 250 miles, and i got at least 45 to the gallon of optimax even though id been doing a lot at 60 mph.

BUT this morning i look at the oil and its half empty, even though i must have put a pint in on the way. i presumed its been burning some, so i stopped and topped it up a couple of times when i heard the engine get a bit rougher.

but if it had burnt that much .... id have had clouds of smoke behind me all the way, surely, it must be spitting it out under pressure ? where is that likely to be ? theres none on the ground when its standing, only the occasional drop. i think it comes out more when im going fast.

brilliant trip though

cheers
grainger

Post by **Willie** » Fri Jun 27, 2003 6:47 pm

Don't like the sound of that,"put in some oil when it sounded
rougher" if you are not seeing it drip from the drain hole
in the clutch housing(where the split pin is hanging) then it
seems likely that it is burning,either through the worn bores/
rings or down the inlet valve guides. You should see blue
smoke after going down a steep hill using the engine as a
brake and then accelerating at the bottom if it is burning a
lot.

Post by **grainger** » Fri Jun 27, 2003 9:22 pm

no willie - i dint like the sound of it either

i just mean ive got used to the sound of the engine when its full of oil and even when its used a quarter of the dipstick i can hear it just starting to growl under load (i dont have a music system in the car yet !) - its fine when its full, usually i only have to top it up once a week, and never this much. i think the extra speed i was doing has squirted it out somewhere, ill have a mess with it this weekend, ive got to do the trip again on monday !

ps the oil that is left is not particularly black, and ive not noticed any smoke under any conditions. one other difference is that ive been using halfords 15-50 instead of the usual 20-50 ? i wouldnt have thought the 5 points would make such a difference. i reckon i used more than a pint and a half of oil !

cheers
grainger

Post by **Cam** » Sat Jun 28, 2003 2:20 am

The growling sounds like the bearings are on their way out.

No, the 15-50 should be fine, as long as it is not the £3 a gallon stuff! If it is Halfords own brand it should be OK.

If it is burning oil at that rate, you should see it smoking. If not, are you SURE it is not leaking?? has it coated the underside of the car with oil?

Post by **grainger** » Sat Jun 28, 2003 10:34 am

hi cam

im going to get under it today in the sun, to see wether it is leaking when its running. theres hardly any on the floor where i park it. i have noticed little drops hanging off the sump but i cant see any obvious leaks.
it is running really well, so long as its full of oil its very quiet and nippy.

cheers
grainger

Post by **Kevin** » Sat Jun 28, 2003 11:10 am

There must be something leaking somewhere, I know its unlikely as the car runs OK but have you checked to make sure the water is clean with no oil in it as can occur when a head gasket starts to play up. My 2 Door is currently Rattling its Big ends under certain loads and is the opposite of yours as it is not using much oil, and does not leak either and it does not smoke, but if pushed ( but I dont ) it still goes quite well considering it has done over 100,000 miles

Post by **grainger** » Sat Jun 28, 2003 12:53 pm

hi

well ive been underneath and give it a bit of a run and then left it running with newspaper underneath ... nothing. there is the slightest dewdrop hanging off the bottom of the plate between the engine and the gearbox, and there is some old oil on that but the rest of the engine is very clean. it must be burning it

but ive checked the exhaust and it must be burning it very cleanly ! theres hardly any soot and no smoke of any colour !

that could be something to do with the rough idling and timing problems ive had ... ive started another topic about that

thanks for the help

grainger

Post by **Willie** » Sat Jun 28, 2003 9:14 pm

Well, it is obviously going somewhere,you haven't by any
chance got the late type 'mushroom' type breather on
your inlet manifold have you? If not have you checked
your top breather pipe is not restricted in some way?

Post by **grainger** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 8:10 pm

hi

well i did the same trip again yesterday, stoke and back 250+ miles. this time i kept the speed below 55 at all times, mostly less than 50 mph, and it only used a little more than half a pint, also it looks like fuel consumption was less than 20 quid which would be getting on for 50mpg.

i still havent been able to see any smoke though under any load.

an old guy at the garage said it might just be blocked oil drain channels in the head so the oil takes longer than it should to clear and the faster it goes the more it burns, perhaps if it was the rings it would be a more constant consumption. it could be worth using a flushing oil then i suppose ?

cheers
grainger

Post by **Willie** » Wed Jul 02, 2003 6:22 pm

I don't think flushing oil will do you much good. The oil
drain holes in the head are quite large. you would get
some idea when pouring oil in,see how quickly it disappears.
As a matter of fact it was considered 'within specification'
by the factory if an owner complained about a NEW Minor
only doing 500 miles to the pint.!!!

Post by **grainger** » Thu Jul 03, 2003 12:11 am

hi willie

i dont fancy using flushing oil any way as it may dislodge some gunk thats keeping it sealed, and if thats true about the oil consumption of a new moggy then ive got nothing to worry about really. a pint to 500 miles is what i get normally, and ive said ive not noticed any smoke so perhaps thats ok, its running very nicely otherwise.

ill have to keep the speed down, i always used to go slow in the saloon but that made a horrible noise above 45 anyway ! but especcially since ive had all the springs and dampers done and got the chassis welded this traveller handles like a lot nicer than a new car and i can throw it round corners and i can even take my hands off the wheel to roll a fag !

who else smokes in their moggy and thinks the quarterlight was purpose made for it, all the smoke goes straight out the window if you hold yr fag in yr right hand instead of it filling the car and choking the kids !! , excellent design, mr issigonis liked his fags dint he ?

thanks for the help
grainger

Post by **Kevin** » Thu Jul 03, 2003 9:03 am

So the quarter lights are a smoke extractor and to think that I thought they were an extra demister / Ram air con depending where you have them pointing

Post by **Cam** » Thu Jul 03, 2003 10:05 am

They do make excellent demisters, and like you say - Ram air con!!! (I like that!

) Can't comment myself on the smoking issue as I have never smoked, but I have had passengers who have used the quarter light to dangle their cancer sticks out of

Post by **grainger** » Thu Jul 03, 2003 12:37 pm

no they are fag windows purpose made for it

also concerning smoking, if you have the chrome ashtray fitted to the glove box lid it then holds the lid perfectly level when its open, ideal for your cup of coffee or g+t safely even at 50mph !! ... and vw were making all that fuss about their cup holders a few years ago

cheers
grainger