Oil consumption concerns?
03-16-2015, 09:44 AM
#1
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Oil consumption concerns?
During last weekends 3-day DE at VIR, my '90 S2 consumed about 2.5 quarts of oil. (I'm estimating this was over about 350 miles of track driving for the weekend.) I have been using, pretty much since I purchased the car, Mobil 1 15W-50 oil. During typical street driving, I would put the consumption rate at approximately 1 qt. per 1000 miles. The car has 176K miles, and otherwise runs very, very well.
For further info., the warm idle oil pressure is a bit above 2.5 and while running the needles shows just below 5. From what I know, this is pretty decent.
I'm thinking it's time for a leak down and/or compression test. I am correct 5% - 10% loss is good, and as high as 15% - 20% potentially acceptable? Is there a place I can find typical compression values for the 3.0 liter motor?
Thanks.
For further info., the warm idle oil pressure is a bit above 2.5 and while running the needles shows just below 5. From what I know, this is pretty decent.
I'm thinking it's time for a leak down and/or compression test. I am correct 5% - 10% loss is good, and as high as 15% - 20% potentially acceptable? Is there a place I can find typical compression values for the 3.0 liter motor?
Thanks.
03-16-2015, 01:13 PM
#2
Rennlist Member
That sounds excessive to me. Yeah, time for a compression/leakdown test. You may also be ingesting oil through bad AOS seals or bad valve guides/seals.
As a comparison, my car uses hardly any oil on the street between 3k mile oil changes. On the track, it would use about a quart over the course of a 3-day DE.
As a comparison, my car uses hardly any oil on the street between 3k mile oil changes. On the track, it would use about a quart over the course of a 3-day DE.
03-16-2015, 01:19 PM
#3
Team Owner
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: one thousand, five hundred miles north of Ft. Lauderdale for the summer.
Posts: 28,704
Received 212 Likes
on
153 Posts
how does the car drive?
my guess is you're making a good amount of heat and you air/oil separator was sending a lot of oil through to the combustion chamber.
good for your rings and prolly good and in some aspects, less good for your valves.
how she's drivin is most what matters.
have at it until it blows sky high.
my guess is you're making a good amount of heat and you air/oil separator was sending a lot of oil through to the combustion chamber.
good for your rings and prolly good and in some aspects, less good for your valves.
how she's drivin is most what matters.
have at it until it blows sky high.
03-16-2015, 01:47 PM
#4
Rennlist Member
Mike, were you running the full course? I find that my engine tends to use significantly more oil on tracks with long straight aways run at high rpms. But not that much frankly. How does your consumption compare to Road Atlanta last fall? I've got a leak down tester if you want to drop by and use it.
03-16-2015, 02:40 PM
#5
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Since I primarily use the car for DE's, I'm thinking I may try to figure out where the oil is going, at least to have some data to base a decision. (I'm an engineer.) Maybe I just run it until it goes Ka-blammo, maybe I look into a re-build. Maybe I look for a used motor with fewer miles...
Mike, were you running the full course? I find that my engine tends to use significantly more oil on tracks with long straight aways run at high rpms. But not that much frankly. How does your consumption compare to Road Atlanta last fall? I've got a leak down tester if you want to drop by and use it.
Thanks for the offer, Harvey! I may take you up on it. Hope you are doing well!
03-16-2015, 03:25 PM
#6
Team Owner
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: one thousand, five hundred miles north of Ft. Lauderdale for the summer.
Posts: 28,704
Received 212 Likes
on
153 Posts
good bet at least a good bit is just hot vapors being fed into your combustion chamber via the air oil separator.
or take an almost new Golf/GTI/Passat crud to your next DE.
you'd very likely see a similar situation there.
just keep topping off.
my guess is you've got a good ways more to go before the little bastard blows up.
or take an almost new Golf/GTI/Passat crud to your next DE.
you'd very likely see a similar situation there.
just keep topping off.
my guess is you've got a good ways more to go before the little bastard blows up.
03-17-2015, 10:33 AM
#7
Rainman
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
During last weekends 3-day DE at VIR, my '90 S2 consumed about 2.5 quarts of oil. (I'm estimating this was over about 350 miles of track driving for the weekend.) I have been using, pretty much since I purchased the car, Mobil 1 15W-50 oil. During typical street driving, I would put the consumption rate at approximately 1 qt. per 1000 miles. The car has 176K miles, and otherwise runs very, very well.
.
.
you are using less than that.
Trending Topics
03-17-2015, 02:57 PM
#8
Burning Brakes
may be metric to English conversion issues but I estimate he's about 4 times that limit. (1L is a little more than a quart, so estimate 2L ~ 2.5Q. 1000KM is about 620mi & doubled for 2L oil use is 1240mi. that is slightly less than 4 times the estimated 350mi.) So roughly lost that amount of oil in about 1/4 of the distance.
03-17-2015, 04:59 PM
#9
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
may be metric to English conversion issues but I estimate he's about 4 times that limit. (1L is a little more than a quart, so estimate 2L ~ 2.5Q. 1000KM is about 620mi & doubled for 2L oil use is 1240mi. that is slightly less than 4 times the estimated 350mi.) So roughly lost that amount of oil in about 1/4 of the distance.
Hence my concern...
03-17-2015, 06:34 PM
#10
See if you can get your hands on a boroscope or do that leak down. You may find a scored cylinder is causing your issue. Thats how my s2 ended up with a 968 engine, it murdered its original block by scoring the cyl walls and it was eating oil like crazy.
03-18-2015, 02:24 AM
#11
Rennlist Member
03-27-2015, 05:48 PM
#12
Team Owner
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: one thousand, five hundred miles north of Ft. Lauderdale for the summer.
Posts: 28,704
Received 212 Likes
on
153 Posts
life in VAG moment #78669
well.... wouldn't you know I rented a Jetta in Phoenix and been driving it normal in LA basin traffic about a week now.....
haven't exceeded the speed limit or anything. quite the contrary.
checked the oil at the Airport. it was fine.
got about 700 miles on her now....
well, she needed almost a quart this morning.
if you do this on your own VW or Audi, you void the warranty.
Gentlemen: the car only has 36 k miles. 
life in VAG: check oil often. happy motoring.
good bet at least a good bit is just hot vapors being fed into your combustion chamber via the air oil separator.
or take an almost new Golf/GTI/Passat crud to your next DE.
you'd very likely see a similar situation there.
just keep topping off.
my guess is you've got a good ways more to go before the little bastard blows up.
or take an almost new Golf/GTI/Passat crud to your next DE.
you'd very likely see a similar situation there.
just keep topping off.
my guess is you've got a good ways more to go before the little bastard blows up.
well.... wouldn't you know I rented a Jetta in Phoenix and been driving it normal in LA basin traffic about a week now.....
haven't exceeded the speed limit or anything. quite the contrary.
checked the oil at the Airport. it was fine.
got about 700 miles on her now....
well, she needed almost a quart this morning.
if you do this on your own VW or Audi, you void the warranty.
Gentlemen: the car only has 36 k miles.
life in VAG: check oil often. happy motoring.