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I've been regularly checking the oil through the frustrating digital monitor and it had always been the same so I stopped checking. And today, about 2 months or so since I last checked, I got the check oil level warning -- It was blinking on the last box.
I've infused it with about a quart of oil and it gauged once half full and once quarter full. I really don't know what the deal is... in any case, I was just wondering where the oil is going? Is it simply being burnt? There's no leak on the floor, as far as I can tell. The manual and the forum members' attitudes seem pretty casual about adding oil, so is it just normal to add oil?
2 months or so since last check- more pertinent is mileage accrued, type of driving in that span. I can't imagine not checking oil level for that long unless it was 2 months between uses! Yes it's frustrating, I grew up on dipsticks as a lot of us did, but we're in rome..... and checking after a drive in the comfort of the car interior ain't that horrible.
1: Oil is burned at a minor rate as nothing is sealed 100% in the combustion chamber. Some oil can get past rings in some conditions in the tightest fitting internals. Oil burning is not a concern (it's an expected outcome of running a petrol engine).... but the RATE is a concern, if its excessive.
2: Oil levels include contaminants, such as water, which is a by-product of petrol combustion. This is why short trips kill oil. When you run short trips (20 mins or less. Or even 30-40 mins or less in winter), you are just 'making oil'... or, in reality, adding water to your oil (raising the level)... and raising the oil level reading the car provides, while diluting it. 2a: Now when you eventually take a hard, rigorous 1-hour run, oil temps climb well above 212 (hopefully) and water begins to steam off. If you added a lot of water through good, old-fashioned regular driving, you can then lower the 'oil' level by burning off water that had collected in the oil.
Check your oil level frequently. If you do, you'll spot trends. I forget the rate that is a concern, but someone can chime in. I believe it is in the manual? My personal tolerance level is a quart every 3000 miles. But the rate for some engines is officially twice that (1Q per 1500) before it should be considered a concern.
After winter, I saw my oil level dropped briefly after the hardest run I had in a long time, with oil temps above 230-240. Didn't move again, because it's been warm out and because every run I take now is quite hard -- the net result is not more water in the oil.
Check your oil level frequently. If you do, you'll spot trends.
+1 Another point, every once in a while, I will get an erroneous reading... I don't know if something is "sticking" or what but it is rare but does happen. I would not want to check level once say every three months, then freak and put in two quarts thus way overfilling.
Another good rule is only fill by half or rarely full quart unless you are sure (from frequent measures). Never more than that on a single add.
Another good rule is only fill by half or rarely full quart unless you are sure (from frequent measures). Never more than that on a single add.
Excellent point. By keeping an eye on trends you'll know for sure if you really need a full quart. I'd do a half quart at the most and then drive for a bit.
My digital dip stick is very sensitive to non level parking. I usually measure in multiple spots then average the total...then I have my mech check it. Usually the average is spot on, but I like to fixate on something besides the paint.
1: Oil is burned at a minor rate as nothing is sealed 100% in the combustion chamber. Some oil can get past rings in some conditions in the tightest fitting internals. Oil burning is not a concern (it's an expected outcome of running a petrol engine).... but the RATE is a concern, if its excessive.
2: Oil levels include contaminants, such as water, which is a by-product of petrol combustion. This is why short trips kill oil. When you run short trips (20 mins or less. Or even 30-40 mins or less in winter), you are just 'making oil'... or, in reality, adding water to your oil (raising the level)... and raising the oil level reading the car provides, while diluting it. 2a: Now when you eventually take a hard, rigorous 1-hour run, oil temps climb well above 212 (hopefully) and water begins to steam off. If you added a lot of water through good, old-fashioned regular driving, you can then lower the 'oil' level by burning off water that had collected in the oil.
Check your oil level frequently. If you do, you'll spot trends. I forget the rate that is a concern, but someone can chime in. I believe it is in the manual? My personal tolerance level is a quart every 3000 miles. But the rate for some engines is officially twice that (1Q per 1500) before it should be considered a concern.
After winter, I saw my oil level dropped briefly after the hardest run I had in a long time, with oil temps above 230-240. Didn't move again, because it's been warm out and because every run I take now is quite hard -- the net result is not more water in the oil.
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Wow... thanks for the comprehensive info - your post answered a lot of questions. I think I'm guilty of driving short distances where the oil barely warmed up.
That one bank on the right was suffering from cylinder wall scoring, which lets lots of oil past the piston/rings and it gets burned at quite a clip, such that extra soot collects on the tailpipe on the left (which serves the engine's right bank). Cylinder scoring eventually leads to catastrophic engine failure, as metal continues to work its way free of the cylinder.
All you should do is correct your oil level and check it regularly.
Track the trends; eliminate variables and run it hard when you can.
Of course, any oil consumption over a certain amount can be symptomatic of other problems, but... .It is my understanding that horizontally opposed engines naturally burn more oil than V or Inlines.
When the engine is running, oil is force-fed from the piston out to some of the piston rings to lubricate the piston's travel up and down the cylinder. Oil is also splashed onto the surface of the cylinder under the piston. The rings don't provide a perfect seal.
When a V or Inline engine is shut down, all of the oil that remains in the rings and under the piston drains back down into the oil sump. On a horizontally opposed engine, some of that oil can make its way into the combustion chamber, where it is burned on start-up.
That one bank on the right was suffering from cylinder wall scoring, which lets lots of oil past the piston/rings and it gets burned at quite a clip, such that extra soot collects on the tailpipe on the left (which serves the engine's right bank). Cylinder scoring eventually leads to catastrophic engine failure, as metal continues to work its way free of the cylinder.
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This is where I was going. Typically, the plug from the scored cylinder will get wet, and charred gunk will build up on the valves, eventually throwing a CEL.
Even "dirtiness" of the exhaust tips from both sides is a really good sign with respect to scored cylinders, but the missing oil has to be going somewhere.
Of course, any oil consumption over a certain amount can be symptomatic of other problems, but... .It is my understanding that horizontally opposed engines naturally burn more oil than V or Inlines.
When the engine is running, oil is force-fed from the piston out to some of the piston rings to lubricate the piston's travel up and down the cylinder. Oil is also splashed onto the surface of the cylinder under the piston. The rings don't provide a perfect seal.
When a V or Inline engine is shut down, all of the oil that remains in the rings and under the piston drains back down into the oil sump. On a horizontally opposed engine, some of that oil can make its way into the combustion chamber, where it is burned on start-up.
At least, that's what I've been told.
Oil pools in the heads hence smoking on start up etc. That is why our engines have scavenge pumps in the heads to return oil. A Subaru tech told me Subarus don't have scavenge pumps but use gravity in their flat 4s..... it is all about getting the engine as low as possible for handling benefits and if you are low, you don't have room for gravity return.... so I've been told too.
Notice in movies where aircraft with radial engines are used where some cylinders are upside down.... big smoke when they fire up. A friend's father, now passed, used to be a mechanic on those radial engines in WWII down near Cape May NJ. He said if too much oil pooled, the piston couldn't compress and would break the engine.
06-13-2016, 02:10 AM
Where does the oil "disappear" to?
