Diesel Engine Oil Consumption

Ta me anseo

A buddy of mine drives a 1.9 TDI with 35,000 miles on it. He is adding about 1 quart of oil to the engine between services, say about every 5,000 miles or so. Now, that doesn't seem to be too excessive to me, but it got me thinking about what is normal consumption and what is abnormal? Also, does a diesel engine generally consume more or less oil than a petrol engine?

Any thoughts?

crosstownk

Sounds about normal - especially if it's a VW Group car. Nothing to worry about.

martinr5232

Fiat used to say a litre of oil per thousand miles was acceptable.:rolleyes:

Ta me anseo

Jaysus! :eek:

My mates car is very healthy so!

Oilrig

I wish someone would explain to me why its acceptable for a modern car to "use" (burn) oil? Especially at the rate described as acceptable by the manufacturers.

I drive a '90's model, probably designed in the '80's, its got 170K on the clock and has never dropped its oil level in between services.

Tech answer anyone?

Seth Brundle

martinr5232 wrote: »

Fiat used to say a litre of oil per thousand miles was acceptable.:rolleyes:

Thats also the line from BMW for many of its cars.

Damien360

2 work collegues had the 1.9TDI engine in a golf and a passat with the same problem. Adding oil every 5000 miles and the oil for this engine is not cheap. Problem is the long life oil....it is not long life. Both changed to regular oil and hey presto the problem disappeared. Note, both of these cars were work cars and I would ask what oil is ok to use in that engine so you won't do any damage.

Every diesal I have had lasts to the service at 10000 miles. Never had to top up. The cars included a Pug 306, old avensis 2.0 diesal, TDDI mondeo and TDCI mondeo both old last shape.

peasant

In some diesels the turbo can be the culprit.

The bearings for the turbine wheels are cooled/lubricated with engine oil. They also need to be quite loose to allow for the insane rpm (up to 100,000).

Depending on manufacturing tolerances some oil can dissapear through those bearings (usually into the compressed air and straight into the combustion chamber). So some oil consumption is normal/acceptable

Massive failure of the turbo bearings / seals is of course one of the causes of diesel run-on ...where the engine sucks in its own oil and revs itself to death on it even when you turn off the ignition.

Oilrig

"Fiat used to say a litre of oil per thousand miles was acceptable."

&

"Thats also the line from BMW for many of its cars."

So much for eco friendly then...

sounds like a cop out to me.

peasant

Oilrig wrote: »

"Fiat used to say a litre of oil per thousand miles was acceptable."

&

"Thats also the line from BMW for many of its cars."

So much for eco friendly then...

sounds like a cop out to me.

The manual for my auld VW diesel says up 1.5 liters per 1000 km is "normal" :eek:...it still only uses about 0.2 liter per 5000 km

Oilrig

"The manual for my auld VW diesel says up 1.5 liters per 1000 km is "normal" ...it still only uses about 0.2 liter per 5000 km"

We've got a TDI that uses nil between 10K (miles) services, Shhhh!

TJJP

Ta me anseo wrote: »

A buddy of mine drives a 1.9 TDI with 35,000 miles on it. He is adding about 1 quart of oil to the engine between services, say about every 5,000 miles or so. Now, that doesn't seem to be too excessive to me

kbannon wrote: »

Thats also the line from BMW for many of its cars.

Damien360 wrote: »

Adding oil every 5000 miles and the oil for this engine is not cheap.

I've rarely had to top up. Which is a good thing, I don't fancy paying €20 for a Litre of Castrol Edge 0W30 every 1,000 miles.

74merc

I read about this quite a while ago. Apparently it's to do with how the engine was run-in. If the engine is not revved enough the injectors can get crudded up resulting in an uneven spray pattern. This causes oil to be washed off the cylinder wall causing excessive wear on the piston rings. As the rings wear more oil will burn as part of the combustion. When my wife got her new car with a VAG 1.9TDi engine I make sure this wasn't going to happen. Well that's my excuse for giving it a good fleecing!

Ta me anseo

I suppose the only good thing about burning oil is that your diesel consumption will go down! You'll get better mpg between fills! Of course you'll probably be managing 20 miles to the gallon of oil