burning oil
Hi io community,
I purchased an io 1.8 GDI Turbo io (Manufatured in 2000) about two months back. On purchasing it i did a full service and replaced the filters etc. Also did a complete tune up. But It burns oil like crazy. for every 500 kms i have to top up the oil (Approx 1 Ltr). The ODO is only at 78k. How can this be? Please help!!!
Mario from Sri Lanka
Burning Oil...
Hi, First of all thanks for that excellent advice.
To answer your questions. First; It smokes (Black) only when the engine is revved when in stationary position, otherwise i do not notice any smoke while driving, but the exhaust has black suit so i guess there must be a bit while driving too. Second; There is no visible oil leak or any spills in the garage either. Third; I use CASTROL GTX 20W-50 SL
Oh darn, that sounds bad. Guess the previous owner didn't take care of this vehicle.
What do i do if the smoke is Black?
Black smoke = rich mixture
Black smoke is usually an indication of "over fueling" or a rich mixture - I wouldn't worry too much about that just yet, you have a GDI engine which is not a "homogenous" charge, they do tend to soot more than a conventional fuel injected engine.
A 20W50 oil is way too heavy for today's high tech engines - Mitsubishi recommends a 10W30 for the Pajero iO - my preference at this time is a 15W40 all-fleet CF-SL rated oil, but that may not be the best choice for your climate - what are the ambient temperatures in SriLanka like?
Those temps are fairly warm.
You're going to need to decide if you want to follow the manufacturers recommendations or choose your own path - for the temps you've outlined, Mitsubishi recommends a 10W30, I live in the tropics, with a similar temperature range and I would NOT, repeat NOT, use a 20W50 oil in any engine built within the last 30 years, and I can pretty much guarantee you'll have grief if you continue using it - these engines have hydraulic lifters that are known to be problematic, using a 20W50 will just make matters worse.
I'm also not going to tell you to use the 15W40, even though that is what I am using - it's not what Mitsubishi recommends - I chose to use it because it's an all fleet oil, and the lightest all fleet I could find - in short - use at your own risk.
Whether or not using a lighter oil will cause it to be consumed faster is going to depend entirely on the path through which it is being consumed - yes - it is an old mechanic's trick to use a heavy oil to mask certain problems, but I'm not into masking problems, I believe in fixing them.
Masking Problems
So i shall switch to the recomended Oil on my next service. Hopefully by that time i would have rectified the other issues with regard to the burning of the oil. This has been a real learning experience for me. Thanks for sharing your wisdom. Our Mechanics here will just say X is broken so replace.
Diagnostic steps
We're still going to need to find where the oil is going, so, as mentioned before, wet & dry compression tests, and whilst you're removing the intake to reach the spark plugs, take a look inside - if there is oil in the intake, that will be coming from the turbo charger.
I got a simmilar problem. my
I got a simmilar problem. my 2.0 gdi is also burning oil. I have to refill 1liter every 2000-3000km. ODO 140 000km, there is no smoke no leak, exhaust analizer says everything is like a brand new. oil I am using is 10w40 Castrol.
Can anyone help?
Do you have a turbo charger also?
Similar problem yes, but if there's no turbo charger, then it lessens the number of possible problem areas.
If a normally aspirated engine is burning oil (as defined in the oil level dropping and no leaks), there are three possible paths for the oil to get into the combustion chamber - past the rings, past the valve seals and/or through the PCV valve - my guess is past the valve seals.
Do wet & dry compression tests and post the numbers, let's see what they look like.
Have someone stand behind the car when you start it and watch for blue smoke directly after start up, have someone drive behind you and watch as you shift gear and/or pull away from a traffic light or other stop.
I've seen engines with worn rings burn considerable quantities of oil, a lot more than you're using with no more than the slightest hint of smoke, and even then only when changing gear, if you weren't behind the vehicle and familiar enough with the driver's style to know when he would shift gear, you'd never notice the brief puff of smoke that accompanied each gear shift.
For what it's worth, a liter every 2~3000km is really not that much, my 1.8 GDI takes about double that - smokes like a chimney some days, and other days there's no smoke whatsoever - I'm pretty certain mine is the valve seals, and I'm in two minds as to whether to just keep adding oil or tear it down and fix it. I have about 140,000 kms also, and recognise that replacing valve seals on an engine with that mileage is pretty much a stop gap fix - you can expect to pull it back apart to deal with rings in the not too distant future, so my thoughts are put the tear down off a little longer and then do a complete rebuild.
If you're in a mood to experiment, switch to an oil with a CF/SM or similar spec, sometimes known as an "all fleet" or "mixed fleet" oil - the C indicates it's suitable for a diesel engine, the S indicates it's suitable for a gasolene engine - although the GDI is a gasolene engine, it injects the fuel directly into the combustion chamber, in pretty much the same matter as a diesel engine does, and as such it needs an oil capable of withstanding a certain amount of fuel dilution. I switched from a 10w40 Shell, to a 15w40 Valvoline all fleet last year and have seen a fair drop in oild consumption.
burning oil
What sort of Castrol oil do you use? Changing the type of oil can help, but 1 litre every 2/3000km is a bit much (my opinion...!). One thing that I would like to point out is while for some 140 000km doesn't seem much when you read this forum as plenty of other have a lot more kms with less problem, if any. Engine wear does happen mostly at cold start, and is very little when the engine is warm. I have worked with a few local taxi, these car never stop....only to fill up the fuel tank, most of these car are Ford Falcon (at least, where I am) and these engine run in most case to 700 000km without a problem, some goes other one million kms. The same car, privately own, will go to 300 000 without too much drama. The difference is the number of cold start. This is based on the same level of maintenance. We are in Australia, and, in most case, we drive much longer distances than in Europe, so less cold start resulting directly to the ability to have more kms without problem with the engine.
My advice, try different oil, as suggested by Fordem, keep doing the oil change at regular interval, some additive helps, and KEEP the oil level where it should be. This way, it should last a bit more. Failing to add oil or do the oil change will make the problem worse. I have heard some people telling me that they don't need oil change because they keep adding new oil to top up....BIG MISTAKE... as the oil left rapidly deteriorate and make the problem worse.
Happy io
Syndicate
Spot diagnosis from a distance is impossible...
You're going to have to do the work - there are many ways that an engine can burn or use oil, since we have not yet determined that your's is burning it, just that you need to top it up frequently. Since yours is turbo charged, we can multiply that number exponentially.
First question - is it smoking and if so what color is the smoke? Second question - is it leaking oil? Thrid question - what oil did you use?
Normally aspirated engines can have leaking rings and/or valve seals that will allow oil into the combustion chambers, plus of course external leaks, turbo charged engines can have all of the above plus faulty turbo charger seals that leak oil into the intake, from where it will travel into the cylinders and be burned, excess blowby is common and that can also transfer oil from the crankcase to the intake.
If you are seeing blue smoke in the exhaust, start with wet & dry compression tests - these will allow you to assess the general condition of the cylinders.