Oil hungry

C

czechT698

Active member
 Prague
Is it normal that the M54 engine needs oil top ups from time to time? I had to add a quart today, is it because I rev the car all the time or because I have a lemon? (2 top ups in 1 month) note: lot of spirited driving and revving throughout this past month involved...

:evil: :?
 
I remember the dealer told me that the engine has an appetite for oil but 2 top ups in like 40 days are a bit frightening, on the other hand I do a lot of city driving and for some reason I rev the car a lot so I figure that might be it... :o :D Hope the car is OK, what comes to my mind is a blown piston ring, sealing or gasket of some sort of. Will try to drive like a grandad for the upcoming week and see what the oil level is like then :oops:
 
Piston rings or seals gone you would see smoke from the exhaust. :wink: Go fro a drive then leave it idling for a few min. Get out the car (or get some to rev the engine for you) and give the throttle some hard blips and see if you get any smoke.
 
I do top mine up every few months too just like every car i've owned. The M54 does use very thin oil (0/5w30) so im not surprised it uses a bit - thats probably why they put the 'low oil' warning on the dash!

I'll probably throw an extra 500ml in mine every 2-2.5k which is perfectly acceptable imo. Its when you start getting more than 1litre/1000miles that you may have some problems.

If you do have excessive consumption, Breaker's suggestion is a good one. You could also try a compression test.
 
thanks for the suggestions guys, will run a couple of test later on :) One more question, is it normal that the oil smells like gas a little when engine is hot?
 
czechT698 said:
thanks for the suggestions guys, will run a couple of test later on :) One more question, is it normal that the oil smells like gas a little when engine is hot?
Click to expand...

Possibly

If your rings are good, but don't do any long trips, just real short trips where the engine never really gets heat soaked, then it is possible.

Even with good rings, you will always get a little blow-by into the crankcase. Why do you think you have a PCV system. :)
If you don't take any long trips, oil dilution is possible and it could have a slight fuel smell.

When you drive longer trips, the engine gets up to temp then 'heat soaks' allowing the unburnt fuel to evaporate out of the oil. Remember, the coolant system only flows around the cylinders and not the crankcase. I have seen engines that were at operating temps (by the gauge) but still had frost on the lower block.. Really weird....

BUT

If you have worn rings, you may be getting more blow-by than normal and have more oil dilution than you really should have.

Also, your rings could be good, but are kinda 'stuck' with blow-by contaminants and not sealing well. Detergent oils are supposed to keep this from happening. In that case, you need some type of engine cleaning to really clean the engine out to allow the rings to get a better seat, or you could have some cylinder wall glazing which does the same thing.

The only engine cleaning system I really like is the Auto-RX system. http://www.auto-rx.com/index.html


I really don't like any of the 'flushing' systems where you replace your oil with the flush then run the engine.
 
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