Excessive Oil Usage

[_Mo_]

Hi, Was using 1L oil every 200 mls (Focus 02 reg, 109 k mls). Had it on ramp & engine damp with oil. Had roker gasket changed 2 Wks ago & now using 1L oil every 300 mls (still far too much). PS: engine no longer damp. Could anyone please advice! Thanks

[stef123]

What engine?

[_Mo_]

1.6 Petrol

[Andy.B1971]

@ stef here we go again lolol.

take the plugs out to see if they are oily

[stef123]

@ stef here we go again lolol.

take the plugs out to see if they are oily

Haha aye

My 1.6 used to drink oil for fun, the very reason I got rid of it.

[_Mo_]

@ stef here we go again lolol.

take the plugs out to see if they are oily

[_Mo_]

Thanks! Haven't had plugs out yet (no tools). Had plug wires out they were ok. Had look inside where plugs are there was little bit oil in two of them witch I cleaned with paper towel but surely doesn't explain where 1L oil / 300 mls goes!! What do u think?!

Should've changed plug seals while had changed roker gasket really but didn't know at the time. It was at Ford too & paid £90 & they never mentioned nor suggested changing plug seals.

[Andy.B1971]

From personal experience (my pals car) his was doing the same self cleaning oil system put oil in one end and it gets blown out the other, unfortunately for him it was his cylinder bored which were foobarred, constant bluey smoke and the plugs were always fouled up with oil , and I expect the valve stem oil seals were hard as nails too letting oil flow right past them..

A compression test could help to see if a cylinder is down on pressure if it is then you could suspect worn bores/rings..

There must be someone close to you on here that could whip the plugs out for you to see if they are wet and oily ....

[troy45]

The plug seals won't cause the problem, they're not something you replace on their own as they're integral to the spark plugs. If you're getting some oil around the plugs it's maybe an indication that there's oil in those cylinders and the plugs aren't as tight as they should be. Sadly replacing the plugs while a cheap job, won't help with the bigger problem you have.

If you're getting a fair amount of blue smoke on starting up the engine that's a sign the valve seals are past their best, as they'd be letting oil drip down into the cylinders which then gets burnt on starting the engine. Whereas if the piston rings/bores are worn then you'd get smoke from the exhaust pretty regularly while driving the car not just starting up.

Another way to check if the valve seals were leaking, bit ad-hoc though would be to pull the plugs out then force a clean bit of kitchen roll or rag down into each cylinder and leave it there over night. Then take them out in the morning and see if any have become oily. Without starting the engine up obviously.

Think either way the engine will need to come apart one way or the other.

[_Mo_]

Many Thanks!

Will get plugs checked if they're oily next week.

PS: no smocke on start up. & no blue nor white smoke either. Still using 1L oil every 350 mls. & no sign of leak anywhere.