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old magna
28-08-2010, 09:31 AM
after i replaced the oil a few months ago it never used a teaspoon of oil for a few months until last week. i started it up and it sounded as if someone had tipped a bucket of bolts into the rocker cover. i soon checked the oil and found it to be way off the dip stick. i ended up adding about 3 liters!!!!
i had only checked it 4 days before where it was a little low but thats allot of oil to use is such a short time.
so anyway drove it 60k's to Melbourne last weekend and it didn't smoke, didn't use any noticeable amount of oil and drove great.
so checked it yesterday and it was off the dip stick again. not by much though because i added 800ml's and it came all the way back up to full.
so this is all a great injustice. there isnt any excess oil on the garage floor, there isnt any smoke apart from start up and that even clears in 15 seconds. there is low compression in a few of the cylinders but its been like tat for 5 years.
maybe it leaks oil when there is pressure at a gasket? or maybe it burns oil all the time but i cant see through the rear vision mirror.
i will check all the pcv system and vacume lines ect but appart from that there isnt much i can put it down to.
thanks
regards jay

MadMax
28-08-2010, 09:45 AM
Pull the spark plugs and see how much carbon is on them, its the best indicator of oil burning. An engine can burn a lot of oil without you noticing any blue smoke from the driver's seat. Get a mate to drive behind you if possible, get it warmed up and do a steady 80 KPH. Your mate might see or smell the oil burning. It is possible you have a leak in a hard to see spot that only drips while you are moving. Short of a full engine overhaul there is little you can do if it is burning oil, leaks are a different matter. I know someone who swore her third gen wagon used no oil, but complained when the oil light went on and it needed 3 litres to show on the dipstick. If you want to keep the car going as is, try a thicker oil - up to 60 weight is available - and check the level often. Keeping the revs down might help too.

Magnas do this unfortunately, suddenly going through the oil, what Km on the engine? Is this the same car in the other thread, with 210,000 Km on it? I had a TP wagon at that number of km, didn't burn any oil between changes, but I did replace the ball joints on the front suspension though. Valve stem seals might be a possibility with the oil use, if the car has stood idle for a long time.

old magna
28-08-2010, 10:35 AM
yeh its the same magna accept now its done 212,000km not that that makes much difference. ive thought about getting someone to drive behind me but the problem is getting someone who will!
the last time it went to a proper garage (1.5 years ago) they put what they called 'mallasis' in there aka very thick mono-grade oil. the car generaly dosn't go above 2500 / 3000 rpm so its not floged. the valve stem seals and timing chain need doing but in reality so does the whole engine because it had compression readings below 850 when i last did it. ill take the spark plugs out, but every time ive ever checked / cleaned them they have been really clean anyway which is always surprising.
what may have happened is when it slowly run lower it could have done big damage i suppose but it still drives and runs exactly the same.
ill go stick it on the ramps and inspect all the seals, gaskets and Walsh plugs to see weather its leaking. i have a feeling it could be leaking from the oil sender unit, which would only leak when pressured and all traces would be blown away by the thermo fans.
thanks allot

magna buff
28-08-2010, 11:08 AM
some members have cheap inline fuel filters between the
PVC and inlet manifold to trap the oil

I had one TP EFI draw oil into the air filter and stuffed that up
fixed that by putting a cheap inline fuel filter
on the hose going into the air intake piping

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh59/magnabuff/aa.jpg

MadMax
28-08-2010, 12:37 PM
if it is the oil pressure sender fire it up and put some newspaper under that spot. Let it idle for a bit, you will soon see if it is leaking from there.

old magna
28-08-2010, 02:56 PM
thanks for the suggestions,
i checked out all the pcv lines and could not see any oil travel through them. which line do i put the filter on, the one heading into the plenum or the one that leads into the black flexible tube.
i put some fresh news paper under the car early this morning so we will see how it goes but it doesn't seem to leak all that much on the floor.
i also noticed allot of oil around the area of the head gasket so i have a feeling it could be a slightly blown head gasket leaking oil from the passages, has anyone experienced this before? it looks especially vivid at both ends. there is also A LOT of water vapor and even droplets when you rev the engine but no signs of water in the oil or bubbles in the rad so it seems unlikely that its a blown head gasket.
spark plugs are fresh and if anything a bit white so it may be running lean.
also found a broken vacuum line that goes from the solenoid to the plenum right under the pcv inlet.
also checked and there is no blow by viable when removing the oil filler cap but there is defiantly low compression so maybe it is the head gasket?
thanks allot
regards jay

magna buff
28-08-2010, 03:53 PM
if there is no oil in the pvc and vaccume hoses
or in the air filter
no need for the fuel filters

if there was oil I would have suggested
you would put one fuel filter on each hose

1stgenrevisited
29-08-2010, 08:18 AM
rear cam seal behind water pump drive pully? its at the back of the head and leaks on alot of cars

old magna
29-08-2010, 11:23 AM
yeh i cleaned up all around it yesterday to see how much oil is leaking but it doesn't seem to sever compared to other leaks. ill eventually buy a full gasket kit (off ebay?) and take the engine out to seal it up but if its rings as well i may as well just buy a better engine from the wreckers.
ive placed paper under it so ill have a look whats there this afternoon when i go out in it.
i will change the oil with some thicker stuff in the next few weeks. i put repco branded (penrite in a different bottle) that is 20-50w and that went really well until last week when this all started.
thanks for your help
regards jay

old magna
13-09-2010, 06:33 PM
just for the record within a week of the first 3 liters of oil going missing it seemed to correct its self totally. it has barely used a tea spoon in the last 2 weeks. in the next month ill pull the engine out and give her one of the full gasket kits off ebay. i think it may be blown between cylinders as i thing two cylinders next to each other have low compression. been too long since last time i tested it so ill have to test it again.

BiG 4 CyL
14-09-2010, 11:05 AM
Sorry but just double checking after reading your original post;

are you checking the oil level when the engine warm or cold?

if you check just after its been running, it will appear empty...

just making sure... lol

old magna
14-09-2010, 06:52 PM
lol yeh mate always check it before i go out in it. bit of a pain but i wouldn't risk it any other way. i think the oil probably got burnt and thin then just diminished quickly but when it was toped up with fresh stuff it became thicker again. a bit far fetched but thats the only way i can explain it.
regards jay

old magna
14-10-2010, 03:54 PM
ok so lately it hasn't been using much oil but oil pressure takes a long time to come up. you can hear it when it does though because the chain stops grinding away.
ill have to do an change because i would think that its just the oil has gone bad after all the cheep coles brand stuff i put in there thats worth $12 for 4 liters! wouldn't blame it either.
so hopefully that makes it behave its self because if not there is allot of new noise and smoke that wasn't there before and can only mean one thing ..... certain death for this engine.

Blackstar
14-10-2010, 04:13 PM
Low oil pressure sounds like crank bearings to me.

old magna
16-10-2010, 10:00 PM
yeh i suppose its possible that it takes allot to build up but i think it has more to do with the shit oil thats in there. what does everyone else use. last time i just used repco brand (re-branded penrite) 20-50. the mechanics use to use real thick stuff but personally i dont believe in it but if it solves this oil pressure issue ill give it a whirl. you can plainly hear the chain tensioner dosnt pick up strait until the light goes off so who knows what the hell is happening in my sump