MB 230TE 1l oil1/100miles what\'s wrong? - Mapmaker
Idles on 3 cylinders.

Uses 1 litre oil per 100 miles - spitting it out through the exhaust pipe, leaving a nice oily smudge if the car is parked somewhere.

I know what I think is wrong - what do you BRers think?

MOT\'d last Wednesday. Is it really possible that the emissions test could have been passed with all that rubbish coming through the exhaust pipe? Or was the MOT tester too \'friendly\'? He did apparently have to up the idle rate to 1250 rpm from the specificed 700 to get it to pass.
1litre oil used/100 miles what's wrong? - Ford Dagenham
Make/model/Year Engine size
(iam not a mechanic)

Martin Winters
1litre oil used/100 miles what's wrong? - Mapmaker
MB 230TE 1985
1litre oil used/100 miles what's wrong? - M.M
Was this the one you had stolen the other week? Has the problem only started all of a sudden or slowly appeared?

M.M
1litre oil used/100 miles what's wrong? - Mapmaker
No, not the one stolen lsat week. Don't know the answer to the second question.
1litre oil used/100 miles what's wrong? - A Dent{P}
IMO it's a holed piston or cracked head. It runs on three cylinders all the time? and no smoke? because the plug is completely oiled up. I suppose there could be a head gasket failure between an oil way and the cylinder but those losses are huge for that type of leak.
1litre oil used/100 miles what's wrong? - Mapmaker
Not all the time on 3 cylinders, but particularly when idling.

Could it _really_ have passed the emissions test in that state?

Thanks!
1litre oil used/100 miles what's wrong? - Mapmaker
No smoke, just an oily black residue like a bad marine diesel...
1litre oil used/100 miles what's wrong? - A Dent{P}
Not a holed piston then.
Could be a broken ring. Have you just changed to fully synth oil by any chance?.
If you remove a emission control pipe to the rocker cover, is there significant pressure there?
Cheers
1litre oil used/100 miles what's wrong? - No Do$h
I shall be looking for the mobile smoke cloud as a wander along Southwark Street to London Bridge station this evening.....
1litre oil used/100 miles what's wrong? - Mapmaker
Haven't changed oil (and the rate at which it disappears out the back, would be thinking of going to buy some second hand oil from Kwik fit).

ND - thanks for helpful observation, but there's not actually any smoke.

Not going to be checking for pressure in emission control pipes just in the next few days, unfortunately.

But seriously, would it really have got through an emissions test whilst spitting out this rubbish?