Ford C-MAX - Oil Burner

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Sun 7 Jul 2013 11:45
Ford C-MAX - Oil Burner - boristheblade

Hello

My Focus C-Max Ghia (54) plate is burning oil and would like to know if this is normal or not

I have searched the Web and found countless stories of high Oil usage but only when the car develops a fault. My car is running fine with no issue

My car in question is a 2004 1.8 petrol duratec HE

its done 80000 miles its been recently serviced there are no traces of Oil leak or any smoke from engine .Oil replaced with new filter etc

The car covers roughly 220 miles a week mainly motorway and requires about a 1 litre top up every 2 weeks or so .

The Oil i am using is Mobil 3000 5w30 as this is what Ford recommend

My question is

Is this normal , or is there a problem bubbling under the surface , or is it the fact that this particular engine is an oil burner .

Any insight would be appreciated

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Sun 7 Jul 2013 12:04
Ford C-MAX - Oil Burner - Chris M

Hi

500 miles per litre is excessive. If there are no leaks then it's burning it. Possibly worn valve stem seals. I have the same car, same year, same engine, but with 90k. Mine uses about a litre every 2 - 3,000 miles. Have never bothered to properly measure it.

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Sun 7 Jul 2013 13:18
Ford C-MAX - Oil Burner - boristheblade

Hi

500 miles per litre is excessive. If there are no leaks then it's burning it. Possibly worn valve stem seals. I have the same car, same year, same engine, but with 90k. Mine uses about a litre every 2 - 3,000 miles. Have never bothered to properly measure it.

if this is the case is which is more cost effective car replacement or having the work done

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Sun 7 Jul 2013 13:28
Ford C-MAX - Oil Burner - Chris M

"which is more cost effective car replacement or having the work done"

And that is the $64k question!

First thing to do is get a quote. If the rest of the car is running fine than I'd get it done. Depending on your budget, any replacement car could have even more expensive faults.

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Sun 7 Jul 2013 15:13
Ford C-MAX - Oil Burner - thunderbird

If its running OK just keep adding oil. High oil consumption was pretty normal in my youth, even on newish cars, you just topped up as necessary.

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Sun 7 Jul 2013 21:59
Ford C-MAX - Oil Burner - Big John

Double check everything everything to do with the oil breather to ensure nothing is blocked. Crankcase pressue will blow oil past valve guides etc. If you are not sure check anyway.

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Sun 7 Jul 2013 22:25
Ford C-MAX - Oil Burner - SteveLee

Just add a bottle of Lucas Oil Stabalizer - yes snake oil that actually works. I've personally seen three cars with high oil consumption (two of which failed MOTs on HC emissions) "cured" with a bottle of Lucas.

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Sun 7 Jul 2013 22:29
Ford C-MAX - Oil Burner - SteveLee

PS I've never seen any equivalent product work, Wynns, STD etc.

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Sun 7 Jul 2013 22:40
Ford C-MAX - Oil Burner - Big John

>PS I've never seen any equivalent product work, Wynns, STD etc.

Likewise - I never saw any thing "cure" oil burning.

I used to swear by Molyslip if you had a slightly dodgy gearbox though.....

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Sun 7 Jul 2013 22:45
Ford C-MAX - Oil Burner - SteveLee

Ops I meant STP :-)

Yes, I'm, very dubious about additives, but I can vouch for the Lucas stuff.

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