My 98 escort is using a very large amount of oil, a litre every 200 miles or so.
I have no intention of having the engine rebuilt or replaced, as I intend to get rid of the car next year.
Would a thicker oil help at all, or would that cause the valves to stick? as I've heard that happens on certain zetec engines, this is a 1.6 with a bare metal cam cover (I've seen some of them have a black cover, but I have no idea if this is relavant.)
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Slap a TD badge on the boot and flog it quick!
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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Burning it or leaking it?
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Burning, there's no sign of any leaks, and blue smoke can be seen occasionaly.
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A litre every 200 miles is a lot to burn!
Ford Zetec engines need 5W30, I doubt if thicker oil will reduce the burning, but if the car is a scrapper anyway then you've got nothing to lose by using a thicker oil. No liability etc ;-)
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Try Castrol Magnatec for older engines. Works well enough for son.. It's a 10-40 but irrelevant as your engine clapped out
madf
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If it is truly burning that much oil it should not be on the road imagine following it or standing at the side of the road when it passedmust be equivilent to smoking a thousand cigs.
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If it really is for scrapping, try some additive from Halfords etc (STP, Wynns et al) that claim to eliminate oil burning...worth a try?
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Is it burning it via worn bores, or leaking inlet valve stem seals? The latter can be an easy fix.
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Is it burning it via worn bores, or leaking inlet valve stem seals? The latter can be an easy fix.
How do I check that? There dosn't seem to be visable smoke all the time, mostly just on acceleration, none at idle.
I'm guessing that a previous owner thrashed it from cold and its had some kind of additive to stop it smoking to get through the MOT.
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It would be difficult to tell where the oil would be leaking from without taking the head off.
The valve stem seals had gone on my first car a 81? Ford Cortina. My father confirmed that it was valve seals because it smoked the heaviest at start up. A huge cloud of smoke out of the exhaust as all the oil which had drained down from the camshaft was burnt.
I remember someone did say there was black sticky stuff you could put in via the sparkplug holes which would fill in any gaps. But since it would make a right mess of the cylinder walls/piston, I would not recommend it.
You could always do what the person I bought the car off did, drain most of the oil out of the engine so the new owner doesn?t release the problem until they put some oil in it. But of course I would not recommend that either.
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If you get a puff of smoke after idling for a while, or when pulling away after a stretch of over-run, that points to worn inlet valve stems or seals. The vacuum in the inlet manifold sucks oil down the valve stems, which is then burnt off when you open the throttle.
If you get blue smoke on hard acceleration it suggests worn bores/pistons/rings.
You can with some trickery replace the inlet valve stem seals without having to remove the cylinder head.
Just a thought - is the engine crankcase breather system clear of muck? I don't know the sparticular set-up, but there is usually a small vacuum pipe from the inlet manifold connecting to some kind of larger bore ventilation system, and possibly oil separator or flame trap. If this gets clogged up oil can get sucked or blown up the pipework and so into the combustion chamber.
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It isn't actually legal to run a car in the state that your escort is currently in, irrespective of it having an MOT.
Oh by the way, as so much oil has been burned in the escort it's likely the cat/exhaust are in need of some work as well.
If you can change the car sooner rather than later then do so and save yourself a lot of bother. If the escort is a high mileage car and showing its age then drop it into the scrap dealer and get a few quid for it and the knowledged you have dome something to help reduce air pollution. If the cars is in fairly good condition then some serious engine surgery sounds like it's needed, but someone who is able and willing to the necessary work will be able to do the required work. I've done an engine rebuild and it's not that big a deal as long as you have the right tools and new parts such as valve seals, piston rings, oil seals, gaskets, oil etc. a few quid for the parts and a few hours of labour and an engine that will last a lot longer and not burn oil, save on fuel and be considerably cleaner.
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How many miles has it done?
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Rebuilding soem ZETEC engines is NOT a diy job as the crankshaft is mounted in a ladder and specialist tools are required.
AND the OP wants a Quick Fix:-))
Personally I would try Castrol Magnatec for High Mileage Engines as it's quick and cheap. and may make some difference. A new oil filter, check the various breather hoses as above, check the air filter and you have change from £25...
and all in about 30 minutes.
madf
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If quick cheap cheerful "bodge" job is required then I wouldnt bother with other oil.
Find oil stop leak from wynns or similar and try that. It may not work but its your best chance without drastic asction .
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There is a product engine restore which you may be able to get free if you agree to compression test pre and post.
Has been discussed on Pistonheads "snake oil"if you wish to look into this product, but does come with a health warning from Silkolene's development chemist.
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Now I am getting confused by this, since I last posted I topped it up with Asda smartprice 20w50, like treacle, but should stop the engine from actually seizing. Covered 350 miles in the last 2 days and it hasn't used a drop of oil!
No sign of blue smoke either, so I don't know whats happened.
Just have to hope the cat's okay, will get it checked out soon.
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Its a thicker oil and wont drain past seals so easily; a weak point of thinner oils in worn engines . A point omitted by many when they specify thin oil for an old engine. Hope it works for you. But if using cheap 20/50 dont expect it to last too long, you may have to reduce the mileage you change the oil at .
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But if using cheap 20/50 dont expect it to last too long
Especially at 350 miles in a day - braver than me! I'm sure Zetecs really don't like anything other than Ford 5w30.
Saying that I've seen one run for a while with about half a litre of 10w40 Magentec and nothing else in it.
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I meant dont expect the oil to last too long not the engine.
No reason why it should fail any quicker than it would on thinner oil losing it at its present rate.
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wont happen immediately and look at the alternative ?
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What happened, did it run ok for long after?
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This car is clearly 'end of life' why worry, scrap and move on.....
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