Old Fiesta burning Oil - why?

Manuel

I have a '98 Fiesta Zetec 1.25. It's got 130,000 miles on it and I don't expect to be still driving it next year, though it is NCT'd to 2010.

Anyway, I go through a litre of motor oil every 4-6 weeks. After that length of time the oil light comes on again when going around roundabouts. I guess this is just a symptom of "old age", but I'm just curious: what causes it to go through oil so quickly? I mean, where does it go??

And I suppose, is there any remedial action I should take, other than just topping it up? Only costs 7 Euro a go after all ....

biko

Bad/Old seals etcetera. Does the car have a trail of blue smoke behind it?

Manuel

No, to be honest, the car runs/looks/sounds fine. Apart from the interior coming apart a bit, this issue is the only noticeable way in which she shows her age ....

Which reminds me, I brought her to Ford for some work a year ago, and asked them to do a pre-NCT check while they were at it. They gave me a long list of fixes needed and a quote for 1300 Euro to fix them.

Of course, being not quite a complete moron I saw this for what it was, a rather shameless attempt to convince me that what I really needed was a new car, I went straight to the NCT, which reported 3 or 4 of those items. I got them fixed for about 100 Euro, went back and got my cert for another 2 years carefree cheap driving.

Don't you love Main Dealers?

Kimbot

If its a Zetec engine then I would imagine it should be running 5/30 Fully syntethic oil. If you have been using 10/40 change to the 5/30 and see how it goes. I know this can help zetec engines.

Manuel

Cool. I'll try that. Thanks a million.
/M.

maidhc

The reason it is burning oil is because fiestas along with Micras and Yarises tend to live very hard lives and are lucky to ever see an oil change between owners. The engine is worn and tired in your car for this very reason.

I have been trying to buy a fiesta recently for my sister, and I have yet to find one that hasn't been abused.

Btw the fiesta does not have a low oil level light from what I know, so when the oil light is coming on the top end is being starved of oil. Not good!

unkel

Is there oil on your driveway / where you park?

Did you (or your mechanic) check under the car for any obvious leaks?

jonny24ie wrote: »

If its a Zetec engine then I would imagine it should be running 5/30 Fully syntethic oil. If you have been using 10/40 change to the 5/30 and see how it goes. I know this can help zetec engines.

Fully synth after semi-synth (or even just mineral) would lead to more oil leaking, no?

maidhc

unkel wrote: »

Fully synth after semi-synth (or even just mineral) would lead to more oil leaking, no?

Indeed. I think the Zetec takes 5w30 semi synth anyway. Formula-E as Ford call it.

I thouight it was only the Pintos and older Endura engines take 10w40.

Kimbot

unkel wrote: »

Is there oil on your driveway / where you park?

Did you (or your mechanic) check under the car for any obvious leaks?



Fully synth after semi-synth (or even just mineral) would lead to more oil leaking, no?

Nah It should be grand. Fully synth should be used on the first full clean and then semi synth for 3/4 more services. The OP should see a difference, if not then more than likely the seals maybe knackered.

maidhc wrote: »

Indeed. I think the Zetec takes 5w30 semi synth anyway. Formula-E as Ford call it.

I thouight it was only the Pintos and older Endura engines take 10w40.

Yes even tho the Zetec takes 5/30 alot of mechanics only have big drums of 10/40 and use that instead. I find that Duckhams have a great 5/30 fully synth oil that works wonders with Zetecs/VVTI's that "drink" oil.

Manuel

Sorry guys, just returning to this, as I got a bit confused by the different versions of advice

My Fiesta is not due an oil change (not according to mileage/time since last one at least).

So, when topping up my oil, should I use 5w/30 Full- or Semi-Synth?

When I posted originally I had just topped it up with a litre of oil from the garage, prob 10w/40.

Thanks again.
/M.

BeardyGit

There's absolutely no good reason to keep using 5w/30 synthetic in an engine that's burning/using oil like that.

All oil weights as contained in manufacturers handbooks are specified for new engines, not engines with over 200,000km's on them. As an engine wears over time, the grade of oil used should be adjusted to suit.

Use a higher weight of oil with a good quality seal conditioner and you'll see a big improvement in how it uses oil. I can recommend Castrol GTX High Mileage 15w/40 at your next change.

I've used the same in a Volvo V40 (with a Volvo, not Mitsubishi crap engine) which used to use 1L oil every 1500 miles or so when I ran synthetic/semi-synth as spec'd by Volve, and after switching to high mileage it didn't use a drop between changes.

My brother's put over 100k miles on his Toyota VVTI engined corolla using the same oil, without any oil loss (despite having used 1L per 2k miles prior to changing from semi-synth) and suffered no ill effects.

Both the above passed NCT's etc with no issues over emmission etc, just in case you'd worry about that.

The zetec engine is no different to the above and will benefit from a change to a high mileage specific oil at a heavier grade.

Just to clarify - Change at the next service interval, not in between. Until then, keep using whatever's in the car now for top-ups

atkin

Check the oil level regular .Do not run with oil light on or flashing.
A mechanic told me that an oil additive can make a big difference to seals etc.
My Fiesta clapped out and needs a replacement engine after 109000 miles.

Please don't dig out old threads

Skuxx

I reckon he has it sorted after almost 3 years!