I have a T reg Ford Focus 1.8 petrol which has done 78k miles. I have worked out that since the last oil change which was last November, the engine has consumed about 500ml (0.5 quart/litre) of oil whilst covering about 1000 miles. Is this rate of oil consumption normal and also presumably all car owner's have to top up, some more than others, if there is a full year between services and they have driven say 10-12k miles.
When I checked the oil level today it was about 3mm above minimum, but provided it doesn't go Below minimum then no damage would occur - is this right ?
On this webpage it gives some figues for engine oil consumption but when they say NEW engines today use less than 0.5 quart of oil in 3000 miles this wouldn't apply in my case
www.aa1car.com/library/oil_consumption.htm
Edited by Pugugly on 24/01/2009 at 18:37
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I suspect your handbook will mention somewhere that your engine *can* use up a litre of oil per 1000 miles. 500ml is an acceptable consumption in 1000 miles.
However no two engines are the same. My previous 2.2 Vectra used a litre of oil every 2,000 to 2,500 miles, but my current 2.2 Vectra used less than 100ml in 10,000 miles last time it was serviced. I checked the oil today (done 6,000 miles since last service) and is still on the full mark of the dipstick.
Main point is to regularly check the oil level and top up when necessary. If it were me I would consider topping up if only 3mm above the min level on the dipstick.
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As DD said above, a pint or so every 1000 miles is entirely acceptable on an engine with 80K miles.
I'd also echo his suggestion of topping up so the oil level stays near the full mark. This way you get max oil pressure -- which is good for the engine -- and you're also refreshing the oil's additive package. Older oil will be consumed faster because its additive package is broken down. New oil replenishes the package somewhat.
If you can check it once every week / couple of weeks then it will reassure you that consumption is consistent.
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I have a T reg Ford Focus 1.8 petrol which has done 78k miles.
I have worked out that since the last oil change which was last November, the engine has consumed about 500ml (0.5 quart/litre) of oil whilst covering about 1000 miles.
Is this rate of oil consumption normal and presumably all car owners have to top up if there is a full year between services and they have driven say 10-12k miles.
When I checked the oil level today it was about 3mm above minimum, so would any lasting damage have been done to the engine ?
As the engine does not seem to have an oil leak would it be likely the engine is burning alot of oil and how can I tell if this is the cause in my case ?
on the aa1car website it says 1000ml oil per 1000 miles is not unusual for a high mileage engine but the question seems to be does 78k miles qualify as that ?
Thanks
{must be groundhog day, you only asked this the other day}
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 29/01/2009 at 18:55
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I agree with Dave and Craig.
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All engines use a little oil, which will increase with age and milage. Your consumption is within normal tolerances, and if it were mine I would personally not be too concerned.
Ford, like many others, do specify a 5/30 or 0/30 oil and it will obviously use more than than a thicker /40 oil. Originally this spec was because of "inferior oils" a few years ago which would block and gum up the valvetrain with carbon and gunge on this engine. I used a Fiesta 1.25 which suffered bad consumption on 5/30, which halved consumption on 5/40. If you read the oil feature on here it suggests that oil degrades and thins down over the service life, so what started out as a 5/30 could be down to a 5/20. When the engine is hot and tolerances open up this alows the thin hot oil to slip past the rings and get burned.
My advice to owners of all these cars which specify a /30 (mainly for a 1-2% improvement in fuel consumption) is try a 5/40 but fully synthetic, which will stay in grade longer.
As engines age and wear oil consumption has always increased. Valve stem oil seals are not as tight, piston rings wear, bores glaze (a problem with gently driven engines - unusual in a car which makes good progress - ie take it to the red line daily).
I know lots of cars that run on synthetic oil, top notch coolant, and are driven enthusiastically, which run to 200k without problems. The high consumers are cars which are pootled about, on the cheapest top up oil on the forecourt. Car dead at under 100k.
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