I have a 1987 Daihatsu Charade. It is the older shape than the one we got in the UK but it has the same 1 litre engine. The engine has a small leak coming from - what the main dealer (no option in the location I was in) - told me was the oil pump. It drips a drop or so a night. When travelling recently, it burnt alot of oil (2.5litres) going over some mountain roads for 2000-3000km but the after accidentally filling it over full with oil it stopped doing so - the really steep mountains also stopped then. The fuel comsumption also varies dramatically - never really living upto what I expected. I realise that labour rates will differ here but what do the experts think is wrong here and what time should it take to rectify. However - it never really feels like it is going to stop on me and otherwise is very reliable. I realise it was dirt cheap to buy (600 quid with tax, MOT and insurance for a 21 year old for a year and an AA inspection which pointed out the minor oil leak). I will be looking at selling it in 6 months so to help with that it would be good to sort out the leak. An exterior polish with T-Cut will have already helped alot in that context. It will be going in soon to sort out sweaky brakes so any help would be great. Thanks guys.
Paul C
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Hi Paul,
if it was my car, curing the one-drop-a-night oil leak would be WAY down my list of stuff to do:-) In fact, it probably would not be on my list at all.
The oil burning you describe is almost certainly down to worn piston rings. (You don't say how many kilometers is on the engine.) When driving over steep mountain roads (Alps etc.) most engines will use more oil especially when engine braking. My Spitfire used to burn 4 + litres on a full-speed 300 km blat up the motorway and yet used almost nothing in normal driving - worn piston rings. If you are going to get rid of the car in 6 months this is just something I would live with. Driving it more slowly should make a significant reduction on the amount of oil burnt.
The poor fuel consumption could be down to many things but what I would do first would be to give it a good service, change all the filters (and check the car from bumper to bumper especially underneath.) Then take it to a place where you can get a good tune up, and measure if there is any difference in fuel consumption.
At the top of your List of Things To Do should be this: does this engine have a timing belt? And if so, can you be certain when it was last changed? When should it be changed next?
Incidentally, my uncle used to have one of these cars and I remember driving it from Brighton to Wales cross-country on one of his regular trips, seeing if I could get more MPG than him. What fuel consumption are you getting?
HTH,
CMark
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The car has done 125000km, just under 80000 miles. The fuel consumption I am getting varies from the mid 40s to the low 30s, but it doesn't really have any correlation. Going up the step mountainous Alps it will do similar as it will do around town.On the open road at 60mph I will get over 400km off about 30 litres, which is about 40ish mpg. When I bought it it had an oil and filter change - had been around 8 months since its last - although I have now added enough oil so that none of the original would be left. Have also had the fuel filter and sparks changed. I don't know when the timing belt was last changed. I did look at it to check for imperfections, and although couldn't see any, I have no real idea of what I am looking for - it didn't appear frayed at all. I am intending to keep the car until I leave - May to June ish, during which It will have a long run around the North Island (4-5000km maybe) and apart from that toddling around town and a couple of 300km jounreys around here. From what I had read on the site - I had suspected the piston rings. How long would these take to be changed? Would it be worth it for what I will be using the car for? I will get the timing belt changed while I am at it. What is the labour times on those sorts of things? Is it an engine out job? Thanks very much for your advice CMark. All I want is for the car to last the next few months, and then flog it for as close to what I bought it as possible at the end. But seeing as I will be travelling, I want it to be reliable. Any further help would be greatful. Also I see that the AA have a free technical advice line for members - to stop you getting ripped off at dealers - do they have that in the UK?
Paul C
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What I should have said before is that I looked at the belt that I thought to be the timing belt and checked it for imperfections.
Paul C
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get the oil and oil filter changed at a local lube place for not much money (where in NZ are you, lots of places in auckland will do it for pretty much the price of the oil)
change the plugs and air filter (a new air filter will often make a dramatic difference if the old one is pretty old)
and run it into the ground
yea get the cam belt done also if it aint been done for more than say 40,000 miles
the timing belt should have a cover on it, you shouldnt be able to visually check it without removing the cover - i wouldnt do this if you dont know what you are doing, you are probably looking at the fan belt which drives the water pump etc
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Yeah, I am pretty well agreed with crazed here.
You've got a good banger which you're going to be disposing of in 6 months or so. It is simply not worth spending any money on changing piston rings or curing tiny oil leaks.
You want reliability for 6 months and you stand the best chance of getting that by starting with a Charade.
It is still worth doing some more research into the timing belt (which is a flat, toothed belt normally hidden from view behind a cover or two on the side of the engine). As crazed says, best to leave any inspection to an expert if you are not sure about it.
A really clogged up air filter will increase fuel consumption so change it now if it looks dirty and you are not sure when it was last changed.
Read Richard Hall's bangeromics website for some more tips and some good stories.
Enjoy.
CMark
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Thanks CMark and crazed for your help. I went along to Repco (the NZ Halfords) and changed the air filter and have got a quote of about 70 quid for the belt change - that was the cheapest quote and it was from the main Daihatsu dealer - I was shocked. Anyway, that and the brakes are being sorted Friday which coupled to my full AA cover (a snip at just over 20 quid) means that I have bought myself piece of mind. I thought that I was was being over cautious, but some other people in a similar situation who weren't so fussy have had major things gone wrong with their Starlets and Toyota Crown Grande Mark II (not sure if that is the right name) and have scrapped them and bought other cars - mind you they didn't spend more than 400 quid on them. Having read this site so much I didn't want to buy a wreck, (to save the other half just laughing at me) and touch wood I am happy about this car. Again thanks for the help.
Paul C
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