Am hoping someone might be able to shed some light on the following issue.
My brother's 820 (original shape, 2 litre 4 pot, 16 valve) is consuming a horrific amount of oil. 200 miles will take the dipstick from full to empty. When hot there is visible blue smoke from the exhaust when driving it (not at idle...).
My immediate reaction was to take the spark plugs out assuming the worst on one of the cylinders but apart from being slightly sooty from running a little overrich, they were fine and not "wet" or clogged/sooted up from oil as I would expect with this kind of oil loss. The car also runs and sounds fine.
Next step to look at is the crankcase vapour recirc filters and valves but surely this would also be gunging the plugs up if it was forcing oil into the intake?
Any suggestions as to possible causes?
Many thanks for any help...
Dan J
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What the mileage on this one Dan. ?
Happy Motoring PhilI
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Hi Phil - mileage is 89k which is genuine as far as we are aware.
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Try taking a look at www.rovertorque.co.uk. Lots of advice there.
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Rings have gone, not uncommon on this engine, as evidenced by the blue smoke. A compression check will verify.
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I agree with Dave. Smoke from exhaust is the big clue here. If it were leaking (common) the evidence would be on your drive!
Sounds like a neglected car to me.
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Hi Dan,
As a Technician who used to work for Rover at Cowley, I remember when this engine (same as Montego) had a dipstick problem and the wrong ones got fitted. Consequently the engine was too full and on decelleration you suffered 'oil pullover'. This would cause clouds of smoke out the rear. For what it costs, buy a new dipstick. Alternatively you could run the engine with the oil level about 1/4 inch below the minimum mark- it won't hurt the engine. If theres an improvement then you know the level is too high and points to the dipstick.
Hope this helps.
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Hi Robin,
do you really think this engine has had the wrong dipstick fitted for the last 89 thousand miles?
Full to empty on a dipstick is typically 1 litre. Every 200 miles.
CMark
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I had a 91 820i. The oil consumption went up enormously accoupanied by a buring oil smell. Traced it to a crankcase breather pipe (I guess) just above the sump at the back of the engine which had come off. Oil went straight on to the exhaust. Probably not the problem, but worth checking.
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The Crankcase breather system will be the culprit - the maze of pipes and valves on the back of the engine will probably be choked.
Removal and cleaning/repair/replacement of the various 'bits' will be the only option, I'm afraid.
MG-Rover Problems? forums.mg-rover.org
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Anything is possible!!! Whoever suspects a dipstick as being wrong. 200 miles per pint is excessive and as some have said here, it could be a breather problem too. As you have shares in a multi national oil company, you could drain the oil and refill with the correct amount of oil and see how it goes (you could also check where the oil level is on the dipstick). What's it like when you start up from cold? does it smoke badly for about 2 mins then clear? if it does then the valve stem seals could be leaking letting oil run down past the valves into the engine.
Robin the Rover Engineer
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Dan,
For gods sake, get a compression check!!! It is the only way to make sure what is going on inside your engine.
I cant believe that guy about the dipstick, did you really work at Cowley??? I cannot also believe that wrong dipstick were issued as what you are suggesting is a HUGE difference in oil level and pressure. I doubt the car would even fire up with such little oil in it, the ECU would not allow it.
I agree about the breather as a gunged oil seperator would certainly cause problems.
But you cannot take any advise like this without someone inspecting your car. You cannot speculate about these things, I know this very well!!!
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Yes... I did work at cowley for 15 years in problem analysis. The matter of the dipstick is factual and true. Surprisingly the vehicle will run with very little oil without the ECU stopping it from doing so. I only try to help people with their problems from my vast experiece of Rovers, but thats not to say this persons problem is this. It could be a multitude of things not even mentioned here. I suggested going for the cheapest tests to do first.
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Okay then, I will trust you on this matter. You dont know anything about the ZF4HP14 auto boxes fitted to the 820 do you? I have someone who's car works fine on short trips but if used on the motorway etc the box seems to "stick" in 3rd and wont change down on occasions.
Now I have been told that if he pulls over and looks at the dipstick of the auto, there is not a trace of fluid on it. When he puts it back in and pulls it out again, it is up to the correct mark. Also, the car now behaves fine until the next prolonged use in 3rd/4th.
Any suggestions?
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Thanks for placing your trust in me... I am a Rover Technician of many years standing and used to travel all over the world solving technical problems for Rover. As for the gearbox problem, my first suggestion is to completely drain it (overnight) and refill with the correct amount of oil - 2 Litres of Dexron II. Then you will be absolutely certain of the level. You may find the box will perform ok - some garages top them up with what's on the shelf and experice has taught me this sometimes causes problems. Hope this helps and let me know if it works
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Have already tried it my friend. Dropped the oil and replaced with Unipart DX. No joy! The gearbox actually started to give up on forward drive since so we dropped the whole box and replaced it from a donar 820. We stripped down the old box and it wasn't a pretty site. Metal paste! The valves on the valve pack were gunged too. Anyway thanks for your help Robin, maybe I can call on your services again sometime.
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Sorry to hear the gearbox was terminal. Trouble is, in my day as an apprentice in a Vauxhall garage, you not only drained the oil on each service with auto box's but had to remove the gearbox sump and clean the filter inside. Sadly that does not happen in this day and age. You are welcome to my advice and please feel free to call on my services again if you need to. I have an inordinate amount of Rover knowledge which I'm happy to pass on to people in trouble. I always recommend the easiest and cheapest fix first and go from there. Good luck with the new box!!!
These are the views of Robin the (Rover) Technician. I fix, therefore I am.....
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I suppose if you had a Vauxhall vectra diesel you wouldn't believe that 30 mins was required before a valid dipstick check was possible? But that too appears to be fact.
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How do you know I haven't got a Vauxhall Vectra Diesel? And yes I think some serious dipstick checks need to be carried out round here!!!
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