Burning Oil???

[Derek Pulvino]

David,

I've always run dino oil in the car, albeit maybe not always the best 
viscosity for the temp range.  Right now running 10w-30.  Oil temps have 
always been the same, with the temp needle never getter past maybe 1/4 to 
1/3 from the left of the gauge (can't remember that temp at this point).

Yes Bernie, same story, different day.  I've hesitated on addressing the 
issue given the effort/money factor to accomplish said goal. Also heard that 
replacing the seals only does not always fix oil consumption problems.  
Aggravating the situation...older the car gets the less sense major work 
like this makes.  And like I'd mentioned...only times I ever see visible 
signs of oil burning is on start up and these three long term, traffic 
related idleing excercises.

Derek P

>
>Sounds like oil viscosity reduction due to heat as well.  didn't you just 
>switch to dino oil? What is the grade? Oil temps? Etc.
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Bernie Benz [mailto:b.benz at charter.net]
>Sent: Monday, October 02, 2006 4:40 PM
>To: Derek Pulvino
>Cc: 200q20V mailing list
>Subject: Re: Burning Oil???
>
>
>The same, years old problem, huh, Derek,
>
>Max. intake manifold vacuum occurs at idle and when using engine braking.
>Sounds like your condition, if you have the same results going down a long
>hill and then accelerating at the bottom. Bad intake valve stem seals thus
>will pass the most oil during these high vacuum conditions, to be burned
>when you open the throttle. Your valve guides may not be in terrible shape,
>not needing replacement, as they won¹t wear much with all that lube passing
>by.
>
>So on the cheap (knowing Derek), first just change the valve stem seals,
>which can be done with the head in place. You must pressurize the cyl that
>you are working on to keep the valves from dropping into the cylinder.
>Convert an old spark plug into a pressure supply. You will need to make (or
>borrow from me, I made one several years ago & never used yet) a valve
>spring compressor tool that attaches to the cam bearing cap bolt holes. 
>When
>you get the valve spring off the valve you can measure the valveŒs side 
>play
>within the guide, thus checking for wear.
>
>A good little DIY job for you!
>
>Regards, Bernie
>
> > From: "Derek Pulvino" <dbpulvino at hotmail.com>
> > Date: Mon, 02 Oct 2006 11:58:09 -0700
> > To: 200q20v at audifans.com
> > Subject: Burning Oil???
> >
> > Gang,
> >
> > Here's the newest skinny.  For a while I've suspected I need to replace 
>the
> > valve guides and seals as I'm seeing higher than normal oil consumption 
>(500
> > miles/quart) and get puffs of oil smoke on start up.  The other thing 
>I've
> > found is in those situations where I get stuck in traffic and wind up
> > idleing with very little movement (ie never move faster than 1st gear 
>idle)
> > for upwards up 15-minutes or so, when I finally do start moving the car
> > burns oil....very badly, embarassingly badly.  In fact, at those times, 
>so
> > bad is the smoke that the untrained eye may actually mistake the 200 for 
>an
> > 80's vintage Dodge Caravan.
> >
> > I've seen this situation (idle for long periods of time then drive with 
>bad,
> > bad, smoke) happen three times.  Talking to my local shop this morning 
>they
> > mentioned that if the seals/guides are bad, when you sit and idle for 
>that
> > long, excessive oil can accumulate within the combustion chamber leading 
>to
> > exactly what I've seen...lots of oil smoke out the back on acceleration, 
>or
> > more and more white smoke coming out the tailpipe the longer you idle.
> > Today after idleing and moving less than a 1/4-mile in a half hour, the 
>car
> > was burning oil while idleing, and then really burning oil once I got on 
>the
> > freeway, however once the oil cloud went away (about 3-miles later), it
> > didn't come back under any condition (heavy acceleration, idleing, 
>crusing
> > with or without foot on gas).
> >
> > Has anybody else heard of/experienced this situation?  Any other 
>suspects?
> > To my knowledge, the head gasket is fine.  No oil in the coolant 
>reservoir,
> > no moisture or foam on dipstick/filler cap.
> >
> > At this point I'm on the knifes edge between biting the bullet and 
>getting
> > the head redone, or biting the other bullet and getting a different car.
> > Reservations on head rebuild is the mileage of the vehicle (235k) with 
>the
> > potential for block/ring and/or turbo seal issues in the future, and of
> > course all the other oddities that plague the 200 (windows, lights, fuel
> > injectors, bomb, exhaust system...)
> >
> > Input/ideas?
> >
> > Derek P
>