Losing oil?

Hey guys,

Dont know if its been covered recently but i filled up my flander with oil about a month ago (did a big journey) now ive gone to check it yesterday and its bone dry?

Any help is great

Thanks

Freelander xei
1999 1.8

fubar3803 said:

Hey guys,

Dont know if its been covered recently but i filled up my flander with oil about a month ago (did a big journey) now ive gone to check it yesterday and its bone dry?

Any help is great

Thanks

Freelander xei
1999 1.8

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oil leak maybe. . . .

or incorrect filling?

or its being pumped out into the water?

is it the engine we are talking about here?

yeah sorry should have made it clear-no oil leak, none on the road, none in the engine bay. it is the engine im talking about aswell, as far as i'm aware im filling correctly-honestly putting oil in a car is basic 1 week checks.

racking my brain here guys-someone suggested maybe the scrapper rings?

Scrapper Rings? I think that mite be a Freudian slip. Possibly pushing oil past the Scraper rings but I think yu might notice the cloud of blue smoke behind yu - It ia also possible that the engine is pushing it out into the throttle body - a known problem, particularly on the KV6.

are you getting clouds of blue smoke? if not it is unlikely you are burning it.

Thanks for a speedy reply!

No blue smoke anywhere.

As suggested it could be going into the throttle housing?-what does this mean non-tech talk?

Many thanks

the throttle body is the modern equivalent of a carburettor - so it would still burn the oil, with associated blue smoke. I think yu need to be absolutely sure you are checking oil levels correctly and go over the engine with a fine toothcomb for leaks.

The Mad Hat Man said:

I think yu need to be absolutely sure you are checking oil levels correctly

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And also make sure you are checking at the right time. An engine that has just been switched off will have the oil all round the engine doing it's job and will therefore show a lot less oil on the dipstick than an engine that has been standing. Always check when the engine has been off a good while. I always check mine first thing on a Sunday morning before starting up.

Cheers

Rog

Thanks rog,

Yeah i thought that that when i first checked it, so left it a good couple of hours-went back bone dry?

Last option is to take it to landy HQ but i want to avoid this as it will cost a bomb

How about head gasket allowing oil into the cooling system? Is there mayonnaise (oily/watery sludge) in the expansion tank perhaps?

Well, one thing for sure, the missing oil has to be going somewhere!

I assume it's a petrol engine, so it could get through a fair bit of oil without leaving a visible blue trail. Our old Cooper "S" Minis could "use" a pint of oil every 50 to 100 miles on rallies without leaks or blue smoke.

Once again, it's time to use LOGIC.
There are only so many ways for oil in the sump to escape!

Your assignment (should you care to accept it) is to find out where.

Up past the pistons? If engine running fine, probably not. Check the 4 spark-plugs first. If it is burning oil they (one or more) would be carboned up all black and horrible , and not that nice clean dry gray look the Haynes manual shows for OK plugs.

Leaking out? Maybe, but more than 6 drips looks like an oil change gone wrong. You would surely notice .... have you gone under to look along the bottom of the bodyshell?

Gasket failure - oil into water? You'll spot this in the coolant. It will look like a mess of bad mayonnaise.

We all want to know what you have found out when you find it!

Meantime what I would do is to DRAIN the sump out. Catch the oil for re-use unless it is needing changed anyway. Now find out how much oil it takes for a "oil-change-without-filter" oil change. Measure that much oil and tip it in the hole on top of the engine. By the way, make sure the drain plug is replaced first. Go for a cup of tea or a beer. Ten minutes later pull the dipstick out and check where the oil level is at, now that YOU KNOW it is right.

You see, maybe the dip-stick is telling fibs for some reason! I have had it often enough. I think that's why they are called "dip-sticks" ....

CharlesY

Has someone, at some time fitted the dip stick from another vehicle, to replace a missing one? I've seen that before!

Well I agree with that which is one of the reasons for a drain it and tip in the right amount job, because then he would KNOW what level is right no matter what the stupid stick says.

He wants to be very careful not to over-fill the engine with oil because that can cause disastrous outcomes, quite apart from leaking into the clutch and thrills like that.

CharlesY

The amount of oil between the upper and lower mark on the dipstick is just over a litre.

The 1.8i engine does use a fair bit of oil (make sure its 10w40 semi synthetic or 5w40 fully synthetic)

As CharlesY said - check your plugs

a compression test will also show if your rings are knackered

Thanks guys-really helpful reply's

I will go away and carry out my mission with precise accuracy, i will be sure to report back in with my findings.

Definately no oil in the coolant, thats one of the first things i checked-hgf.

Stay tuned

Definately no oil in the coolant, thats one of the first things i checked-hgf.

I think the word for that is ..... Phew .... or in other words, T F for that!

CharlesY

The coolant does look a little dark but nothing like sludgy mayo as some have suggested

should this be a concern?

Not really.
It gets dirty eventually from a bit of rust, and some anti-freeze stuff is quite dark.

Question is, does it look OILY?

CharlesY

No not oily at all, just dark- I'm gonna go for the drain and start again option this weekend when ive got some time free.

To all that have helped-thanks you very much!