My lupo is a motor oil sucker~ HELP~

[smallredlupo]

Hi All,

I have been troubled by this lately...

Even since I had my motor oil and oil filter changed, my lupo uses a lot motor oil.

I had the leaking checked - no leak at all.

What puzzles me the most is that... if I drive in urban area on a full tank of petrol, the oil level doesn't really drop too much.

But if I travel the same distance on a 60mph road, it uses about 1~1.5 litre oil per 200 miles.

And I was told that VW engines are desgined to use a lot of motor oil - is that true??

Where is the engine oil gone??

My lupo is a 1999 T reg... has it got anything to do with an old engine?

lupogirl

[Rich]

that's a LOT of oil to use.

the only explanation I can come up with if there's no external leakage is that the piston rings are on their way out but on a lupo unless it's done excessive mileage this shouldn't happen.

smoke from the exhaust?

[IanW]

Mine goes through some oil which i thought was a lot, but thats nothing compared to yours.. As rich pretty much said, is it burning it off?

[smallredlupo]

Thanks for you reply, Rich and IanW.

My Lupo has done just 38k miles. I think this is quite little considering it's an 8yr-old car.

I haven't noticed if there was any smoke coming out of the exhaust - at least I didn't see it.

And what's this "piston rings" thing? Can I have them checked? It sounds expensive...

It's wierd that it's using so much oil when traveling at high speed...

lupogirl

[sciroccotune]

Thanks for you reply, Rich and IanW.

My Lupo has done just 38k miles. I think this is quite little considering it's an 8yr-old car.

I haven't noticed if there was any smoke coming out of the exhaust - at least I didn't see it.

And what's this "piston rings" thing? Can I have them checked? It sounds expensive...

It's wierd that it's using so much oil when traveling at high speed...

lupogirl

shouldn't be using much oil at the millage tbh are you sure that the right viscosity (weight) of oil was used when it was changed. If a very low vis oil was used it will easily use it. Castrol list most lupos as needing 5w30 but you may even want to try a 10w40 semi synth if the right oil was used as its thicker.

[NOCK]

shouldn't be using much oil at the millage tbh are you sure that the right viscosity (weight) of oil was used when it was changed. If a very low vis oil was used it will easily use it. Castrol list most lupos as needing 5w30 but you may even want to try a 10w40 semi synth if the right oil was used as its thicker.

I use 5w30 in winter and 10w40 in summer.

NOCK

[IanW]

38k is nothing for an 8 year old car.

If it were the rings, it would be burning it. However it sounds like it isn't if there no blue smoke. Try and move up a grade in oil as suggested. See if it makes a difference. Have you checked inside your airbox to see how much oil is coming out of the breather filter?

Ian

[Jen]

ive read a few threads on here about sports using oil, but nothing really relating to older models?

hope you get it sorted

[smallredlupo]

hmmm...

well, I must admit I'm not a good mechanic, so could you kindly tell me what the airbox looks like and where it is in the engine compartment on a lupo?

I'll come back on what oil grade I'm using later cus I can't remember what it said on the motor oil bottle.

Many thanks,

lupogirl

38k is nothing for an 8 year old car.

If it were the rings, it would be burning it. However it sounds like it isn't if there no blue smoke. Try and move up a grade in oil as suggested. See if it makes a difference. Have you checked inside your airbox to see how much oil is coming out of the breather filter?

Ian

[RobG]

ive read a few threads on here about sports using oil, but nothing really relating to older models?

Yeah, i checked mine just recently, and it was below the min line, so I added more. I asked my mechanic about it, he said yeah, they do use a bit more than what you'd expect. He said 1 litre per 1500 miles wasn't classed as excessive by vw, even though he thought it was.

It does seem to be a hell of a lot compared to my pug, which hardly uses any between services

And yes, hope you get it sorted too.

[heartagram]

"He said 1 litre per 1500 miles wasn't classed as excessive by vw, even though he thought it was."

I also got a similar reply about mine. I though it was excessive!

[Dblock]

i though lupos are only ment to use 5-40w fully synth?

[smallredlupo]

Hi guys,

I just checked the motor oil I'm using... the bottle says 5w-40.

I rememer buying it cus the salesman said lupo runs on 5w-40 according to vw specifications - otherwise I wouldn't have a clue.

Nock mentioned a 5w30 and a 10w40, does it make any difference if I use them? (breaking the car doesn't count style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":lol:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" /> )

Can anyone help me with the airbox thing that IanW mentioned?

My lupo wasn't this greedy before I had the motor oil and filter changed a year ago...

lupogirl

i though lupos are only ment to use 5-40w fully synth?

[NOCK]

Hi guys,

I just checked the motor oil I'm using... the bottle says 5w-40.

I rememer buying it cus the salesman said lupo runs on 5w-40 according to vw specifications - otherwise I wouldn't have a clue.

Nock mentioned a 5w30 and a 10w40, does it make any difference if I use them? (breaking the car doesn't count style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":lol:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" /> )

Can anyone help me with the airbox thing that IanW mentioned?

My lupo wasn't this greedy before I had the motor oil and filter changed a year ago...

lupogirl

On the bottle it will have specifications which will be something like VW500.5. I can;t remember the exact specification as it has been a while but this specification will be in your Lupo hand book that, should have, come with the car. As long as the oil meets this specification you should be fine.

The grades of oil i.e. 5w30 etc are just how viscous the oil is at temperatures. The first number when cold and the second number when warm.

This is why when the weather is cold I use less viscous i.e. more 'runny' oil as this gets around the engine more quickly, and when the weather is warm I use higher viscosity oil so that the hot engine can't break the oil down.

Hope this has made some sense to you?

NOCK

P.S. 5w40 should be absolutely fine as long as it has the VW spec listed on it, what type of oil is it? As someone on here will know if it is suitable.

Edited June 9, 2007 by NOCK

[Dblock]

my oil is approved by bimma and porsche style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":lol:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" /> style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":bleh:" border="0" alt="bleh.gif" />

[smallredlupo]

Hi Guys,

I'm coming back with the most accurate info here now.

I checked the bottles of the motor oil again.

About a year ago, I bought a bottle of Castrol at Halfords, cus the salesman told me it's for Lupo according to VW specs on his "computer". Then I took it to my garage and had the engine oil and oil filter changed and filled up with the Castrol.

The specs of that Castrol are:

• SAE 5W-30, VW 504 00 / 507 00
  

I searched on the web and found that 504 and 507 standards replace the old 501, which is the spec to be used stated in my Lupo handbook.

Then last Christmas, I drove about 250 miles to Highlands and the engine oil light came on - I panicked and pulled my Lupo straight to the nearest garage.

When the mechanic pulled out the engine oil stick - there was no Castrol oil on it!?

The oil level dropped below to the point where the stick can't even reach... The mechanic topped up the oil for me (had no idea what spec of oil he put in)

Then I bought another bottle of engine oil off a shop close to the garage (again with the consultation with the salesman) in case I needed to top up again.

I'd never come across this brand... maybe some of you have..

The bottle prints "A1 Motor Stores", the specs are:

• API SJ (petrol engines)
  
• CF (diedel engines)
  
• MB 229.1
  
• ACEA A3
  
• ACEA B3
  
• VW 500.00, 502.00, 505.00
  

In April I drove 200 miles to York and back, before the journey I checked the engine oil was in the correct level.

When I came back after the journey, I had to top up about 0.5 ~ 1 litre of oil.

I've been topping up my lupo with this bottle of A1 Motor Stores since the trip to Highlands. The specs are sure different to the Castrol, but are they alright??

Hope the information helped.

lupogirl

Edited June 12, 2007 by smallredlupo

[NOCK]

VW 500 00 or VW 502 00 are the specifications from the manual so that oil should be okay. It might be rubbish oil that you bought but even if it is, it shouldn't go that quickly. Do you ever drive the car hard whilst its cold? And do you drive the car hard a lot if at all?

NOCK

Edited June 12, 2007 by NOCK

[smallredlupo]

I always drive the car as gently as possible to save the fuel consumption.

The thing is it doesn't use that much motor oil in urban areas.

The drop in motor oil level is hardly noticeable when it runs 200 miles in urban area.

But it can use up to a litre when traveling 200 miles on 60mph roads.

lupogirl

VW 500 00 or VW 502 00 are the specifications from the manual so that oil should be okay. It might be rubbish oil that you bought but even if it is, it shouldn't go that quickly. Do you ever drive the car hard whilst its cold? And do you drive the car hard a lot if at all?

NOCK

[NOCK]

Might be that your engine has got used to being driven 'nice' try caning it to about 4/5K a few times in the first 3 gears. This might solve your problem.

The reason I say this is, when I first got my car it drove nice but not brilliantly-my dad wasn't sure I had bought a very good car, but I liked it and the fuel consumption was decent.

After 'opening it up' i.e. 50/60 mph in third gear, it now drives a lot better; when my dad drove it the other day he actually commented on how he thought I must have been driving it well because it drives better nowadays. It actually feels like it's more powerful (even though whether it is or not is questionable).

I get slightly better fuel consumption when driving nicely now-even with 2 subs and an amp in the boot.

My car has not been modified in any way shape or form.

Hope this helps.

NOCK

P.S. I don't thrape the car and most certainly do not race or anything like that. My oil level has only dropped to the half way mark (on th dip-stick) in the 6 months I have owned it, covering about 4000 miles.

Edited June 12, 2007 by NOCK

[smallredlupo]

Might be that your engine has got used to being driven 'nice' try caning it to about 4/5K a few times in the first 3 gears. This might solve your problem.

I don't understand how reving the engine in the first 3 gears might solve the problem.

I also have a fautly thermometer on the dash which reads 0 most of the time - even when driving on highway after a couple of hours. Details of the faulty thermometer can be found in my other post here.

Anyone suggest faulty thermometer and crazy motor oil consumption have any connenction?

Many thanks in advance!

lupogirl

[NOCK]

I don't understand how reving the engine in the first 3 gears might solve the problem.

By making it work fast it might disturb any $hite that there is in your engine as it'll vibrate more. Just try it, what have you got to lose? (Apart from about 50p worth of petrol)

NOCK

Edited June 12, 2007 by NOCK

[Silver!]

As you don't seem to be leaking oil and you don't seem to be burning it, you could assume your engine is OK.

As other have said, the Lupo is a bit of an oil user, so I would do an oil service, inc. filter and put a good quality oil in (VW OEM would be a good starting point).

At the same time get your temp. sender sorted out and monitor it from there. If your engine is running hoter than normal, you could be using more oil.

My Arosa 1.0 hardly uses any oil, though to be fair it has only done 6k in 2 years, but still gets serviced by the book.

Sounds stupid, but I've seen it before: Do you have the correct dip stick? As if you don't you may not be putting the correct amount of oil in it in the first place.

Someone I knew in a previous life got a replcement dipstick from a scrapyard, but didn't think about the possible difference between dipsticks for engine varients in the same car.

Good luck

Ray

[Rosse]

You should change your oil as soon as possible, as you are now using 2 completely different oils together. Lateron, you should use the same oil to top of if necessary. This site can help you find out which spec oil to use: http://zandbak.unstable.be/~dieter/VAG/vw_oilspecs.html

As you have a 4 cylinder, non longlife car, you can use these specs:

VW 501.01: too old, use something better

VW 502.00: good petrol spec

VW 503.01: Best petrol spec, used in audi RS4 and S3

VW 504.00: new low-SAPS oil, too expensive, and very low viscosity, will burn very fast in your loop (as you noticed)

So search for an oil that says VW 502.00 or VW 503.01 on it, preferably VW 502.00 as it has a little higher viscosity rating.

About the oil consumption on the highway vs city driving, you should also consider a thing called condensation. When you drive short distances only, a lot of water condenses in the engine, mixing with the engine oil (this is a fact). So it is possible it seems like your engine is not using oil when driving short distances, as the condensed water compensates the used oil. When you drive a long distance, the water starts to evaporate from the oil, resulting in a low oil level. This way, it looks like it is only consuming oil when driving long distances, while actually, it is always consuming oil.

[smallredlupo]

Wow~ that's a lot of things I didn't know about, Rosse, but even if it's using oil all the time, isn't it using way too much?

Before I move on, I'd just like to say in reply to Silver's comment that the oil dipstick is the original one.

I went to Halfords yesterday in search of new motor oil...

According to the Halfords booklet and Castrol website, lupo 1.4i should use 5W-30.

And there were three 5w-30s (excluding the Halfords brand) in store:

*Castrol Edge 5W30 4Litre (as recommended for lupo 1.4i on Castrol website) @ £42.99

VW 504 00/507 00

*Castrol Magnatec 5W30 4L @ £26.99

*Mobil 1 ESP 5W/30 4L @ £44.99

Apart from Castrol Edge 5W30, I couldn't find the specs on the other two.

And, I didn't manage to find a VW502.00 or VW503.01 that's also 5W30.

If Rosse is right, buying Castrol Edge is just like burning very fast in my pocket.

I'm confused... which one should I go for? Prices also vary...

I also remember, not long after I had my oil changed a year ago, resetting the on-board computer after I kept stalling because of very low idling rpm (about 200 rpm).

Now the idling rpm is back to normal, about 1000rpm when starting up the engine and about 500~750rpm after driving a few minutes.

I wonder if the resetting had anything to do with the crazy oil consumption - but again resetting it to factory settings shouldn't do this, should it?

By the way, I found there's some oily fluid close all four ignition leads (if they are ignition leads). I don't know how to describe it.

You'll know what I mean by looking at the pics... Is this normal?

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Thanks,

lupogirl

Edited June 19, 2007 by smallredlupo

[Silver!]

Possibly your rocker cover seal.

R