By measuring oil consumption, you can tell the engine’s health. Excessive engine oil burning is often the consequence of a more severe engine performance issue.
Normal oil consumption varies by car manufacturer
As a rule of thumb, passenger cars consume between 0.05 and 3dl of engine oil per 1000 km. Compared to their older counterparts, modern vehicles have lower maximum permitted oil consumption. It usually ranges from 0.05 % and 1%. For utility vehicles, the maximum permitted oil consumption is 0.25% to 0.3%.
- Improper or poor quality oil
Each engine requires the use of specific lubricant blends. Not respecting these specifications can damage your engine and result in higher oil consumption. Even using an oil with different viscosity will increase heat and friction causing engine damage.
- Irregular lubricant replacement.
You should always refer to the car owner’s manual for oil changing intervals. They are very essential for your engine’s health because over time, dirt and debris will accumulate and the motor oil starts to burn.
- Damaged Piston Rings.
Piston rings seal the gap between the piston and the cylinder wall. When they are damaged or worn out, they cause higher oil consumption.
The engine oil slowly passes through them and enters the internal combustion chamber. That causes te engine oil to burn while carbon deposits form on the piston rings
- Old engines
Over time, the engine components will start to deteriorate. That causes small leaks, meaning the engine will consume oil faster.
- worn seals or gaskets
seals and gaskets operate in high temperatures and hot fluids. Unsurprisingly, they get damaged over time causing engine oil leakages
In this case your engine will keep losing oil while you are driving .To avoid severe engine damage, you need to top off engine frequently
THE SYMPTOMS OF EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION
Here below a few symptoms to consider:
Blue smoke
Blue or gray smoke means that the engine oil has entered the combustion chamber and is burning away. The causes of blue smoke are multiple, including leaking piston ring, damaged cylinder walls and worn piston rings.
Low compression
A compression test informs you about the condition of engine components. The process requires the insertion of the compression tester into the cylinder and the engine should be hot since piston rings do not seal properly in low temperatures.
The optimal compression is over 100 psi per cylinder.
The variation between the highest and lowest readings should not be higher than 10%.
High carbon formation in the engine
Oil deposits can accumulate on the engine spark plugs or the bottom of the valves. That means the oil is entering the combustion chamber and burning away.
This is caused by using of inadequate engine oil and damaged piston rings.
Coolant deterioration
When the engine oil gets in touch with the cooling system, it causes coolant deterioration. Apart from excessive oil consumption the mixture of oil and coolant impacts heat transfer. It affects the coolant properties such as its color or clarity.
