[Che]

I've gotta say the ol' Sierra munches more oil than any other car i'm driven before... what sort of consumption should I expect over, say - 5000Kms? I seem to be topping up at a rate of about a litre a month since I bought the car, driving about 500kms a week in it...

Maybe it's the 200K on the clock speaking, but just seems a little oil hungry considering my engine compression is still very good.

How much oil do others go though?

[v.w.dave]

that is a lot I drive the life out of mine and I have only topped mine up mabey 200ml over 5000ks
Is it blowing smoke??? it is common for the valve seals leak and in some cases they blow through rings.

[Che]

Nothing that i'm noticing, not dropping any oil either. I should note that i've only owned the car 3 or 4 months and done about 6000K's. I've gone through near a container of oil in a first-up service, I bought another 5L of oil on standby, just in case - i've since almost gone through 4L of that container after noticing the oil was waaay low!!, and have now got another one just in case... again.

Been using Nulon 'High Kilometer' oil... i've forgotten the viscosity for now, but perfectly suited to the cars engine. Maybe all the highway driving i'm doing? I can't figure.

[MacDaddy]

That is ALOT of oil !

If its not burning the oil, you must have a big leak somewhere... have a look around and under the engine, and also see if the gearbox has oil on it... there is only 2 ways the oil can get out, an oil leak, or burning the oil... either way its gonna cost money to fix... and one will cost alot of money...

[hutch]

I too have found my sierra ( Vitara motor) uses way more than I am used to. My diesel Patrol uses zero between services (5000kms). But this motor uses about 250ml between sevices (7000kms).

Idont have any leaks, so I am assuming it is just burning it. I am using a heavy Penright oil too.

What oil type are you using?
I would asume if you cant see any leakage it must be burning it.
check the exhaust is it black or grey?

[alien]

mines used about 200ml if that over 7000km... its a full reco 1.6, and its its first 7000km. the 1.6 previous to that was sloppy as and was burning oil at a rate of about 1L per 1000km! haha

[SuziBlu]

I use Mobile 1 0w30 and no usage, except for where im slak and have not replaced the Oring on the dizzy. bout 260k

[lordfury007]

My old car used to go through oil like that (well, not quite a litre a month, but wasn't too far off that), I was pretty new to cars at the time and it didn't really strike me as bad, until the engine started rattling and the RAC guy told me that the "death rattle" meant the engine needed replacing... running for too long on not enough oil (you would have thought the engine oil light would have been on more often, but it seems the engine oil light only comes on when you're really really low on oil

I think that was caused by busted piston rings from memory... it was quite a while ago now, and i knew a hell of a lot less about cars then also.

I'd start by trying a thicker oil (20W50 if not already - but thats what most "high kilometer" oils are), If you're burning oil then that should reduce the rate of it, and then i'd suggest keeping an eye on it and still looking for where its going if you still have problems

[foonji]

Mine goes through a bit, But i'm certain that the sump gasket is leaking..

[matty_wall]

My g16a loses about a litre every 5000-6000 kms
I run 20w50 penrite. I've noticed it's been better
since I switched to this grade of oil. Which is fine with me
as that uses exactly a container of oil. Lol

[zookprojectfnq]

If your engine is chewing a bit of oil. Before you rebuild it. Put a new filter and cheap oil in it. Put a whole bottle of nulon engine oil flush in. run for 30 mins at high idle. Drop the oil. you will notice it black and sludgy like.
repeat again. Then put a 20 -50 sae oil in it with some nulon oil consumption additive. This will dramatically reduce your coil consumption.
I found mine chewed a fair bit of oil as the previous owners didnt change the oil very often. You will find that the oil rings are gummed up and not working.
This is not a permanat solution but make it manageable till you save up and rip the engine out for a 1.6 injected motor

This could be a cheap solution for you

[MacDaddy]

The only time my old 89 Vit lost oil, was when the rocker cover gasket needed replacing, when that was done it didnt loose or burn any noticeable amount of oil... 5L of oil in, 5L of oil out when oil was changed...