[slowsierra]

i have a sierra with a baleno engine in it but it alway seems to use a heap of oil. what can i do to identify where i am losing the oil. i have checked for any signs of milky stuff in the radiator and engine, oil leaks, and is not blowing any smoke. where could i be losing it.

[royce]

How much oil? usually leaks are the worst culprit but easy to see but you need to burn a lot to see it while driving

Check your plugs to see if they are shiny and black, inside the exhaust manifold can show up burning oil too.

[slowsierra]

how much oil? well i checked/ topped up oil before i left home (slacks creek) to the full mark on the dip stick. then drove to rover park camped there for a couple of days then drove back and it wouldnt show anything on the dipstick. just topped it up with about 2L half full on dipstick

[slowsierra]

just checked the plug they are black not really shiny more of a matt black. plag 3 had a tiny bit of oil around it

[Built4thrashing]

Rings are shot.

[slowsierra]

if the rings were shot would it not be really smokey???? it doesnt seam to blow any smoke really. what about valve stem seals???

[royce]

could be both really, can you get someone to follow you to see if there is any smoke?

what oil do you use? when you change the oil and put the correct amount in does it read full on the dipstick? if the dipstick is making the level to high youll burn it all up

[slowsierra]

i am using castrol gtx 2 oil. how much should the 1.6 baleno engine hold till it says full???

[zukmeista]

slowsierra wrote:

i am using castrol gtx 2 oil.

Yes but what grade is it, i.e. 10w-40?

[royce]

gtx 2 is 20-50 and not super resiliant

4.5l form empty including filter IIRC

[tanshi]

mine holds just under six, but i have a sierra sump grafted on to it so it holds a little more than standard.

[royce]

did you make it deeper cause sierra is a smaller sump

[tanshi]

the one i had was a smaller sump than the sierra one.

we grafted the space for the crank sensor into the front.

[slowsierra]

tanshi wrote:

the one i had was a smaller sump than the sierra one.

we grafted the space for the crank sensor into the front.

i also have the sierra sump with the crank sensor grafted on. what dip stick are you using mine is the standard baleno one i think that may be the problem. i will drop out the oil in it and see how litres full is.

[fordem]

slowsierra wrote:

if the rings were shot would it not be really smokey???? it doesnt seam to blow any smoke really. what about valve stem seals???

I had a 1.3 SOHC 8v in a Swift, ridiculously low on compression & power, and burned a fair bit of oil - the plugs were never black, and there was never more than merest puff of smoke when you shifted gears - you had to be driving behind the Swift and looking out for it to notice it.

A compression check might shed more light, but, it is possible for an engine to have good compression and still burn oil past the rings - if it has been lying for awhile, long enough for the oil rings to bind & stick.