Vanishing Oil???

[petrov]

I have been losing oil in my Carina E 1.8 1996, and I have checked all the obvious things. There is no visible oil slick or stains on the engine at all, there is no "mayonnaise" in the oil filler cap or breather pipes, and there is no oil in the water or auto transmission fluid. The spark plugs are clean and dry, and there is no apparent blue smoke on acceleration or on the overrun. Where on earth is it going???? Can anyone help?

:(:(

[Evad]

I know this wont help much but I used to own a Honda (gasp) that burned oil so efficiently that it took mechanics months to figure it out.

You are probably burning it.

If you cannot find where it is going, then just keep topping it off - the problem will worsen over time and eventually show up.

[Johnny Boy]

When you say you are loosing oil, how much are you talking about?

[petrov]

I'm losing about a litre every four to five weeks depending on usage. To put it another way, the dipstick goes from normal halfway between full and empty to totally dry in about a month. I'm just using regular 15W40 mineral oil. Someone suggested that I use fully synthetic as a possible cure - I agree with Evad, it is probably burning it, and the catalyser is masking some of the smoke??

:o

[nocpan]

1. Donno about carina but my 1995 corolla recommends 5-30W oil

2. When driveing from Maryland to North Carolina(about 400~500miles) i was going 110mph for good 3 hours on and off when i returned home to NYC all my oil was gone, if you drive fast u burn oil

3. US doesn't have a 1996 carina, what engine is it? never vvti or still the 4/7afe??

cause vvti burn oil more since it uses it for timing... hence always keep a spare bottle in your trunk

4. is what oil are you using, don't go cheap, my car burns much less oil when i use good Mobil 1 synthetic oil...

[petrov]

Thanks nocpan,

My engine is the 1.8 liter 7A-FE. The oil I use is regular 15W-30 mineral.

How do you mean it uses it for timing??

;):)

[+Steve]

petrov.. does the manual recommend 15w-30?

Also you might be better off exchanging from mineral to part synthetic.

[petrov]

Thanks Steve, but I don't have a manual! Can anyone tell me what the proper oil should be? Or shall I just use Mobil 1?

;)

[carinaman]

My Carina is at 120,000+ miles at 5 years old on a 1.8 and does not burn any oil. I used to use oil from Toyota dealers, changed to Castrol GTX magnatec 5W-40 at about 35,000 miles and now I use Fully Synthetic oil, Triple R as used by Lotus - it is great and a lot cheaper than Mobil 1. The problem with Mobil 1 is that most shops stock a 4 litre container and you need 4.5 litres so you end up being ripped off by having to buy a 1 litre container and a four litre. I would avoid your 15W-30 oil as it is pretty low grade. Toyota recommend, from memory, 10W-40 I believe (but I may be wrong). By the way, the Triple R is 5W-40 not 0W-40 like Mobil 1. Warning: Synthetic oil can make a worn engine seep/leak more oil as it is thinner, but is generally much much better for the long life of your engine.:)

[TheNissanMan]

try beat the story from my garage 4.5 liters in 214 miles resulting in the blown engine, thats their offical answer now :)

[Steve Horgan]

My oil vanishing solution.

Strip the engine. There was a burnt valve that the lean burn disguised. Also one big end bearing 'ran'.

[p harra]

i am currently running a carina 1.6 1994 as a taxi. when bought feb 2002 showing 27k with full dealer history.discovered to my horror oil loss .done all the usual checks and nothing showed so ill just have to put up with it.now showing 51k - last service used an oil flush which seems to have reduced consumption from 3/4 litre per 1000 miles to approx 1/4 per 1000.this is going to be one interesting taxi experience as i would expect to add 36k each of the next 3 years at least