98 v70 non turbo burning and or leaking oil

Post by **98v70dad** » 08 Mar 2015, 09:01

The last few oil changes I've noticed the oil level is always about 1.5 to 1.75 quarts low. I put in 6.5 quarts usually and take out 4.5 plus the quarter of a quart in the old filter (4.75 total). The car has 125k miles on it so it may be leaking and burning oil though I don't see any obvious leaks or drips on the driveway. I do get a big cloud of smoke when I start up in the morning and it clears up after the engine is hot. No smoke on acceleration.

I suspect the valve stem seals. I have never replaced those on any car and really don't want to mess with them at this point because of the expensive tool required. I switched over to valvoline 10 W 30 high mileage oil this oil change .... might help a little.

Any other ideas for me? Thanks.

Post by **E Showell** » 08 Mar 2015, 09:31

As surprising as it may sound, I believe oil consumption on the order of 1 quart in 3,000 miles is considered "within specification" or so I have read on this site. I don't know where that specification is coming from, nor have I read it myself anywhere other than here.

Post by **98v70dad** » 08 Mar 2015, 10:01

E Showell wrote:As surprising as it may sound, I believe oil consumption on the order of 1 quart in 3,000 miles is considered "within specification" or so I have read on this site. I don't know where that specification is coming from, nor have I read it myself anywhere other than here.

I think I read that somewhere here also. I am not way out of spec but it's enough to be concerned about I think. My friends who drive BMWs tell me it's a characteristic of European cars. My buddy got over 300k out of his 5 series bmw and he said that it ate some oil.

One quart wouldn't concern me so much but around two quarts per change is something I need to do something about. It seems to drop to 4.5 quarts fairly quickly and then stay there which leads me to believe I have a leak...just not a big enough one to find. I also know I burn some every morning at start up. The cloud of smoke dissipates and goes away after I get the engine heated up.

Post by **erikv11** » 08 Mar 2015, 11:58

There's really nowhere for an oil leak to hide. If it is clean underneath then it's not leaking externally; check for cam seal leaks those can show up in weird places underneath but they eventually show up somewhere. My turbo cars all leak some oil around the turbo but the NAs I can get bone dry.

If you decide it is likely valve stem seals, consider this stuff https://www.amazon.com/ATP-AT-205-Re-Sea ... B000NVW1LM. As a rule I don't go for snake oil products but this post basically comes down to "what are the options other than changing the seals?" and there are only chemical ones (different oil, oil additives). JDS60R really knows his stuff and recommends the AT-205 quite highly, do some searches here if you are curious.

Post by **FLXC90** » 08 Mar 2015, 13:14

+1 on ATP-205, I used that on my 225k S70 after doing PCV job. too late for the cam seals, but the RMS slow seep and the cloud on start-up like OP describes are gone. I don't leave spots anymore! Good for the last 1500 miles to date. Getting ready to seafoam intake and then ATP my XC90 as well. As others mention, I don't go for Stop-Leak products that add goo to your fluid, but the idea behind plasticizers is cool. Also, because the seals are not feasible as a stand-alone job.

Post by **misha** » 08 Mar 2015, 20:27

If you have puffs of blue smoke just on start-ups and after prolonged idling,it means that engine is burning oil and that your valve stem seals are bad.
If blue smoke appears when you accelerate hard and not only after start-up and prolonged idling...piston rings may be bad.
1l or 1quart of oil per/1000km is the upper limit on burning oil on almost every car including our cars.

You should switch to 10w-40 semi-synth or high mileage oil and oil consumption should drop to almost nothing...with oil consumption you have now.

Of course...if pcv is bad and clogged,it can produce the same effect of the worn engine.

Post by **dosbricks** » 08 Mar 2015, 22:20

+1 for misha.

Switching to 10W40 should significantly reduce your oil consumption.

Post by **98v70dad** » 09 Mar 2015, 05:45

erikv11 wrote:There's really nowhere for an oil leak to hide. If it is clean underneath then it's not leaking externally; check for cam seal leaks those can show up in weird places underneath but they eventually show up somewhere. My turbo cars all leak some oil around the turbo but the NAs I can get bone dry.

If you decide it is likely valve stem seals, consider this stuff https://www.amazon.com/ATP-AT-205-Re-Sea ... B000NVW1LM. As a rule I don't go for snake oil products but this post basically comes down to "what are the options other than changing the seals?" and there are only chemical ones (different oil, oil additives). JDS60R really knows his stuff and recommends the AT-205 quite highly, do some searches here if you are curious.

True, there is nowhere for an external leak to hide. The car had reare cam seals leaking badly a few months ago and I replaced them. No more leaks from there. However, the leaks bathed that end of the engine in oil and now its hard to tell if I have anything else. I cleaned up what I could with degreaser and the end of the engine has remained clean but the remnants of the leak remain on the bottom of the car. The remaining oil from the cams seals on the undercarraige is dry so that helps a bit. I looked and didn't see anything obvious that is new. My old '96 Camry used to leak and it took me a long time to figure out where the leaks were coming from.

Post by **rspi** » 09 Mar 2015, 08:41

98v70dad wrote:The last few oil changes I've noticed the oil level is always about 1.5 to 1.75 quarts low.

I really don't mean to be rude but why do you let the oil level get more than a quart low between changes? Oil level should be checked weekly or at the least monthly. They sell oil by the quart so you don't have to wait till the oil change time to add some??? Especially if you think or know that the vehicle is loosing oil between changes???

Also, it is a good idea to check the level before you do the change, prior to draining the oil.

I usually use 10w-40, it has cut down on oil blowing by the valve stem seals. Other than destroying the cat, I don't see the need to tear the motor down to replace the valve stem seals.

As for the car smoking at start up, a puff at start should be the extent of it. If it is smoking oil longer than 3 seconds at start there is some other issue.

I promise you, it's a lot cheaper and less stressful to check and top off the oil monthly (or bi-weekly) than deal with replacing a car or dealing with a major repair decision. I have been milking a steering rack leak since I purchased my car 4 years ago. I add about 8 ozs of fluid to the system every 2 weeks. Has not gotten worse in 4 years but I keep it topped off.

Post by **rspi** » 09 Mar 2015, 08:51

Here is an observation that I have... I can top off the oil in my car in Cincinnati OH, drive 1,600 miles home and loose zero oil. Then drive around town here over a 45 day span, 1,200 miles and loose an entire quart of oil. So, these short cold start trips is causing my car to loose oil much faster than a constant long drive.