2008 MS3 oil consumption, HELP, read all threads, sell?

Hi all and thanks for any input.
I have read all posts that I can find on oil usage and I know it is not uncommon but trying to slow mine down.
2008 MS3, bought new in 2008, 193,000 miles on her, love my car!
Noticed last year oil consumption to the tune of about 1 qt per 400 miles or so.
Car runs perfect and strong, no smoke from tailpipe, no leaks. Just replaced all 4 sparkplugs, all 4 coil packs, replaced PCV valve with OEM, last year had timing chain replaced.
Recently had compression check, all 4 cylinders 185psi.
Leak down test performed, Cyl 1 10%, Cyl 2 20%, Cyl 3 31%, Cyl 4 19%
Yesterday replaced Banjo bolt with Dramond motorports bolt with smaller hole
Yesterday ran BG PN109 Enginer Restorer additive right before oil change.
I hope the BG and banjo bolt will help but not counting on it.

Any help? Don't really want to go catch can route. Just trying to slow oil consumption down.
Car runs so great, I hate to get rid if it but don't want to put a quart in every 400 miles!!

Thanks in advance,

Jeff

 

Check for oil leaks on the engine and with turbo.

 

HI Raider thanks for the quick response! '
Engine and turbo has been checked no leaks anywhere. That is why it is so frustrating! Maybe cylinder #3 is burning it and just not enough to see smoke? Seems like if it was burning a quart every 400 miles I would see a freight train behind me!

 

Have you removed the intercooler to look for oil? A quart is a LOT. It is somewhere.

 

Good morning Raider thanks.

Yes intercooler has been removed 3 times, once to replace plugs/coil packs, once to do compression and leak down tests, and I took it off again 2 days ago to install the Banjo bolt, no oil in the intercooler and pipes that hook to intercooler look dry.
I am going to monitor the consumption after this BG treatment and the install of the Damond Motorsports banjo bolt but I am not optimistic that it will help but I sure hope so.
I could take it to the stealer to diagnose but not sure what they will do that we haven't already done! Attached is a pic of the compression and % leak down writtten on the engine.
Any other ideas?

Thanks!

Jeff

 

if you are burning that much you should be able to smell it in the exhaust.

where do you park? is it an apartment parking lot? to rule out or find a leak, get a big piece of cardboard that you can put under the engine for a few days to check for drips, if you park outside you might need to put the tires on the cardboard to hold it in place.

your pcv valve could be stuck, but you would see oil in the intake if that were the case.

what weight oil are you using. at that mileage if the car is burning it is time to switch to a heavier oil

 

Thanks Easter Bunny!

PCV valve is new changed it a month or two ago first thing I tried. It was shot but is brand new now. No leaks at all exept for a small drip at shifter linkage at tranny. I have already put cardboard under it here at work and been under there with car on my Quickjacks.

I have always used Castrol Syntech 5W30 (not synthetic). This last oil change 2 days ago I ran the BG PN109 Engine Restorer additive in the engine and then put Mobil 1, 5W30 full synthetic in it. I will see what happens.

So you think switching weights of oils will help? If so what weight would you go to from the 5W30 that Mazda recommends. I live in NC so summtertime gets up to 90's and wintertime gets to 20's on cold mornings.

I could take the car to the dealer for diagnosis but I don't know what else they could do that we haven't already done. I just want to get the consumption to slow down so I can keep the car, it runs so good! But I don't want to have to worry about putting a quart in every 300-400 miles, I would sell it before I have to do that.

 

i have only run 10w-30 in my car from new.

dont waste your money on mobil 1, its not a bad oil but it is a conventional/synthetic blend not actually full synthetic. you are paying for quality marketing not quality oil, dont change the oil for just this as it would be a waste

dont run heavier oil unless you can confirm or at least strongly suspect that you are burning oil (which given the diagnostics you have done seems likely) you really should be able to smell burning oil from the exhaust if you are burning that much. you may need to have someone drive behind you with the windows down to catch it under load.

i would go to 10w-40

different car but i had a 74 cutlass that my father was putting 10w-30 in, it was using about 1/2 quart per 1000 miles. i upped it to 10w-40 and the oil consumption dropped to less than 1/2 quart per 5000 miles.

i doubt that the dealer will be of much help.

 

Unrelated, but do you think a move from 5w40 to 10w40 is worth it on a built motor?

 

I wouldn't run 5w anything. It's only that thin for emissions. Ultimately it depends on the tolerances that the motor was built to for what oil you should run

 

EB can you elaborate on why you feel this way? Everything I've read over on BITOG forums basically says that the first number is the weight at which the oil acts when cold and the second number is at operating temp.

So for someone who lives in a place where the car will see cold temps you actually want an oil that will exhibit better flow characteristics on a cold start up. My understanding is that a 0w will outperform a 10w in this situation.

 

You are correct in your understanding but a few points

Emissions is the reason the oil is that thin as the "cold number" as it is easier to make the motor spin with thinner oil. Ever try starting a lawnmower with straight 40 on a cold day? It's the consistency of maple syrup that's been stored in the fridge

My thoughts around oil consumption are oil use is typically associated with higher engine wear. Higher engine wear can also be considered the tolerances loosening through use. So looser tolerances mean you can safely run a heavier oil especially at startup.

Startup is where the most oil consumption will happen on a functional but worn motor.

My first car burned about half a quart per 1000 miles when I got my license in highschool where I drove exclusively short trips. No changes same oil when I went to college and my driving became pretty much only long trip to and from on holidays the oil consumption basically went away

Lastly oem spec is 5w-30 jumping to 10w-30 isn't much

If you live in a really cold climate you could have summer and winter weights

 

Ok I see your point about oil consumption.

Would you agree that running an oil that exhibits better flow characteristics on cold startup is better for wear overall?

I'm currently running a 0W40 oil on my built motor because 5w30 PP wasn't maintaing an oil pressure I was comfortable with at higher temps. Switched over to Amsoil Signature 0-40 and my oil pressure is back in spec. Made myself nuts trying to find an oil that addressed LSPI and met the Dexos standards in a 40wt too, but that's a whole other story.

 

I would say that a multi-weight oil that is thinner when cold is better for engine wear on startup but there are many variables.....

What weight is best based on the tolerances that the motor was built to

How fast does the motor get the oil to a decent temp that it flows well at a higher weight

What is the use case for the car if it's a low speed grocery getter startup wear is going to be more important. If its a weekend car that gets driven hard then the high speed wear is going to be more important

Unrelated but what oil were you running originally that wasn't maintaining pressure and what temps are we talking. Did you try other brands in the same weight?

Fwiw if it were me and I was big turbo built motor I would run 40 weight at a minimum due to the higher load being put on the lubricated parts

You also have two kinds of wear. Cylinder and piston rings wear vs bearing wear to consider and decide which is more important to address

 

It was Penz Platinum 5W-30, I ran that oil the entire life of my OEM motor. I had it in the car when I was tuning the S2 on the built motor at Damond on their Dyno.

We saw some single digit oil pressures at idle after a pull, oil temps were in the 220s. Matt had Will bump my idle to get through the tuning session. After than I went to 40wt oil and went back to 850 idle I saw a 7-8 psi increase in oil pressure at idle at the same temps. Also my oil pressure is now within spec per the factory service manual requirements.

I kind of went off the deep end wanting to find an oil that met requirements for LSPI and the Dexos standards that are favorable for the MZR. Well none of the 40wts are certified for any of those standards and it makes sense because the euro cars don't really have any of those issues. I settled on Amsoil because they claim according to their testing that they exceed all those standards. It's probably overkill but at least I know I have a quality oil in the car.

 

Amsoil has a good rep. It's all I have ever run I'm my car though I use 10w-30 euro something or another