2005 Ford Duratec 1.8L burning oil

[BritishV6]

What can I do to reduce my Mondeos oil consumption habit?

It’s a 2005 model with the Duratec 1.8 petrol engine and I use 5W-30 as per the Ford handbook, unfortunately the valve stem seals and oil control rings in these cars have a reputation for being made out of cheese.

It occasionally smokes briefly on start-up, as well as under high RPM load.

It goes through between 250/500ml of oil every 300 miles (which is every week), as a consequence the bonnet is open frequently...even more so after a spirited drive.

The car is just a snotter and not worth more than shed money, so I am willing to experiment a little. I was thinking maybe I could switch to 5W-40, or try an oil additive that claims to free stuck piston rings?

 

[KrisZ]

If the piston rings are stuck, then really all you can do, aside from engine tear down, is piston soak.

There is lots of gibberish on this site claiming the cleaning powers of certain oils, but the fact of the matter is that most of it is just clever marketing that people seem to gobble up and repeat endlessly.

Sure, an experiment on your part would be nice to see, but you would have to come up with a plan, schedule and have a detailed log and an accurate oil consumption measuring method for this experiment to have any value.

If you just want to throw all sorts of oils at the car, then really I would go with some HDEO's and skip PCMO's altogether.

 

[Ramblejam]

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
There is lots of gibberish on this site claiming the cleaning powers of certain oils, but the fact of the matter is that most of it is just clever marketing that people seem to gobble up and repeat endlessly.


There's a fundamental lack of understanding on display here as to what certain oils can accomplish -- please refrain from spreading such misinformation.

Originally Posted By: BritishV6
I am willing to experiment a little.


Is your MOT test current?
Has PCV been checked?

 

[BritishV6]

I for one am certainly lacking in my understanding of oil (especially the jargon), so please keep that in mind

Yes MOT is current, you cannot legally drive without one. I have not checked the PCV because they are rarely a problem on these cars and because it takes many hours to get at it (inlet manifold and oil dipstick need to be removed first, more difficult than it sounds).

At the end of the day I have been chucking oil in it every weekend for the past 7 months, if I can reduce this without any detrimental effect on the engine then great (I can live with slightly increased emissions etc.).

 

[Ramblejam]

Here's my course of action:

http://www.performanceoilsltd.co.uk/amsoil_engine_transmission_flush.html

Then, drain & refill with:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/store...tegoryId_165581

Report back, let us know how it goes, and we'll adjust things from there.

 

[IndyIan]

Aren't high mileage oils supposed to help with the valve seals?
Try a one of those after the flush or whatever you do free the rings.

 

[Brons2]

I think the Xw40 in the first post is a good idea to stem consumption. They probably recommend that in Germany on the same car, anyway. It will probably make your mileage a little worse but that's better than chunking a quart in every 300 miles.

 

[andyd]

Go for a cheap 10w40.What is the compression psi? What do the plugs look like? Is it leaking? A qt every 300 miles is pretty fast. Drain the oil. Refill with diesel fuel. Over fill the crankcase until it comes out the fill. Wait as long as possible. Drain the diesel down to full sump on the dipstick. Let things settle. Remove plugs and turn over the engine for a few seconds to pump out the cylinders. Replace the plugs. Start the engine and let it idle for 5-10 minutes. No load Idle only. Drain , replace the filter, put in your choice of oil. This assumes that the rings were just gunked up , not worn to a frazzle.
Fords are deigned to be sold, not fixed
.

 

[tig1]

Need more info.

What oil have you been using?

What OCI?

How many miles on the engine?

 

[BritishV6]

Thanks for all of the replies.

The car has done over 104,000 miles (10k of which are my own), the consumption has not changed in this period.

Who knows what the previous owner was using, but I use Ford specification (WSS-M2C 913-C) Fuchs Titan fully synthetic 5W-30.

So is Amsoil engine flush the preferred tool of this forum, as opposed to Forte or Wynns? Also is there any reason to use 10W-40 over 5W-40? It’s still pretty cold here so the 5 may be a wiser choice.

For what it’s worth the cars handbook says both can be used instead of 5W-30 if necessary but it may result in longer cranking periods and increased emissions etc.

 

[bigt61]

10W-40 MaxLife blend is what I would recommend. Or whatever is similar to that on your side of the pond. It may take a while, but things should improve.

 

[Ramblejam]

Originally Posted By: BritishV6
Thanks for all of the replies.


You're most welcome. With that said -- stop wasting time, get the products listed in my post above, and start alleviating these issues.

Quickly:

In a Mondeo, 10w-40 is fine down to -20°C. It's relatively inexpensive, and appropriate for the application.
As for efficacy, the Amsoil product is superb.

 

[BritishV6]

Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Originally Posted By: BritishV6
Thanks for all of the replies.


You're most welcome. With that said -- stop wasting time, get the products listed in my post above, and start alleviating these issues.

Quickly:

In a Mondeo, 10w-40 is fine down to -20°C. It's relatively inexpensive, and appropriate for the application.
As for efficacy, the Amsoil product is superb.


Why thank you.

I'll report back in a few months, that'll be long enough to see if there is any difference.

 

[BritishV6]

Well it’s a fabulous 16 degrees here today so I thought I’d make the most of it and change the oil a couple of weeks early.

To recap it’s been 11,730 miles since I’ve last changed the oil (12,500 schedule) and filter although in that time it’s gone through 15 litres of oil top-ups! Before that I have no idea when the oil or filter was last changed…

I decided to try a detergent based engine flush which I left running for exactly 9 minutes, I then changed the filter and filled the car up with MaxLife 10W-40.

I’ve since been for a short drive but here are my observations (note not complaints or conclusions), keep in mind that there are two factors to consider here: the flush AND the thicker viscosity oil.

1. No change to the sound of the engine while the flush was in.

2. The oil that came out just looked like any other dirty oil after a change, maybe slightly runnier

3. After changing the oil and filter I started the car up and there was a rattle for a second or two, but it may be because I didn’t fill the filter with fresh oil beforehand…whoops.

4. Nothing seems out of place while the engine was running for a few minutes with the new oil, but revving the engine produced plenty of blue smoke from the exhaust

5. I went for a drive and the engine is definitely smoother, quieter and more responsive. I know people will say this is placebo but it really was a coarse dog before so it wasn’t hard to see an improvement

6. High revs produce an embarrassing cloud of blue smoke, but if I remember correctly it was the same the last time I changed the oil.

So there we have it, I’ll keep an eye on things on report back. I do about 60 miles a day so we’ll soon know if I killed it or cured it!

Here is a before and after picture through the oil filler cap but as you'll probably agree they look identical...

 

[Nickdfresh]

Originally Posted By: BritishV6
Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Originally Posted By: BritishV6
Thanks for all of the replies.


You're most welcome. With that said -- stop wasting time, get the products listed in my post above, and start alleviating these issues.

Quickly:

In a Mondeo, 10w-40 is fine down to -20°C. It's relatively inexpensive, and appropriate for the application.
As for efficacy, the Amsoil product is superb.


Why thank you.

I'll report back in a few months, that'll be long enough to see if there is any difference.


You could also try MaxLife 5W-40 syn, which isn't available over here, unfortunately...

LOL I see you went with the 10W-40 blend, which is a good choice. Maybe go with the 5W-40 in winter...

 

[BritishV6]

Ok the results are in and they have been counted and verified...

The car is smoother and more pleasant to drive, but it still consumes oil at quite a rate. Has it been reduced? I honestly don't know.

Fuel economy has dropped 3mpg on my last tank, but I'll need to keep at it to see if this was a one off.

Having left the car stood for a day and a bit I started it up and it knocked like mad for a second or two, I've never experienced anything like it. I wonder if this was low oil pressure for a second?

It only did it once and hasn't done it since. Anyway, was worth a shot. Cheers lads.