Hello,
Yet again, after a short-ish trip (about 190 miles there and back) which I did mostly at 75mph the oil has gone down!! I've noticed lately that with my 1.8i 16V Xantia that if I touch 4000rpm it starts drinking oil - not much but enough for the dipstick light to come on this morning! (Parked on the kerb which doesn't help - the light doesn't come on at work).
It used approx 300ml of Oil. Does it matter which oil I use? The oil I got from Citroen was Duckhams Semi-Synthetic 10W/50 which cost £7.
Also, I slightly tipped in too much oil so that it is now a little bit over the maximum mark - does this matter?
Cheers
Phillip.
Xantia Oil Usage
Moderator: RichardW
If its just a bit over the max mark then it doesnt matter to much. Has the engine got any serious oil leaks i.e. does it leave drops or puddles of oil on your drive or wherever the car is parked. If is hasnt then it must be burning the oil. Does the car put out any blue smoke.
However I must say that citroen state that 1 litre every 500 miles can be considered normal oil useage, but they would say that wouldnt they. Yours is 900ml per 600 miles
However I must say that citroen state that 1 litre every 500 miles can be considered normal oil useage, but they would say that wouldnt they. Yours is 900ml per 600 miles
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Hmm, within spec - yes. Acceptable on a 40K engine? Not in my book. My *2-stroke* bikes use less than that. On a 1.8 petrol of that mileage and age I'd be sad if I went from max to min in less than 5K
Are the breathers clear and are there any tell tail oil leaks around the engine (look at the bottom of the sump and try to follow any drips up).
Also - do you know what brand of oil was used at the last service? Some poor brands (not necessarily related to cost) get consumed very quickly in my experience. Andyspares/ GSF will sell you the correct oil for about a tenner for 5 litres. For what it's worth, in my ZX diesel I've changed from Comma mineral diesel to Duckhams QXR for diesels and then to Duckhams Fully Synthetic.
The QXR was the best for oil consumption, going from Max to Min in 4000 miles, when I changed it. The mineral and the fully synthetic both needed topping up after 3000 miles. I also felt that the engine ran best on the semi-synthetic (perhaps the fully synthetic was a bit thin at 0W40). I've also used the Quartz semi synthetic that GSF sells on petrol cars in the past, and that was a good all round oil - I only changed to Duckhams because I found a warehouse selling off both the QXR and the fully synthetic for £1.69 a litre! Needless to say, I bought it all so I'll not need to buy any more until 2008
Are the breathers clear and are there any tell tail oil leaks around the engine (look at the bottom of the sump and try to follow any drips up).
Also - do you know what brand of oil was used at the last service? Some poor brands (not necessarily related to cost) get consumed very quickly in my experience. Andyspares/ GSF will sell you the correct oil for about a tenner for 5 litres. For what it's worth, in my ZX diesel I've changed from Comma mineral diesel to Duckhams QXR for diesels and then to Duckhams Fully Synthetic.
The QXR was the best for oil consumption, going from Max to Min in 4000 miles, when I changed it. The mineral and the fully synthetic both needed topping up after 3000 miles. I also felt that the engine ran best on the semi-synthetic (perhaps the fully synthetic was a bit thin at 0W40). I've also used the Quartz semi synthetic that GSF sells on petrol cars in the past, and that was a good all round oil - I only changed to Duckhams because I found a warehouse selling off both the QXR and the fully synthetic for £1.69 a litre! Needless to say, I bought it all so I'll not need to buy any more until 2008
I second Arry's reflections on the oil type.
It's known that using "performance" oils other than spec'ed in your owner's manual - may cause all kinds of strange consumption.
Overfilling a tiny bit is of no concern - but never try to "anticipate" oil consumption by large overfilling - as an overfilled oil sump in severe cases could make the pistons smash down the oil surface - which indeed is a hammering effect at those speeds of motions.
It's known that using "performance" oils other than spec'ed in your owner's manual - may cause all kinds of strange consumption.
Overfilling a tiny bit is of no concern - but never try to "anticipate" oil consumption by large overfilling - as an overfilled oil sump in severe cases could make the pistons smash down the oil surface - which indeed is a hammering effect at those speeds of motions.
Off topic, but I have an 11 year old 2.7 V6 with 135k on the clock and she uses nothing at all between 3-5k changes when on mineral, and around half a litre when on semi/fully synthetic. [:)]
Can anyone say 'Honda engineering'? [;)]
All engines must use a degree of oil. On many modern engines, it is next to unnoticeable between services. Though manufacturers will claim that a litre per 500 or 1000 miles is acceptable, it isn't really.
Of course, this post has no real benefit to anyone. But I'm new to this forum and the Citroen scene in general, and my first post may as well be here [:)].
--Rich
Can anyone say 'Honda engineering'? [;)]
All engines must use a degree of oil. On many modern engines, it is next to unnoticeable between services. Though manufacturers will claim that a litre per 500 or 1000 miles is acceptable, it isn't really.
Of course, this post has no real benefit to anyone. But I'm new to this forum and the Citroen scene in general, and my first post may as well be here [:)].
--Rich