OIL BURN??

General E30 related discussions -
Please put technical questions in E30 Tech Help forum below

Moderator: martauto

User avatar
AndersLS
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 139
Joined: Sun May 08, 2005 11:00 pm

Post Thu Apr 20, 2006 7:07 pm

0.5l/10000 km...is this normal for a 325i/250k? my old 320i doesn´t burn any!!
pete320i
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 127
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2006 11:00 pm
Location: bedfordshire

Post Thu Apr 20, 2006 7:21 pm

hi, dont no if that is normal, but my 320i does not burn any. sorry could not help.
320i dolphin grey.
Jhonno
Homo Hair
Posts: 20362
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 11:00 pm
Location: FLAT, FLAT, FLAT!!

Post Thu Apr 20, 2006 7:30 pm

i'd say that was ok yeah.. new renaults are quoted (by the manufacturer/dealer) @1l per 5k or something ridiculous like that bein normal
Got cable ties? Get diffin..

Arch roller for hire.

www.zeroexhausts.co.uk

Image
Simon13
The longest resto in the world !
Posts: 22697
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 11:00 pm
Location: Camberley, Surrey don't u know

Post Thu Apr 20, 2006 7:31 pm

seems fine to me

some E46 330i's use a litre every 1000miles!
fuzzy
He who sleeps with "Gingers"
Posts: 14351
Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2005 11:00 pm
Location: melbourne Australia

Post Thu Apr 20, 2006 9:17 pm

a litre every 1000 miles? suddenly my cossie doesnt look so bad winkeye
Simon13
The longest resto in the world !
Posts: 22697
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 11:00 pm
Location: Camberley, Surrey don't u know

Post Thu Apr 20, 2006 11:00 pm

i've read and heard this from owners. BMW says it within their techincal spec

I mean M20's have an oil breather pipe from the rocker to the bloody throttle body so they are going to use some oil just from that!

S14's however have a oil condenser tank which feeds the oil back into the sump!

:mad:
wildeian
E30 Zone Regular
E30 Zone Regular
Posts: 851
Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 11:00 pm
Location: Colchester, Essex

Post Fri Apr 21, 2006 10:25 am

Handbook reads:

0.15 litre per 100km (250 miles per pint). Like fuel consumption, engine oil consumption depends on the way in which the car is driven and on operating conditions.@'
Morat
E30 Zone Team Member
E30 Zone Team Member
Posts: 8943
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2006 11:00 pm
Location: The Peoples Republic of Yorkshire

Post Fri Apr 21, 2006 11:34 am

Mine used about a litre in 4000 miles. I've been told that burning some oil is the price you pay for the longevity of these engines. If thats the case then I'm all for it.
E30 Touring 0.35 cD - more slippery than prison soap :)

Image
Praise the Lard... and pass the dripping!
bottlecapE30
E30 Zone Regular
E30 Zone Regular
Posts: 481
Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2005 11:00 pm
Location: Baltimore, MD USA

Post Sun Apr 23, 2006 4:13 am

my 2.7 would burn like mad then i changed to fram filter and cleaned all the intake and it doesn't burn a drop :D
Image
1987 2.7l e30 m20b27 supercharging
1991 3.5l e30 m30b35 it is dead so sad
1985 3.5l e23 m30b35
mrLEE30
E30 Zone Team Member
E30 Zone Team Member
Posts: 6589
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2005 11:00 pm
Location: Sweating buckets in Bahrain

Post Sun Apr 23, 2006 9:10 am

newer engines are designed to burn oil, mainly due to the bore coating and thats why they run with so much power and fuel economy, the gap between piston (ring) and bore is bigger allowing oil to lubricate it more thus less friction thus more power/better economy and this is why they burn oil. new Porsches burn silly amounts

older M20 engines are not designed this way, but burning oil is normal, excessive oil is not normal, but what counts as excessive is where people will disagree. both my E30's (320 and 325) use about a litre or so every couple thousand km, but there are bound to be a few leaks here and there so oil will be lost not as burnt but on your garage floor.

best bet is if there is excessive white smoke form the exhaust then its burning too much!

mrlee
Simon13
The longest resto in the world !
Posts: 22697
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 11:00 pm
Location: Camberley, Surrey don't u know

Post Sun Apr 23, 2006 9:23 am

white smoke is water! headgasket.

blue is too much fuel and black oil!

M20's leak oil out of every hole they can! My old sport lump used very little between oil changes. use to be about a litre for every 4,000 miles roughly.
mrLEE30
E30 Zone Team Member
E30 Zone Team Member
Posts: 6589
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2005 11:00 pm
Location: Sweating buckets in Bahrain

Post Sun Apr 23, 2006 3:31 pm

white smoke is definately oil!!! if you have ever seen a turbo go you will get the idea, oil into to inlet = lots of white smoke!!! white steamy smoke is water and can also be caused by condensation in the exhaust when climatic conditions are right (i.e a high reliative humidity), and as you said headgasket

black smoke and blue smoke are normally fuel issues, but again excessive a small amount under hard acceleration is normal on an older engine.

mrlee
wildeian
E30 Zone Regular
E30 Zone Regular
Posts: 851
Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2006 11:00 pm
Location: Colchester, Essex

Post Wed Apr 26, 2006 9:47 pm

I've gotta agree with MrLee there

My old M20 was burning oil excessively and it kicked out white smoke (sh!t loads if I stopped at traffic lights!)

But I also agree that blue smoke can be burning oil too, but not on a Beemer!! :mad:
Dan318-is
Married to the E30 Zone
Married to the E30 Zone
Posts: 8006
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2005 11:00 pm
Location: Surrey/London

Post Wed Apr 26, 2006 9:55 pm

my Is recently burnt 4/5 of a litre in 3000 miles!
Lordschleife
E30 Zone Squatter
E30 Zone Squatter
Posts: 1915
Joined: Sun Jan 09, 2005 11:00 pm
Location: Sunny Southsea

Post Wed Apr 26, 2006 10:13 pm

That sounds pretty similar to mine Dan, think I burned a litre or so in 4000miles maybe a bit less
However I do like to redline it once its warmed up :cool:
Cheers,
Robin

Image
Globulator
E30 Zone Regular
E30 Zone Regular
Posts: 389
Joined: Fri Sep 23, 2005 11:00 pm

Post Thu Apr 27, 2006 12:29 pm

Burning a small amount of oil creates a smoke of small particles - which will therefore look blue.

Burning a large amount of oil creates a smoke of big particles - which will therefore look white.
1986 325i 'vert, funk louder than standard.
"No Mr Bond, I expect you to tell me why your 4 litre, 282bhp sports car can't outrun some lardy old Mercs.."
Audio & electronic software: http://www.cutestudio.net