Ford Focus drinking oil

Brummygold

I have a 2002 Ford focus with approx 98k on the clock . When I first got the car a few years ago the oil level hardly moved but in the last few months it has started drinking oil and has got progressively worse.
I have checked under the car when parked and have seen no evidence of an oil leak. I checked the spark plug terminals and took each spark plug out and they were all oily at the top end. I have come to the conclusion the oil is being burned but I have not seen any smoke coming out of the exhaust when driving or idle.
Now the question is whether this is fixable, from my research so far the cause of this is either a leaky rocker cover gasket or worn piston rings. I have read the rocker cover gasket is an easy fix but i guess the piston rings are not.
I was just wondering if anybody has had the same problem and whether they fixed it or not?

cajef

If it was the rocker cover gasket you would see oil on the head and the plugs would not be oiled.

oldhand

Get a compression check done but it does sound like worn rings....

atrixblue.-MFR-.

oldhand wrote: »

Get a compression check done but it does sound like worn rings....

worn rings and no smoking?




OP, things to check: oil filler cap screw out the oil filler cap and look underneath it. is there just black oil or is there signs of white mayo type substances or white streaking in the oil also check for the same on the oil dipstick take it out look at the oil and look for the same.
then open the coolant expansion bottle (when cold) can you see oil blobs in the water?
If no then the OBVIOUS signs of headgasket failure is not present not to say there could be a HG issue, a sniff test would be better to see if high exhaust gasses measured in parts per million are present in the water bottle if this is the case then HG failure and no need for compression test and a sniff test is usually cheaper to have done in a garage than a compression test.


if no PPM sniff test is detected, then move onto a compression test, this will tell you what cylinder is low on compression, but wont tell you WHAT is causing it, only tell you cyl number 3 is lower on compression than 1,2, and 4 and this is where focus more on your diagnosis.


if a cylinder has low compression, then theres a leak in the cylinders air compression, this can be down to 2 things if the first sniff test procedure turned nothing up then theres a valve leak or piston ring leak, then next procedure I would under take is this a leak down test to see what one, a leak down test is like a compression test it uses the same pipe (slightly modified) but without the meter, you then detach the induction pipe form the airfilter box, and take out the dipstick, attach a air compressor line (same as those to use air tools) and through the pipe blow compressed air, if theres air coming out of the induction pipe at the top theres a valve leak and if theres air coming from the bottom out the dipstick pipe theres a air passing the piston rings air passing either or both, means theres a problem.


and this is what a garage should do to diagnose this type of issue without ripping the block apart and costs very little, hours labour or less with each procedure.


the oil loss can also be down to many other visual check you can perform but as I don't know whether you have the diesel or petrol, ill post the petrol visual checks first.


OIL breather pipes, hard to get to due to the shape of manifold being a curved desing, but try and get inbetween the engine and inside the injection manifold to inspect those breather pipes, they split over time and can cause some excess oil burning.


inspect the throttle, they gunk up oil residue cause starting issues like a long weak throw over when starting, wile that is off have a look to see how full the injection manifold is with oil it may not be burning but could be passing into the injection manifold oily residue is normal but thick engine oil isn't.


when was it serviced last and with what oil, zetec don't like generic oil or the wrong type of oil, they will burn through them and carbon builds under the valves and on the seats essentially preventing full closure of the valve or it will wear down the valve stem seals allowing oil to pass into the cylinders.


with oil loss with no visual presence of a leak its always bets to have a garage with the right tools have a look otherwise its a guess.

lighting_up_the_chalice

If you are sure it's not leaking, then it must be internal loss, probably burning. Easy checks first... Oil in the water and/or blocked crankcase breather. If this proves fruitless, having already been able to remove spark plugs, I'd get hold of a compression tester (less than £25 new) and carry out your own test. Remove ALL plugs before test and open throttle during. All cylinders should be roughly the same. Once you've carried out the test, repeat after dropping a small glug of engine oil into the cylinder being tested. If compression increases noticeably, it's probably rings. If it doesn't, it's probably valve stem oil seals. The former is a strip-down job, the latter is a head off job. Neither will be cheap to get done, but valve stem oil seals are within the realms of a DIY job and don't involve engine removal.

Fingers crossed for a blocked breather!

spacey2012

When was the oil last changed and was the viscosity correct, some old Fords do burn thin synthetic oils, they need a slightly thicker oil than most new cars, if a garage did it with one oil suits all, most say use 5w/30 fully synthetic, but if it is burning 10/40 may be a better option.

forgotmyname

Lots of people say their cars dont burn oil. If you sit behind them in a traffic queue with your windows open you will think otherwise.

Service history? How often do you change the oil and what do you use?

TrickyWicky

lighting_up_the_chalice wrote: »

If you are sure it's not leaking, then it must be internal loss, probably burning.

This.

It's quite possibly burning the oil and spitting it out of the exhaust via a knackered head gasket.

A duff HG is usually associated with mayo under the oil filler cap or oil in the coolant tank.

Strider590

spacey2012 wrote: »

When was the oil last changed and was the viscosity correct

^^ This

I remember 10-15 years ago, people seemed obsessed with running their cars on 0W40 engine oils, the result being hugely increased oil consumption, especially in cars made before the mid-80's. Even now, the wrong oil can make all the difference........

lesalanos

How much is "drinking oil"?

Brummygold

Thanks for the replies and advice.

I do not suspect headgasket failure as i have not seen any signs of mayo and the coolant is normal in colour. I have serviced the car myself every 12 months since I have had it using castrol magnatec 5w30 oil. The engine itself seems to be running fine with no noticeable loss of power and no overheating. The oil loss has been progressive from not having to top up at all to having to top up every couple of months and now every couple of weeks. So it looks like it will be best to buy a compression tester and follow the advice above to diagnose the problem.