'engine worn out'

catoutthebag

I bought a 17yr old mk4 golf a couple months back. It's about 100 on clock and with service history and 1 advisory last mot.

It's vaguely a foray into bangernomics. .cost between 500 and 1000.

So what I've noticed

- oil light came on Monday. I put 0.5 l in since it seemed empty
- engine screeches when I turn ignition 1 in 5 times.

I got cambelt and water pump (pump was about to crack as he showed me so was pretty lucky) changed and he said alternator belt was heavily worn so added that for £15.

He said oil was very low and put anther 1 to 1.5l in.

He said sometimes it smokes and 'engine is worn out' and will look into it properly to check the. ..... (can't remember) when he dies a medium service at some point.

So it seems maybe not as well looked after as j thought

Or

An engine will be tired after nearly 20 years.

With this extra expense it is a bit annoying.

How can I help look after or reverse this worn engine or do something to prolong the life of the vehicle apart from regular fluid check and servicing?

Car itself starts first time and runs fine or various long journeys to work. It is a petrol.

Thanks

bazster

The intermittent screeching sounds like a starter solenoid problem (not engaging the starter properly). Not serious but needs fixing before gears get stripped!

Possibly the oil was very low and it needed topping up with a couple of litres. If it were using that much oil it's gotta be going somewhere. Puddle on the floor? Mayonnaise in the coolant? Blue smoke?

A clapped-out engine will not smoke "sometimes", it will smoke all the time! Have you seen smoke?

Engine will not be clapped out at 100k if it's had frequent oil and filter changes throughout its life.

Whatever happens it's not worth spending much money on. If it is smoking or burning oil stick some STP in, the alternative is an engine rebuild and it's just not worth it.

motorguy

catoutthebag wrote: »

I bought a 17yr old mk4 golf a couple months back. It's about 100 on clock and with service history and 1 advisory last mot.

It's vaguely a foray into bangernomics. .cost between 500 and 1000.

So what I've noticed

- oil light came on Monday. I put 0.5 l in since it seemed empty
- engine screeches when I turn ignition 1 in 5 times.

I got cambelt and water pump (pump was about to crack as he showed me so was pretty lucky) changed and he said alternator belt was heavily worn so added that for £15.

He said oil was very low and put anther 1 to 1.5l in.

He said sometimes it smokes and 'engine is worn out' and will look into it properly to check the. ..... (can't remember) when he dies a medium service at some point.

So it seems maybe not as well looked after as j thought

Or

An engine will be tired after nearly 20 years.

With this extra expense it is a bit annoying.

How can I help look after or reverse this worn engine or do something to prolong the life of the vehicle apart from regular fluid check and servicing?

Car itself starts first time and runs fine or various long journeys to work. It is a petrol.

Thanks

Sounds like the car was low on oil. Keep an eye on the dipstick and make sure it stays close to max (but not over it). Dont waint for the oil light to come. That is really bad for it. :eek:

Old engines burn some oil. End of. Just keep topping it up. You can add a Slick 50 treatment in to the oil with a fresh service and that will help prevent further wear, but i'd just keep topping it up.

The "screaching" one time in five sounds like the starter motor not the engine.

motorguy

bazster wrote: »

A clapped-out engine will not smoke "sometimes", it will smoke all the time! Have you seen smoke?

It will smoke heavily under hard acceleration due to oil getting past the bores, you may not otherwise notice it.

colino

Or, it could be getting sucked through the inlet valve seals or a whole load of other problems. However its yours, you've caught up on a bit of maintenance so keep an eye on it, make absolutely sure there are no daft, simple oil leaks, make a point of checking the oil much more frequently than just once a week and with any luck it will serve you well.

Retrogamer

If a car is driven on low oil then the engine will start to wear out rapidly.
If the oil light came on and you put in 0.5l this usually wouldn't be enough. most engines in car's i've had hold over 4 litres. I only had one where the oil light came on and it took a lot more than half a litre to get it back to normal level.

It depends on how it's been driven previously as well in regards to mileage.

100k worth of town driving is going to see a lot more wear on the engine than 150k of motorway cruising for example.

WellKnownSid

+1 on checking for the obvious - leaks, fluid levels. Point is, it could go on for years like that and serve you well.

I once had a V70 with 150k on the clock. If you stalled it / stopped it just after cold starting it was hard to get re-started - a common problem with 5+ cylinders. Engine was worn - rich petrol mixture from the cold start washing the oil from the cylinder walls - lowered the compression on an already worn engine.

Now, I could have worried about this.

Instead I ran it for another 100,000 miles and then only got rid of it because I needed more seats. Just kept an eye on that oil level.

BeenThroughItAll

catoutthebag wrote: »

How can I help look after or reverse this worn engine...

Don't leave checking the oil until the 'your engine's being damaged' (oil pressure warning) light comes on in future?

parking_question_chap

Is the screech at start up just the common starter motor issue? Every Mk4 owner I know has had the same thing. Most dont bother fixing it and have had it for many years with no consequences. Its probably worn bearings, and will not impact anything else. Or it could just be build up of clutch dust. Either way no need to worry about it.

Dont worry about the engine, you have had the cam belt done and are aware you need to check oil levels. Its likely that the rest of the car will fall apart long before the engine.

Buddy of mine had 200k+ on a VW Bora that he hadnt serviced for years. Car was a wreck through general wear and tear but engine was sweet.

AdrianC

catoutthebag wrote: »

- oil light came on Monday. I put 0.5 l in since it seemed empty

That light tells you that there's no oil pressure - air is being pumped around instead of oil.

When you put half a litre in, did you check the dipstick afterwards? Had you checked the dipstick before...?

He said oil was very low and put anther 1 to 1.5l in.

...I guess not...

- engine screeches when I turn ignition 1 in 5 times.

When you say "turn ignition", do you mean when the starter motor's used? Probably just a tired starter. Not serious.

How can I help look after ... this worn engine

CHECK THE FLIPPIN' FLUID LEVELS REGULARLY!

Norman_Castle

catoutthebag wrote: »

I bought a 17yr old mk4 golf a couple months back. It's about 100 on clock and with service history and 1 advisory last mot.

It's vaguely a foray into bangernomics. .cost between 500 and 1000.

Its a vague price. Don't you know how much it cost?.