300 Miles(amended) / Litre(of engine oil that is)

[Corvr6 0]

My VR seems to be guzzling oil,I've not had it long so it might be the norm :?

There are no leaks or droplets of oil on the sump,I have noticed the odd puff of smoke occasionaly if I floor it about 3500-4000 revs,but only occasionally.

I'm sure I read somewhere that vw suggest 1000miles / Litre,I have estimated I'm getting 300miles / Litre.

Does anyone know how much oil it takes to fill from the Min to Max marker on the dipstick, :?: this would be easier and safer than using the gravy mixing jug (missus has a mean back hander). :)

[dazzyvr6 0]

that should be 1000km mine uses about the same,and my head really needs a rebuild,btw are all vr6 heads the same?

[Corvr6 0]

If its Kilometres then its not as bad as I 1st thought.

btw are all vr6 heads the same?

I would guess that they are the same,but would be worth confirming.

I would still be interested to know how much oil it takes to fill from the Min to Max marker on the dipstick,if anyone knows.

[dr_mat 0]

It says in the book, but I can't recall off the top of my head...

 

"I would still be interested to know how much oil it takes to fill from the Min to Max marker on the dipstick,if anyone knows"

[h100vw 0]

I am pretty sure it's a litre from min to max on the dipstick.

 

Gavin

[Kevin Bacon 5]

1 litre.

 

Capacity is 6 litres from dry.

 

Yes VR6 heads are the same, except the 24V one obviously.

 

Kev

[Corvr6 0]

Phew, thats not so bad then,panic over, thanks all :D

[Joe M 0]

What oil are you using, vr's do use oil but its even worse if the oil's too thin. There are a few different opinions on what oil to use but no-one argues with vw synta silver.

[Corvr6 0]

I am using Castrol GTX Magnetec 10-40.

How does that compare with "vw synta silver"?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

My VR uses about 1/4 litre per 1500 miles with Quantum silver. Engine has covered 83K. Thin oils tend to kill off the hydraulic lifters quicker. Mobil 1 15/50W is another good oil for the VR but due to the amount you need of it, it's too expensive!

 

Cheers

Kev

[Joe M 0]

Come to think of it I havent had to top up the oil at all in the 4000 miles ive had my vr. :D

 

Could be down to the top end rebuild it had last year though. :lol:

[Corvr6 0]

wow, thats much better than mine,what's the viscosity of synta or quantum silver?

Maybe the thin oil I'm using is just slipping past my valve stem seals or even the rings :(

[Vmax 0]

I've got exactly the same problem with my VR6, oil consumption must be around the 1 litre/1000km mark, if not worse :shock: It's been checked over for leaks, but nothing was found, so I guess that means it must be burning it - if this is the case would the performance feel noticeably worse? I had it tested at 191bhp on the rolling road earlier this year.

 

Getting a bit annoyed with it, severely tempted to get Star to give it a going over, even though the price might be a bit severe :cry:

 

Jamie

'93 Aqua blue VR6

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Quantum Silver is 10/40.

 

If your valve guides are worn you'll still get good power (providing the valves are still gas tight) as it's only on over-run (deacceleration) that oil is sucked into the cylinders. If the throttle butterfly and inlet hose are drenched with oil, it's a good clue.

 

If you've got worn rings and/or bores, power will drop aswell as burning oil. If the rings are shot, you'll get smoke pretty much all the time but when the guides are knack'd, you'll get smoke after booting after a period of over-run or idling.

 

Put it this way, if you can clearly see blue smoke in the rear view or passenger wing mirror then the engine needs a head job at best, or a full rebuild at worst.

 

Kev

[dazzyvr6 0]

mine need rebuilding,and theres a leak on the engine somewhere :x

[Corvr6 0]

I have amended the title of this topic to reflect a more accurate usage of oil in my case. :(

The service manual says 1000Km/litre(approx 600miles/litre),I have done 900 miles since I got my VR and used about 3 litres of oil.....300miles/litre! :shock:

Considering I have occasionaly had a puff of smoke on hard acceleration,without loss of power,then I am concluding my problem lies in the valve guide area,or even just the type of oil.

My plan then: :wink:

Step 1,I have changed to topping up with 15/40,and if no improvement then I will try 15/50.

Step 2,Valve guides.

Step 3,I don't even want to consider a step 3,but wonder if there any other seals that could or should be changed along with the valve guides :?:

[Kevin Bacon 5]

1 Litre per 300 miles definitely indicates a problem! Are you sure it's not leaking it aswell?

 

How many miles has it done?

 

Have a look at your spark plugs and make sure they're all the same colour. If bores 1 and 6 have oil coated plugs, it is likely you also have bore wear. For some reason, bore 6 goes first, then 1. Which is strange as they are the outer cylinders and run cooler than the inner ones.

 

All 6 should be a light grey colour with digestive coloured brown deposits around the centre electrode.

 

If you do need a full rebuild, you'll need a 2.8 block and standard 2.9 pistons as oversize pistons for the 2.9 aren't available. You just need the bare block. Your crank and conrods can reused.

 

Kev

[Corvr6 0]

Well I can't see any drops of oil under the car or hanging off the sump area.It has done just over 107K,it has a FVWSH,which should authenticate the mileage,so I'm not even thinking block/pistons.Possibly rings,possibly some head work,most likely valve guides.I will make some enquiries when I call in to my local garage tommorrow,thanks.

[Andi 2,147,483,647]

I hope you get it sorted, Corvr6!

Not all VR6 engines are doomed. I'm on 191,000 miles and top up from min. to max. about every 1500 miles.

That's running Syntha-Silver-alike oil, which Ant (BananaMan) gets for me cheap at £7.00/5litres at oil-changes, then topping up with Halfords Semi-Syn - which seems to suit my engine fine.

I've heard mixed reports on the Halfords stuff. Obvious claims like "Oh, it's not as good as such-and-such at £21/4litres..." but for the price it is, it does me fine. I've run it in 5 cars, and they're all running nicely still!

[Corvr6 0]

I'm sure I will,thanks,but the art is being patient enough to do it in the most cost effiecient way.Little steps I guess. :wink:

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I hope you get it sorted, Corvr6!

Not all VR6 engines are doomed. I'm on 191,000 miles and top up from min. to max. about every 1500 miles.

 

Monster mileage!

 

Is that on the original head and chain tensioners do you know?

 

Kev

[Andi 2,147,483,647]

AFAIK, original head.

But I hope the tensioners have been changed :shock:

[Corvr6 0]

Got the CVR6 back from Stealth today,so much for taking little steps,just as well I took it in judging by what they found.

 

It went in for Head rebuild/timing chains/clutch. 8)

 

I suppose its fair to say I could have still driven around without having the work done as the only downside I could see was the oil consumption.:mrgreen: :roll:

 

They tell me the Valve guides and seals were totally shot and so bad so they had fouled 2 plugs completely.The tensioners were just about down to the rivets.

Thankfully I am told my pistons and bores are not scored,this may down to taking it in when I did.The oil filter was clogged and it needed new plugs due to the fouling

I took the oppourtunity of having the front engine mount replaced for an uprated one,they also had to change the auxillary belt pulley as bearings were noisy.

I also got my Samco hose kit fitted,looks good.:D

 

I have some of the worn parts, and plan to take some pics of them this weekend.

:wink:

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Good stuff. How does she feel now after the Stealth treatment? I always leave their workshops with a grin on my face :lol:

 

What mount did you go for? Vibratechnics?

 

The belt tensioner pulley could have been repacked with Castrol CL grease, saving you a £100 odd. Nevermind.

[Corvr6 0]

Aux belt tensioner pully was about £75 fitted.I'm not gonna quibble with that considering what I've spent on the rest. :wink:

 

Yes, Vibratechnics.You have the same :?:

 

The first thing I noticed was how easy the clutch was to operate,was stiff before.

Accelaration has improved and low end torque is slightly better,but I didn't expect to see any real performance increase as I wasn't really lacking any before the job oddly enough. :)

 

What I do expect to see is a vast improvement in miles / litre of oil, and no puffs of smoke after idling and overrun.

Worst case of usage was about 2-300 miles / litre of oil,Magnetec 15-40.

Stealth have used Synta silver which they said is about 10-30,if theres any piston/ring wear this oil should find it,time will tell. :roll:

 

The peace of mind and convenience of having this work done all in one go and by professionals outweighs the costs for me(and the potential costs of not having it done). :D