So I pulled my p5 into the garage the other day and checked the oil and there was no oil on the dipstick. I had a mini mental breakdown and then put 1L of oil into the car. This brought the oil to about 1 third up the dipstick. I had gotten an oil change 3400 km (I'm from Canada eh) before and the oil levels were fine then. I think I added oil in time before it did any damage (hopefully) because there's no rod knocks or lifter ticks and the oil light never came on. So I started exploring my potential problems. Coolant isn't milky, even did a coolant flush to make sure, there aren't any leaks (at least that drip on the ground) and it doesn't even blow any blue. So now I am puzzled on where the hell the oil went. The car was running on 3 cylinders for a bit because stupid me didn't put the plug wire in far enough lol. Wondering if this could be the culprit? Idk
Low oil. Yikes!
- Thread starter Jfunk
- Start date
It is burning oil likely from bad/stuck piston rings.
You're going to have to monitor your oil level regularly from now on, and carry a jug of oil. I was burning 2-3 quarts per 1000 miles when my car was at 250,000miles. I have had mine lower than yours. The light is not a good indicator of low oil. It doesn't tell you when the oil is low, it tells you when it is really, really low.
I was also taken by surprise when I first found out it was using oil. No leaks or obvious smoke, but I only drained 1-2 quarts during an oil change. I don't recall at what mileage that was. Eventually, the problem will grow to the point that it will look like you're crop dusting every time you start the engine in the morning.
You're going to have to monitor your oil level regularly from now on, and carry a jug of oil. I was burning 2-3 quarts per 1000 miles when my car was at 250,000miles. I have had mine lower than yours. The light is not a good indicator of low oil. It doesn't tell you when the oil is low, it tells you when it is really, really low.
I was also taken by surprise when I first found out it was using oil. No leaks or obvious smoke, but I only drained 1-2 quarts during an oil change. I don't recall at what mileage that was. Eventually, the problem will grow to the point that it will look like you're crop dusting every time you start the engine in the morning.
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- Protege5 2003
Probably. After my daughter overheated her P5 it had a problem with intermittent periods of burning oil. As in, for a while it would burn a quart every thousand miles, and then other times it wouldn't burn any for many thousands of miles. Working hypothesis was that one or more oil rings were just on the edge of sticking once and for all. Added seafoam to the oil for a couple of hundred miles and then changed the oil. (Also did seafoam through a vacuum line, and "smoked" it, but that should not have affected oil consumption.) She hasn't reported it burning oil since. That isn't as definitive as I would like it to be though, since she definitely isn't a car person.
Bottom line, it won't hurt to seafoam it this way. If the rings are really gummed in place no simple "add to the crankcase" chemical treatment is going to fix it, but the preceding is anecdotal evidence that it may be possible to free up rings which are not quite that bad.
As long as the tiny little oil drain holes for the oil rings aren't completely clogged shut, the Seafoam should be able to dissolve the crud away.
Use it all the time to keep them clear. Change your oil every 3000 miles.
Half a can is about five bucks.
so should i add a full can of seafoam to the regular amount of oil?
