Losing Oil!

[Zipman]

Have recently purchased a 2.0L Gen4 Golf and was shocked when Oil warning has come on and on inspection NO OIL! has only done 45K appears to be no leaks, is this normal for Golfs to use OIL? has only done 3000km since last service!!!! and approx 2litres of OIL gone!

Did notice recently Oil in passenger side wheel arch front and rear but thought I'd just driven through Oil cleaned it and hasn't appeared again.

Any help greatly appreciated and not feeling very happy because the car cost me $15,500.

Mark

[mixmup]

You can tell if you're burning lotsa oil if, after a period of compression braking, when you use the gas again you see blue smoke in your mirror. (the compression pulls oil into the combustion chamber). this generally means replacing the oil and/or compression rings (nasty job)

otherwise there's a leak somewhere, 'cause that's quite a bit of oil to burn off, and i suspect you would have already noticed if it was all escaping through the exhaust as smoke

maybe put more oil in it and park it over some paper so you can see if there are any leaks and where they are coming from..?

[Zipman]

You can tell if you're burning lotsa oil if, after a period of compression braking, when you use the gas again you see blue smoke in your mirror. (the compression pulls oil into the combustion chamber). this generally means replacing the oil and/or compression rings (nasty job)

otherwise there's a leak somewhere, 'cause that's quite a bit of oil to burn off, and i suspect you would have already noticed if it was all escaping through the exhaust as smoke

maybe put more oil in it and park it over some paper so you can see if there are any leaks and where they are coming from..?

Thanks mixup, definately no smoke and no drips on my driveway and no apparent leaks? I get the feeling that it may be getting squeezed out under pressure at high revs but still can see any leaks?

Also where in the hell is the sump plug? want to change oil but can't figure out where it is?

Mark

[Manaz]

Also where in the hell is the sump plug? want to change oil but can't figure out where it is?

Mark

Bottom of the sump, towards the back I believe (so that when you take it out, all the oil can drain out). If your car has a protective plastic tray under the engine, you may need to remove that to get to the sump itself (and thus the plug).

[Zipman]

Thanks Manaz.

After speaking to a VW mechanic I was told that the Golf 2.0L will use approx 1Litre of Oil per 1000km also stated in the Owners Manual, pretty shocked to learn this and suggest the anyone who ownes a Golf Mk4 2.0L check their Oil weekly, so much for German Engineering

[dylan8]

Thanks Manaz.

After speaking to a VW mechanic I was told that the Golf 2.0L will use approx 1Litre of Oil per 1000km also stated in the Owners Manual, pretty shocked to learn this and suggest the anyone who ownes a Golf Mk4 2.0L check their Oil weekly, so much for German Engineering

Hey mate, does your golf give you a warning when the oil is low, or just a rather big alarm when its completely gone? my bora tells me when there is nothing left, but no 'low levels' warning. I didnt realise it says that in the manual, mine doesnt blow smoke or drip but it never makes it around to a service without running out before hand. Nice to know its not just my car that does this

[Manaz]

After speaking to a VW mechanic I was told that the Golf 2.0L will use approx 1Litre of Oil per 1000km also stated in the Owners Manual, pretty shocked to learn this and suggest the anyone who ownes a Golf Mk4 2.0L check their Oil weekly, so much for German Engineering

That's a lot of oil to use/burn!

Hey mate, does your golf give you a warning when the oil is low, or just a rather big alarm when its completely gone? my bora tells me when there is nothing left, but no 'low levels' warning. I didnt realise it says that in the manual, mine doesnt blow smoke or drip but it never makes it around to a service without running out before hand. Nice to know its not just my car that does this

Not sure - I check the oil level with the dipstick every time I get fuel...

[balkanac]

sounds like its a normal thing. I have heard of some audis and bmws doing the same thing. My car doesnt use any, but i have 2 friends, 2 brothers with 325cis. One of them uses oil like your car and the other one doesnt use a drop. Its weird. I think iread somewhere that it has something to do with breaking in the engine when its new. Im sure someone here can explain it better

[Jmac]

The 2.0 litre engine in the Beetle and bora etc normally APK engine is well known to be a drinker. Its mainly due to the oil control ring being stamped top on the bottom of the ring, then the poor installer reads top, fits it facing top as you do and in actual fact it should be down if you catch my drift. Lots of these engines were flagged by customers early in the piece which involved an oil consumption test, if deemed to be excessive when under warranty they genrally got a rebuild, if you are out of warranty, then next oil change try a Heavier Penrite or Shell hx7K, this will at least slow the process down.
So to conclude the oil control ring is scraping the oil up and not down. This topic is brought up all over the net for further reading.
Cheers
Jmac

[83_SUS]

yep mine does the same and VW is going to regulate it after 1000kms and if its deemed more then usual it will be gettin a rebuild under warranty

[dylan8]

Not sure - I check the oil level with the dipstick every time I get fuel...

Hmmm, i learnt after that the first time it gave me the warning

[ben]

Dylan my bora also doesnt warn me when the oil is getting low, but just when it is completely gone.

But wow can this car drink! Id say mine is probably a bit more than 1L / 1000km, so tend to check it very regularly.

The 2.0 litre engine in the Beetle and bora etc normally APK engine is well known to be a drinker. Its mainly due to the oil control ring being stamped top on the bottom of the ring, then the poor installer reads top, fits it facing top as you do and in actual fact it should be down

Jmac, I take it its too hard to get to the 'oil control ring', in order to do a quick fix by flipping it up the right way?... I don't have any knowledge of where this would be, but if someone knows (and it would fix the excessive drinking) im sure it would be a lot of help for the mkIV owners out there!

So how hard is this to do?

Cheers,

Ben

[h100vw]

It's a head and sump off job to do the rings. DIYable but you'd need some previous experience of the subject.

Gavin

[dylan8]

Dylan my bora also doesnt warn me when the oil is getting low, but just when it is completely gone.

is yours a 2lt? i believe the 4mo and maybe v5 have the additional sensors, also extra sensors in the rear of the exhaust that the 2lt models don't have

[ben]

It's a head and sump off job to do the rings. DIYable but you'd need some previous experience of the subject.
Gavin

Ahh ok thanks, looks like ill be sticking to buying oil haha.

is yours a 2lt? i believe the 4mo and maybe v5 have the additional sensors, also extra sensors in the rear of the exhaust that the 2lt models don't have

Yeh just a lil 2L . Hopefully it will become a 4mo someday...
(i believe your right about the sensors btw)