'Lil cousin's car, 3 quarts low, what the heck?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Nov 3, 2002
Messages
11,247
Location
PA
The kid declares himself SUCH a car affectionado, all the blingy stuff. I told him and tell him all the time, "check the oil, how's the oil consumption?" and he says "fine". I noticed none of the oil containers were touched in the shed he shares with his brother and some of my stuff is there too. I warned him his engines will burn oil. Today, I was over talking to his mom and he comes ripping in and says "my oil light is on and the dipstick is dry!" 3 quarts later it's full and I ask him why, he says "too busy". Last time it was topped was the end of August, a month an a half ago when I was there for my birthday. He asked why it burns off so much, I said it doesn't matter why and the lower the level gets the hotter it gets and will burn off more and more. He drives like a little ***. It kind of takes the fun out of being his car buddy. What's the point? I told him what they call those lights on the dash, "Idiot Lights".
 
I think another question to be asked is why weren't the remaining 2 quarts immediately dropped (since they're probably badly oxidized) and replaced with fresh oil?

I personally would never add 3 quarts to a car unless I completely did not have any time whatsoever, or a bit of cash in my pocket to go to a quickie lube.
 
Just nature's way of saying that either he ..or his parents, make too much money. He'll learn ..like all of us did. The hard way.
 
I remember a few years back I was in line paying for my fill-up at the self-serve station booth when a woman driving an Escort asks me how much oil do engines hold.

I told her that most engines hold 4 or 5 quarts. She then told me that her oil light came on while she was driving down the freeway (we were about a 1/2 mile from the off ramp) and that she already put in 3 quarts and it was still not showing on the dipstick.
shocked.gif


The sump must have been close to empty when she pulled into the station.
 
It's a 1996 Audi 90 V6. He put almost 3000 miles on it. These engines burn oil, it would be fine if he kept it up, but as the level drops the rest burns off faster. He was rushed yesterday, but today we'll drop it. So much for going right to synth, we'll have to do another dino run and maybe a kero flush first. BTW- his parents are far from rich.


 -
 
Nice car. The old Audi V6 engines burn oil. Up to 1 liter pr 1000 km. (1 qt. pr. ~625 miles) is normal. If I had an engine like that I would top it every 1000 miles.
 
Tell him that it is not a Honda or Toyota, and it needs daily & weekly maintenance, not just oil changes every 3k to 5k miles.

Are the heads leaking coolant or oil, yet?

If he gets too busy and abuses the car another month, just buy a used Corolla and trade him into something that can fit is schedule better.
 
He sorta paid his dues with a 20 year-old junker Coupe GT that we pulled from a guys backyard for $300. That was his first car and it was mechanicly intensive. This car was quite a deal at $4500, but he has yet to really do anything to it mechanically. His friends all have quick cars, so he defers to them for HP driving, and he does a lot of detail stuff, so the bling reigns supreme. He had the wheels powercoated, nice job. This is the pic from the seller, not bad for a 10 year-old car. I'll look for a newer pic.

PS, it's a 1995, my bad.
 
quote:

BTW- his parents are far from rich.

I'm sure that they aren't rich ..but I'm basing it on having parents that couldn't afford a new car until they were in their mid to late 50's. It was more of a comment on how we have so much to gratify ourselves with that we tend to take our "last" aquisition ..and take it for granted ..and move on to our "next" new thing to trip our trigger. His go fast car is obviously "old news" to him ..and is basically ignored for the thrill that he thought it would give him.

I hope that you can impress upon him the expensive side of this folly.

Good luck!
smile.gif
 
quote:

Originally posted by Gary Allan:
Just nature's way of saying that either he ..or his parents, make too much money. He'll learn ..like all of us did. The hard way.

Reminds me of my dad, whom I tell to check the ATF periodically on the Saturn as the upper transmission pan gasket leaks. Honestly, he tells me its fine, but I doubt he has ever checked it since the last ATF service a year and a half ago.
mad.gif
Same for the brake pads, which have 85K original miles on them.
shocked.gif


I think this is part of the reason why GM and soon VW/Audi has onboard oil level monitoring systems in their cars now. A message will display when the oil level is 1 quart low.

BTW Willy, Acura TLs burn oil. Yes, the new 3G ones. We had one guy's TL burn 2 quarts within the first 4000 miles, and it seems to be quite common with these cars. Same with the 2.4L, 200HP engine in the Acura TSX; one guy didn't check the oil as he had just bought it (2 or 3K on the car) and the low oil pressure light came on.
shocked.gif


Mike
 
quote:

Originally posted by paulo57509:
I remember a few years back I was in line paying for my fill-up at the self-serve station booth when a woman driving an Escort asks me how much oil do engines hold.

I told her that most engines hold 4 or 5 quarts. She then told me that her oil light came on while she was driving down the freeway (we were about a 1/2 mile from the off ramp) and that she already put in 3 quarts and it was still not showing on the dipstick.
shocked.gif
The sump must have been close to empty when she pulled into the station.


I was filling at the local station one day last summer when a Mom asked if I could check her daughters oil for her as she was leaving to drive to college after their fill up. The Eclipse was a fairly new convertible, and was piled with college stuff: sheets, pillows, assemble it yourself furniture, you get the picture. I pulled the stick, dry. The Mom went in and got 2 quarts of the only 10-30 they had, QS. Added them, still dry. She went in and got 2 more, added all the first, 90% of the second and had a level half way in the safe zone. I quizzed the daughter to see if she had any lights. She had a light on for a couple of days, on and off. It was the oil light, verified by turning the key on without the engine running. I asked her what she did at red lights in town when she saw them. She said she stopped. I said "Good. Since this light is red also, you know what to do when you see this light again, right?" "Stop?", she said. I showed the girl how to check oil, and tires, and I gave her my gauge from the glovebox. The tragedy of this is not that she was low, well out of, oil. It is a young, attractive college student, off to school, by herself, driving to wherever in the next state, with a car that could give up on her. I explained to both of them that the next guy they came across may not be as nice as me ( I am a dad and a husband, and am very obsessive), and that if her car wasn't taken care of, it could put her in a situation she may not want to be in, inconvienient at best, horrifying missing college girl at worst. Mom got the message, and promised that a visit to a Meineke, Sears, etc. for a change and safety check would be done. Hope she did....
 
quote:

Originally posted by Willy_G:

quote:

We had one guy's TL burn 2 quarts within the first 4000 miles,

I guess burning a lot of 5w20 is typical for new Honda engines? How was the oil consumption after 10k or 15k miles?


It is also dependent on how hard the car is driven as well, but I've recalled that almost every TL or TSX owner had some consumption with the factory fill. (Even the ones that were driven gently burned 1/2 qt or so within the first 3K). The consumption seemed to disappear once the car had 10K or so, so no worries.

Mike
 
quote:

We had one guy's TL burn 2 quarts within the first 4000 miles,

I guess burning a lot of 5w20 is typical for new Honda engines? How was the oil consumption after 10k or 15k miles?

I have seen some late model VW/Audis burn over 1 qt every 1k miles,long after break-in. And that is on fancy Xw40 and Xw50 stuff, not that thin MPG oil spec'd for Honda & Ford.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Willy_G:
Just as I suspected, typical break in consumption. Now let’s have someone explain why broken-in VWs are burning 1qt per 1000 or 500 miles, if it is not too off topic.

Man, just when AJ was in a good mood, you have to go poking him....
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top