I had two vehicles with this 2.0L Beta Engine, an '06 Kia that I started maintaining at 94K miles thru 170k miles and a '12 Elantra that I got at 33K miles thru 77K miles.
The 06 Kia was an ex-rental for about 10K miles then reasonably maintained by my wife via private shops before I got to it. I assume it got nothing but the finest bulk 5w20, but no extended OCIs. From my maintenance onward, it got nothing but 5w30 Synthetic every 4K miles.
When I popped the valve cover it looked like yours did, which was no surprise because the dipstick had this discoloration on it as well. It always seemed to burn the first half quart of oil quickly, but didn't really burn much oil beyond that. Sold it for a song before covid, despite running like a top because it needed a steering rack I didn't want to bother with.
The '12 Elantra, was a low mile, already 2 owner car when I got it and showed signs of being short tripped in our harsh climate. It probably only got 5w20 as well until I got it. xw30-xw40 synthetics thereafter. It had a discolored dipstick when I got it as well. It also burned the first half quart of oil on the stick quickly and then seemed to not burn anymore. I never popped the valve cover on this one, but I assume it also would have been a burnt amber under there.
One thing to note about these engines, that I suspected for a long time, but only concluded shortly before getting rid of my second one, is that they run poorly on 87 Octane, especially on hot days. Well documented on European forums for cars with this engine. The owners manual has a specific blurb on "Gasohol", I suspect because E10 87 Octane is probably pushing the limits of what the engine should really run on.
The main take away here is that we bought these cars used with uncertain history. I have seen others at the junkyard that were probably taken care of better that did not have any burnt amber on the dipstick with over 100K miles. Maybe because of timely synthetic OCIs since day one by owner himself (likely because the car I saw like this was a 5MT owned by a Quebecois). Maybe it wasn't short tripped, or it got better gas by an owner that loved it, who knows.
I think you just got to the car too late, and there was just too much wear. One of the huge drawbacks of buying old if you like perfection. You can try cleaning up the rings with something like a Restore and Protect, and then maybe thicker oil will seal keep consumption to a minimum when everything is as clean as can be. These engines are really old school, mated to old school transmissions that keep them revving high at 70mph + and should have never really run an Xw20 despite being able to "tolerate" it well. My opinions of this engine are that one would probably run a million miles if it got better gas and timely Xw40 oil changes from day one.
The 06 Kia was an ex-rental for about 10K miles then reasonably maintained by my wife via private shops before I got to it. I assume it got nothing but the finest bulk 5w20, but no extended OCIs. From my maintenance onward, it got nothing but 5w30 Synthetic every 4K miles.
When I popped the valve cover it looked like yours did, which was no surprise because the dipstick had this discoloration on it as well. It always seemed to burn the first half quart of oil quickly, but didn't really burn much oil beyond that. Sold it for a song before covid, despite running like a top because it needed a steering rack I didn't want to bother with.
The '12 Elantra, was a low mile, already 2 owner car when I got it and showed signs of being short tripped in our harsh climate. It probably only got 5w20 as well until I got it. xw30-xw40 synthetics thereafter. It had a discolored dipstick when I got it as well. It also burned the first half quart of oil on the stick quickly and then seemed to not burn anymore. I never popped the valve cover on this one, but I assume it also would have been a burnt amber under there.
One thing to note about these engines, that I suspected for a long time, but only concluded shortly before getting rid of my second one, is that they run poorly on 87 Octane, especially on hot days. Well documented on European forums for cars with this engine. The owners manual has a specific blurb on "Gasohol", I suspect because E10 87 Octane is probably pushing the limits of what the engine should really run on.
The main take away here is that we bought these cars used with uncertain history. I have seen others at the junkyard that were probably taken care of better that did not have any burnt amber on the dipstick with over 100K miles. Maybe because of timely synthetic OCIs since day one by owner himself (likely because the car I saw like this was a 5MT owned by a Quebecois). Maybe it wasn't short tripped, or it got better gas by an owner that loved it, who knows.
I think you just got to the car too late, and there was just too much wear. One of the huge drawbacks of buying old if you like perfection. You can try cleaning up the rings with something like a Restore and Protect, and then maybe thicker oil will seal keep consumption to a minimum when everything is as clean as can be. These engines are really old school, mated to old school transmissions that keep them revving high at 70mph + and should have never really run an Xw20 despite being able to "tolerate" it well. My opinions of this engine are that one would probably run a million miles if it got better gas and timely Xw40 oil changes from day one.
