Oil usage

Hi
We have a 1.6 10plate petrol with 50K on the clock.
It seems to use a good litre of oil plus every 6 to 7 weeks circa 1000 miles. All town usage but no blue smoke or signs of a leak at all.
Any suggestions welcome
Also does anyone know what quantity of oil is between the min and max marks? I don’t want to over fill it but the dip stick is not the easiest thing to check where you are in terms of levels.

Philb386 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 29, 2019 5:02 pm Hi
We have a 1.6 10plate petrol with 50K on the clock.
It seems to use a good litre of oil plus every 6 to 7 weeks circa 1000 miles. All town usage but no blue smoke or signs of a leak at all.
Any suggestions welcome
Also does anyone know what quantity of oil is between the min and max marks? I don’t want to over fill it but the dip stick is not the easiest thing to check where you are in terms of levels.

Hi Philb386, that sounds like an excessive usage of oil, 1L per 1K miles

It must be going somewhere?

I will see if I can find the information about MIN and MAX you are asking for.

The hand book says 1.5L between marks on the dipstick for a NFU engine but if you are topping up oil, don't take that as gospel. Better to under fill than over fill.
An engine will always consume oil. The oil used to lubricate the rings is left on the on the cylinder walls and flashes off during the exhaust stroke. It's a very small amount but it adds up.
Again from the hand book, Citroens stance is, 500ml per 600 miles oil consumption before the engine needs some form of repair. Make of that what you will, you might be just on the edge of acceptable.
Some sources of oil consumption are:
Leaks. Gaskets and seals fail and oil drips on the ground.
Worn piston rings. Excessive oil left on the cylinder walls and burnt off, as mentioned above. Wont necessarily blow smoke with small amounts. Typical in old engines.
Valve stem seals. Oil is drawn down the stems of the valves from the rocker area during the inlet stroke and burnt in combustion. Causes a puff of white smoke after a long idle, like taking off from the traffic lights.

Many thanks for your help and support with this. As I said I am a BT paranoid about over filling it as that is much worse.
I am going to monitor this for a couple of months maybe as you say .5 of a litre for 600K is more accurate. I do notice on cold mornings it is very clacky for about 30 seconds before the oil circulates and this is a pre curser to the warning coming on.
The dip stick is a very poor design as no matter how careful you are pulling it out it doesn’t show the level very well even when topped up.
I will monitor it now and keep looking for any leaks but it is parked in the same level spot every night and no evidence whatsoever on the ground!
Thanks again