Mazda 6 losing oil
Discussion
Hi, I have a 2008 Mazda 6 Petrol with 90,000 miles on the clock that needs topped up with engine oil roughly every 2 months as the oil is at its lowest. I cannot get to the bottom of where the oil is going. There is definitely no leak and I don’t see any blue smoke coming from the exhaust. There is also no power loss in the engine. It is losing a huge amount of oil and I don’t understand how. Anyone got any ideas or things to troubleshoot on this?
Thanks,
Kev.
Thanks,
Kev.
GreenV8S said:
derrykevin said:
topped up with engine oil roughly every 2 months
How many miles is it doing and how much oil is it consuming?I topped it up about 6 weeks ago with 4 litres and the oil light is already starting to flicker on. It’s a crazy amount of oil and what is frustrating is that I cannot see any evidence of loss. Because I am not feeling any loss in power would that not make a compression test a waste of time?
derrykevin said:
I topped it up about 6 weeks ago with 4 litres and the oil light is already starting to flicker on. It’s a crazy amount of oil and what is frustrating is that I cannot see any evidence of loss. Because I am not feeling any loss in power would that not make a compression test a waste of time?
Mileage between top ups is more relevant than number of weeks.4 litres is a lot unless that is a lot of miles in that time.
The seat of the pants dyno isn't as accurate as you may think with slow changes, a compression test would certainly be worthwhile, as would topping up MUCH more frequently.
If you wait until the oil light comes on it could well be too late in a very short space of time.
derrykevin said:
I topped it up about 6 weeks ago with 4 litres and the oil light is already starting to flicker on. It’s a crazy amount of oil and what is frustrating is that I cannot see any evidence of loss. Because I am not feeling any loss in power would that not make a compression test a waste of time?
If you arent seeing huge puddles on the floor then its coming out of the exhaust If the oil light is flickering chances are you are done anyhow by the time they come on engine damage has usually already occurred
derrykevin said:
I topped it up about 6 weeks ago
How many weeks or months ago you topped it up is not important.What matters is the number of miles it's driven or the number of hours it's been running, and what volume of oil it consumed during that running. Since you haven't told us, nobody has any idea how fast it's using oil.
If your engine light is flicking on you've left it way too late to check and top up the oil and have probably already damaged the engine.
Edited by GreenV8S on Saturday 14th May 16:59
It's not losing oil, it's using oil. It's an MZR/Duratec engine and they are prone to it, the oil control rings are gummed up and seized.
http://www.duratecnc.co.uk/?p=146
Forget dicking around with anything else. It's either keep pouring oil into it or an engine build with new rings and a hone.
http://www.duratecnc.co.uk/?p=146
Forget dicking around with anything else. It's either keep pouring oil into it or an engine build with new rings and a hone.
Edited by Evoluzione on Tuesday 17th May 00:02
Thats an excellent article, very clear simple explanations.
Once again, extended (neglectful) oil servicing rears its ugly head, long service intervals are not there for making the vehicle last forever, they are there to help attract the new car buyer with infrequent cheap servicing (pcp, lease, company, business etc) who will only use the car typically whilst under warranty and then replace it so what happens after that is of no interest to them, nor sadly in most cases to the car maker, only one or two of which seem to care a jot about their reputation or customers.
It's been my experience over the years that once the oil level drops to dangerous levels that the wear damage caused is irreversible, and it will always be a heavy oil burner from then on, remember it will have been at dangerous levels for weeks or months before knocking or other symptoms make themselves known, increased wear causing excess carbon in the already small amout of oil left which can't absorb it, nor can the filter, then you see crankcases caked in thick carbon residue.
Often enough neglectful owners are repeat offenders, sometimes relying on the oil pressure light to remind them it needs topping up, each time the oil gets low wear increases further still, the chances are these owners lack mechanical sympathy so likely to drive cold engines hard, again exacerbating things.
Once again, extended (neglectful) oil servicing rears its ugly head, long service intervals are not there for making the vehicle last forever, they are there to help attract the new car buyer with infrequent cheap servicing (pcp, lease, company, business etc) who will only use the car typically whilst under warranty and then replace it so what happens after that is of no interest to them, nor sadly in most cases to the car maker, only one or two of which seem to care a jot about their reputation or customers.
It's been my experience over the years that once the oil level drops to dangerous levels that the wear damage caused is irreversible, and it will always be a heavy oil burner from then on, remember it will have been at dangerous levels for weeks or months before knocking or other symptoms make themselves known, increased wear causing excess carbon in the already small amout of oil left which can't absorb it, nor can the filter, then you see crankcases caked in thick carbon residue.
Often enough neglectful owners are repeat offenders, sometimes relying on the oil pressure light to remind them it needs topping up, each time the oil gets low wear increases further still, the chances are these owners lack mechanical sympathy so likely to drive cold engines hard, again exacerbating things.
Hi,
The duratec/mzr are known for using oil especially when they are neglected and oil changes are infrequent. If they are looked after then oil burning shouldnt be an issue. These need oil changes every 6k and revving out every now and then. If its burning oil now and passing its mot test I would check the oil weekly and keep the oil level at maximum. You could try 10W 40 and an additive as you have nothing to loose.
The duratec/mzr are known for using oil especially when they are neglected and oil changes are infrequent. If they are looked after then oil burning shouldnt be an issue. These need oil changes every 6k and revving out every now and then. If its burning oil now and passing its mot test I would check the oil weekly and keep the oil level at maximum. You could try 10W 40 and an additive as you have nothing to loose.
JONATHAN_11_80 said:
Hi,
The duratec/mzr are known for using oil especially when they are neglected and oil changes are infrequent. If they are looked after then oil burning shouldnt be an issue. These need oil changes every 6k and revving out every now and then. If its burning oil now and passing its mot test I would check the oil weekly and keep the oil level at maximum. You could try 10W 40 and an additive as you have nothing to loose.
You'll lose the cost of the oil, the additive and the time spent putting it in.The duratec/mzr are known for using oil especially when they are neglected and oil changes are infrequent. If they are looked after then oil burning shouldnt be an issue. These need oil changes every 6k and revving out every now and then. If its burning oil now and passing its mot test I would check the oil weekly and keep the oil level at maximum. You could try 10W 40 and an additive as you have nothing to loose.
Hi all, thanks for all your answers, a lot of good information in there. I do have to say that I did take good care of the car and got it serviced at the proper intervals with my mazda dealer. I did lose a bit of heart in it since it started using a lot of oil and after taking it to the Mazda dealer they did not seem too interested in trying to solve the issue. At this stage the car was about 10 years old and I got the impression that they would rather me have bought a newer car from them.
I do also have to say that since then, roughly 4 years now, I have been topping it up with oil with a lot of occasions the oil light coming on beforehand so going by the comments on here I am really surprised that the car is still running with no noticeable problems. One thing I did find when searching the internet was the possibility of it being the PCV valve being clogged up. Would that be worth checking out?
I do also have to say that since then, roughly 4 years now, I have been topping it up with oil with a lot of occasions the oil light coming on beforehand so going by the comments on here I am really surprised that the car is still running with no noticeable problems. One thing I did find when searching the internet was the possibility of it being the PCV valve being clogged up. Would that be worth checking out?
derrykevin said:
Hi all, thanks for all your answers, a lot of good information in there. I do have to say that I did take good care of the car and got it serviced at the proper intervals with my mazda dealer. I did lose a bit of heart in it since it started using a lot of oil and after taking it to the Mazda dealer they did not seem too interested in trying to solve the issue. At this stage the car was about 10 years old and I got the impression that they would rather me have bought a newer car from them.
I do also have to say that since then, roughly 4 years now, I have been topping it up with oil with a lot of occasions the oil light coming on beforehand so going by the comments on here I am really surprised that the car is still running with no noticeable problems. One thing I did find when searching the internet was the possibility of it being the PCV valve being clogged up. Would that be worth checking out?
It's not so much as they clog up... More that the hose coming from the valve splits. Its behind the inlet manifold, so quite a time consuming job to get at.I do also have to say that since then, roughly 4 years now, I have been topping it up with oil with a lot of occasions the oil light coming on beforehand so going by the comments on here I am really surprised that the car is still running with no noticeable problems. One thing I did find when searching the internet was the possibility of it being the PCV valve being clogged up. Would that be worth checking out?
https://youtu.be/-TR4pZdXZpg
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