Top 18 Reasons That May Lead To Engine Oil Consumption

The increased piston clearances permit the pistons to rock in the worn cylinders. While tilted momentarily, an abnormally large volume of oil is permitted to enter on one side of the piston. The rings, also tilted in the cylinder, permit oil to enter on one side. Upon reversal of the piston on each stroke, some of this oil is passed into the combustion chamber.

This may be caused by unequal heat distribution or unequal tightening of cylinder head bolts. This condition presents a surface which the rings may not be able to follow completely. In this case, there may be areas where the rings will not remove all of the excess oil. When combustion takes place, this oil will be burned and cause high oil consumption.

The main purpose of the Closed Crankcase Ventilation (CCV) is to recirculate blow-by gases back from the crankcase area through the engine to consume unburned hydrocarbons. The system uses a filter, tubing, and rubber hoses that route crankcase blow by gases to the intake manifold. Vacuum within the engine intake manifold pulls the blow by gases out of the crankcase into the combustion chamber along with the regular intake air and fuel mixture.

The CCV system can become clogged with sludge and varnish deposits and trap blow by gases in the crankcase. This degrades the oil, promoting additional formation of deposit material. If left uncorrected, the result is plugged oil rings, oil consumption, rapid ring wear due to sludge buildup, ruptured gaskets and seals due to crankcase pressurization.

For piston rings to form a good seal, the sides of the ring grooves must be true and flat - not flared or shouldered. Piston rings in tapered or irregular grooves will not seal properly and, consequently, oil will pass around behind the rings into the combustion chamber.

When piston rings are broken, worn or stuck to such an extent that the correct tension and clearances are not maintained, this will allow oil to be drawn into the combustion chamber on the intake stroke and hot gases of combustion to be blown down the cylinder past the piston on the power stroke. All of these conditions will result in burning and carbon build up of the oil on the cylinders, pistons and rings.

Cracked or broken ring lands prevent the rings from seating completely on their sides and cause oil pumping. This condition will lead to serious damage to the cylinders as well as complete destruction of the pistons and rings. Cracked or broken ring lands cannot be corrected by any means other than piston replacement.

When wear has taken place on valve stems and valve guides, the vacuum in the intake manifold will draw oil and oil vapor between the intake valve stems and guides into the intake manifold and then into the cylinder where it will be burned.

Bent or misaligned connecting rods will not allow the pistons to ride straight in the cylinders. This will prevent the pistons and rings from forming a proper seal with the cylinder walls and promote oil consumption. In addition, it is possible that a bearing in a bent connect rod will not have uniform clearance on the connecting rod wrist pin. Under these conditions, the bearing will wear rapidly and throw off an excessive amount of oil into the cylinder.

If raw fuel is allowed to enter the lubrication system, the oil will become thinner and more volatile and will result in higher oil consumption. The following conditions will lead to higher oil consumption;

• Excess fuel can enter and mix with the oil via a leaking fuel injector
• Restricted air intake
• Excessive idling

Corrosion, rust, scale, sediment or other formations in the water jacket and radiator will prevent a cooling system from extracting heat efficiently. This is likely to cause cylinder distortion thus leading to higher oil consumption.

The use of oil with a viscosity that is too light may result in high oil consumption. Refer to the vehicle service information for the proper oil viscosity to be used under specific driving conditions and/or ambient temperatures.

Failure to change the oil and filter at proper intervals may cause the oil to be so dirty that it will promote accumulation of sludge and varnish and restrict oil passages in the piston rings and pistons. This will increase oil consumption; dirty oil by nature is also consumed at a higher rate than clean oil.

Due to an error in inserting the oil dip stick so that it does not come to a seat on its shoulder, a low reading may be obtained. Additional oil may be added to make the reading appear normal with the stick in this incorrect position which will actually make the oil level too high. If the oil level is so high that the lower ends of the connecting rods touch the oil in the oil pan excessive quantities of oil will be thrown on the cylinder walls and some of it will work its way up into the combustion chamber.

A faulty oil pressure relief valve may cause the oil pressure to be too high. The result will be that the engine will be flooded with an abnormally large amount of oil in a manner similar to that which occurs with worn bearings. This condition may also cause the oil filter to burst.

Increasing performance through the use of performance/power enhancement products to a stock or factory engine will increase the chance of excessive oil consumption.

Lugging is running the engine at a lower RPM in a condition where a higher RPM (more power/torque) should be implemented. Especially susceptible on vehicles equipped with a manual transmission. This driving habit causes more stress loading on the piston and can lead to increases in engine oil consumption.

There is a possibility for higher crankcase pressure (as compared to naturally aspirated engines) which is normal for turbocharged engines. This condition causes varying amounts of engine oil to enter the intake manifold, charge air cooler and associated plumbing to and from the charge air cooler, also a leaking turbocharger seal will draw oil into the combustion chamber where it will burn (blue smoke from tail pipe may be present) and form carbon deposits which contribute to further oil consumption as they interfere with proper engine function.

Excessive restriction in the air intake system will increase engine vacuum and can increase oil consumption, an extremely dirty air filter would be one example of this situation.