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Hi all.
Had a Focus for 3 years. 1.6 injection.
45K on the clock now.
Done a oil change 6 months ago, or approx 6k miles ago.......
I used 5W 30 oil.
I just checked the dip stick and it was empty !
There was no warning light on the dash either !
We have no leaks on the drive, so where has the oil gone ???????
I guess i need to check the oil on a more regular basis ?
Question here is;
Do these engines just have a high oil consumption or is the
engine older than the clock reads ?
> Hi all.
> Had a Focus for 3 years. 1.6 injection.
> 45K on the clock now.
> Done a oil change 6 months ago, or approx 6k miles ago.......
> I used 5W 30 oil.
> I just checked the dip stick and it was empty !
> There was no warning light on the dash either !
> We have no leaks on the drive, so where has the oil gone ???????
> I guess i need to check the oil on a more regular basis ?
>
> Question here is;
> Do these engines just have a high oil consumption or is the
> engine older than the clock reads ?
>
> Cheers
>
> Jeff
Are you saying that this is the first time in 6k miles since the oil change
that you have checked? If so, I would respectfully suggest that you are
taking very big risks with the longevity of your engine.
As far as I am aware, the only dash warning light is for oil *pressure*, not
level. By the time that illuminates whilst driving, the engine is likely to
be terminally damaged.
Could it be that you changed the oil, checked the level before starting it,
and never checked it later? If so that would account for the level being
low as the filter needs to be filled by virtue of the engine running at
first start after an oil change. This would drop the dipstick level from
the full mark to near the low limit.
My Focus is coming up to 7 years old and is on 80k miles. I have never
needed to top up between changes. I still check it fortnightly in case a
leak has developed, in the same way that I check the tyre pressures at the
same time in case I have had a small puncture.
As a point of interest this is the 3rd Zetec engined car I have owned going
back to 1994. I have never needed to top up any of them, so in answer to
your question regarding oil consumption I would say that no, they normally
don't use oil.
Even if your car had covered 2 or 3 times the indicated milage it is
unlikely that the oil level would fall from full to empty in 6k miles
providing it had been properly looked after.
Hi Chris.
Infact i just checked and the last service was done by my local garage ! (
not me ).
I am wondering now if they put any bloody oil in it when they serviced it !
I guess they must of or the engine would be banging by now ?
Hope it aint done no long term damage ?
Sounds ok , run ok .
Will call them tomorrow to bollock them i think ?
Cheers
Jeff
"Chris Whelan" <cawhelan@prejudicentlworld.com> wrote in message
news:tE6wf.28468$yu.16746@newsfe6-gui.ntli.net...
> Jeff UK wrote:
>
>> Hi all.
>> Had a Focus for 3 years. 1.6 injection.
>> 45K on the clock now.
>> Done a oil change 6 months ago, or approx 6k miles ago.......
>> I used 5W 30 oil.
>> I just checked the dip stick and it was empty !
>> There was no warning light on the dash either !
>> We have no leaks on the drive, so where has the oil gone ???????
>> I guess i need to check the oil on a more regular basis ?
>>
>> Question here is;
>> Do these engines just have a high oil consumption or is the
>> engine older than the clock reads ?
>>
>> Cheers
>>
>> Jeff
>
> Are you saying that this is the first time in 6k miles since the oil
> change
> that you have checked? If so, I would respectfully suggest that you are
> taking very big risks with the longevity of your engine.
>
> As far as I am aware, the only dash warning light is for oil *pressure*,
> not
> level. By the time that illuminates whilst driving, the engine is likely
> to
> be terminally damaged.
>
> Could it be that you changed the oil, checked the level before starting
> it,
> and never checked it later? If so that would account for the level being
> low as the filter needs to be filled by virtue of the engine running at
> first start after an oil change. This would drop the dipstick level from
> the full mark to near the low limit.
>
> My Focus is coming up to 7 years old and is on 80k miles. I have never
> needed to top up between changes. I still check it fortnightly in case a
> leak has developed, in the same way that I check the tyre pressures at the
> same time in case I have had a small puncture.
>
> As a point of interest this is the 3rd Zetec engined car I have owned
> going
> back to 1994. I have never needed to top up any of them, so in answer to
> your question regarding oil consumption I would say that no, they normally
> don't use oil.
>
> Even if your car had covered 2 or 3 times the indicated milage it is
> unlikely that the oil level would fall from full to empty in 6k miles
> providing it had been properly looked after.
>
> HTH
>
> Chris
>
>
> --
> Remove prejudice to reply.
In message <dpqqo0$54m$1@newsg2.svr.pol.co.uk>, Jeff UK
<jjeff@jfrost9.wanadoo.co.uk> wrote
>Hi all.
>Had a Focus for 3 years. 1.6 injection.
>45K on the clock now.
>Done a oil change 6 months ago, or approx 6k miles ago.......
>I used 5W 30 oil.
>I just checked the dip stick and it was empty !
>There was no warning light on the dash either !
>We have no leaks on the drive, so where has the oil gone ???????
>I guess i need to check the oil on a more regular basis ?
>
>Question here is;
>Do these engines just have a high oil consumption or is the
>engine older than the clock reads ?
I have a 1.6i with slightly less mileage but practically zero oil
consumption.
Are you now checking the level with the car on a level road/driveway?
When you changed the oil/filter did you check the oil level after you
had run the engine for a short time? The oil filter needs to fill with
oil before you check the final level..
> "Chris Whelan" <cawhelan@prejudicentlworld.com> wrote in message
> news:tE6wf.28468$yu.16746@newsfe6-gui.ntli.net...
>> Jeff UK wrote:
>>
>>> Hi all.
>>> Had a Focus for 3 years. 1.6 injection.
>>> 45K on the clock now.
>>> Done a oil change 6 months ago, or approx 6k miles ago.......
>>> I used 5W 30 oil.
>>> I just checked the dip stick and it was empty !
>>> There was no warning light on the dash either !
>>> We have no leaks on the drive, so where has the oil gone ???????
>>> I guess i need to check the oil on a more regular basis ?
>>>
>>> Question here is;
>>> Do these engines just have a high oil consumption or is the
>>> engine older than the clock reads ?
>>>
>>> Cheers
>>>
>>> Jeff
>>
>> Are you saying that this is the first time in 6k miles since the oil
>> change
>> that you have checked? If so, I would respectfully suggest that you are
>> taking very big risks with the longevity of your engine.
>>
>> As far as I am aware, the only dash warning light is for oil *pressure*,
>> not
>> level. By the time that illuminates whilst driving, the engine is likely
>> to
>> be terminally damaged.
>>
>> Could it be that you changed the oil, checked the level before starting
>> it,
>> and never checked it later? If so that would account for the level being
>> low as the filter needs to be filled by virtue of the engine running at
>> first start after an oil change. This would drop the dipstick level from
>> the full mark to near the low limit.
>>
>> My Focus is coming up to 7 years old and is on 80k miles. I have never
>> needed to top up between changes. I still check it fortnightly in case a
>> leak has developed, in the same way that I check the tyre pressures at
>> the same time in case I have had a small puncture.
>>
>> As a point of interest this is the 3rd Zetec engined car I have owned
>> going
>> back to 1994. I have never needed to top up any of them, so in answer to
>> your question regarding oil consumption I would say that no, they
>> normally don't use oil.
>>>
>
>
>
>
>> Even if your car had covered 2 or 3 times the indicated milage it is
>> unlikely that the oil level would fall from full to empty in 6k miles
>> providing it had been properly looked after.
>>
>> HTH
>>
>> Chris
>>
Jeff UK wrote:
> Hi Chris.
> Infact i just checked and the last service was done by my local garage ! (
> not me ).
> I am wondering now if they put any bloody oil in it when they serviced it
> ! I guess they must of or the engine would be banging by now ?
> Hope it aint done no long term damage ?
> Sounds ok , run ok .
> Will call them tomorrow to bollock them i think ?
> Cheers
> Jeff
Jeff,
If your oil change was 6k miles ago, and you have never checked the level in
between, I don't think you can blame the garage!
When you ask whether they put *any* oil in, an engine with no oil will only
run for a few seconds without oil, then would knock badly. It would be
destroyed within a few minutes. (I've done it for fun with scrappers!)
The Zetec takes 4.25 litres of oil. If it looses about a litre, it will fall
below the "low" mark on the dipstick. It is not good to run an engine like
this because the remaining oil is worked harder. If much more than this is
lost, it is likely that the low oil pressure light would flicker during
cornering or braking. By this time, the engine's life is being reduced.
If you have had to top up by more than a litre or so I would advise changing
the oil in the near future, and developing the habit of frequent checks.
Although the recommended interval is 12,500 miles I do some short trips
these days, so I change my oil and filter every 6,000 miles anyway.
"Jeff UK" <jjeff@jfrost9.wanadoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:dpqqo0$54m$1@newsg2.svr.pol.co.uk...
> Hi all.
> Had a Focus for 3 years. 1.6 injection.
> 45K on the clock now.
> Done a oil change 6 months ago, or approx 6k miles ago.......
> I used 5W 30 oil.
> I just checked the dip stick and it was empty !
> There was no warning light on the dash either !
> We have no leaks on the drive, so where has the oil gone ???????
> I guess i need to check the oil on a more regular basis ?
>
> Question here is;
> Do these engines just have a high oil consumption or is the
> engine older than the clock reads ?
>
Very Very unusual for any of the Zetec's (E, S , SE, whatever) to use any
measurable amount of oil at all, even between 12.5k changes (I change mine
at 6k intervals)
There was a spate of the 1.6 having problems with oil rings breaking up when
the car is driven hard from cold.
I'd keep a very close eye on the 'stick and for any odd noises at cold start
/ warm up.
"Jeff UK" <jjeff@jfrost9.wanadoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:dpqqo0$54m$1@newsg2.svr.pol.co.uk...
> Hi all.
> Had a Focus for 3 years. 1.6 injection.
> 45K on the clock now.
> Done a oil change 6 months ago, or approx 6k miles ago.......
> I used 5W 30 oil.
> I just checked the dip stick and it was empty !
> There was no warning light on the dash either !
> We have no leaks on the drive, so where has the oil gone ???????
> I guess i need to check the oil on a more regular basis ?
Jeff, one lesson to learn from this, regardless of the ultimate reason for
the current low oil: never trust that a service garage will have carried
out the oil change correctly. I always take 30 seconds to check the oil as
soon as I find the car in the lot, after service. Short of that, you don't
have any more than a speculative arm-waving case against your service guy.
Also, some of these guys have been known to put crap oil in and keep the
good oil you brought in - as they like to use it on *their* cars. This is
an extremely hard crime to detect, even with good supervision at the shop.
I have known of this and fitted bottom ends to 1.6's. Its A LOT more likely
to happen to a 1.4 and 1.6 than the others.
I had one that in 300 miles went from MAX to MIN in one night!!!! AND NO
SIGNS OF SMOKE at all!!!!
MC.
"Roger" <yokel@spamfree.com> wrote in message
news:BJGdnWmWI9k4ClneRVn-og@comcast.com...
> "Jeff UK" <jjeff@jfrost9.wanadoo.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:dpqqo0$54m$1@newsg2.svr.pol.co.uk...
>> Hi all.
>> Had a Focus for 3 years. 1.6 injection.
>> 45K on the clock now.
>> Done a oil change 6 months ago, or approx 6k miles ago.......
>> I used 5W 30 oil.
>> I just checked the dip stick and it was empty !
>> There was no warning light on the dash either !
>> We have no leaks on the drive, so where has the oil gone ???????
>> I guess i need to check the oil on a more regular basis ?
>
> Jeff, one lesson to learn from this, regardless of the ultimate reason for
> the current low oil: never trust that a service garage will have carried
> out the oil change correctly. I always take 30 seconds to check the oil as
> soon as I find the car in the lot, after service. Short of that, you don't
> have any more than a speculative arm-waving case against your service guy.
> Also, some of these guys have been known to put crap oil in and keep the
> good oil you brought in - as they like to use it on *their* cars. This is
> an extremely hard crime to detect, even with good supervision at the shop.
>
You should always check the oil level before and after taking it for an oil
change. I had a SpeedyLube place "change oil and filter" just to find it was
at the same level as before and just as dark. I took it back, told the guy
what I found, and he tried to get "hot" about it ans asked " Are you
accusing me of not changing your oil". I told him "Nope, just stating the
facts, oil level is same as before and just as dark"...he huffed off and
told them to change it again.
"Roger" <yokel@spamfree.com> wrote in message
news:BJGdnWmWI9k4ClneRVn-og@comcast.com...
> "Jeff UK" <jjeff@jfrost9.wanadoo.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:dpqqo0$54m$1@newsg2.svr.pol.co.uk...
>> Hi all.
>> Had a Focus for 3 years. 1.6 injection.
>> 45K on the clock now.
>> Done a oil change 6 months ago, or approx 6k miles ago.......
>> I used 5W 30 oil.
>> I just checked the dip stick and it was empty !
>> There was no warning light on the dash either !
>> We have no leaks on the drive, so where has the oil gone ???????
>> I guess i need to check the oil on a more regular basis ?
>
> Jeff, one lesson to learn from this, regardless of the ultimate reason for
> the current low oil: never trust that a service garage will have carried
> out the oil change correctly. I always take 30 seconds to check the oil as
> soon as I find the car in the lot, after service. Short of that, you don't
> have any more than a speculative arm-waving case against your service guy.
> Also, some of these guys have been known to put crap oil in and keep the
> good oil you brought in - as they like to use it on *their* cars. This is
> an extremely hard crime to detect, even with good supervision at the shop.
>
>
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