AUI6 Fairmont Ghia dual fuel using oil

[fernsantos]

My car as 145,000km and it is currently using about 1 litre of oil for every 1000kms.

The oil I am using at the moment is castrol 15w40.I am using this oil due to the car running on lpg/petrol.The oil I was using before was 10w30 which was the one recommended for this vehicle.

I don`t see any oil leaks or smoke coming out of the exhaust.I don`t drive the car hard i hardly take it over 3000 revs.

I don`t know what to do should I get a compression test done on the motor,
should I change back to the original oil 10w30,should I try another grade of oil.

Any ideas will be much appreciated .

[Mr Hardware]

definitely don't change back to 10w30, too thin for a gas motor.
15w40 is fine. I run 15w40 in my 656k old motor and it uses half a litre per 10k. 1 litre per 1k is pretty darn excessive. You'd never need to change your oil, it'd always be clean?
Have a really good look for leaks.

[Bushbasher]

Lose the Castrol and go Penrite HPR Gas 10W50. Had Shell in the wagon and it was using oil, not as much as you but still... , then switched to Penrite on recommendation from a few different sources and the oil usage stopped. If it's not leaking anywhere and still uses oil try the HPR Gas 20W60. If it still uses oil after that, drop in another motor. You can pick up good runners from wreckers for $500 or less. I picked up a good one with 12months parts and labour warranty for $570 after a head issue. It was cheaper to pick up a whole engine than get a recon head.

Bushbasher

[fernsantos]

Any oher ideas will be great should i get a compression test done.I rang a Ford dealer he said $75 to do a compression test.

[sickxr]

I had this issue with mine, it was using way to much oil (a bottle every 1k km)for a car that had only done 140k km. I got the compression test done but as a spark plug was pulled out it was dripping in oil! Turns out the PCV was broken and was dumping oil straight into my inlet. $10 later all fixed and hasnt used a drop since.

Might be worth checking this on your car.

[fernsantos]

Hi
Can you tell me where the pcv is located and is it a job i can do my self or how much will a mechanic charge me to do it.

[sickxr]

Originally Posted by fernsantos

Hi
Can you tell me where the pcv is located and is it a job i can do my self or how much will a mechanic charge me to do it.

Its the breather that is ontop of the cam cover to the right of the oil fill point that runs in a hose into the intake.

As it is a straight swap part you might be able to do it yourself, but might be best for you to get checked when you do the compression test to be 100% safe.

Hope that helps.

[fernsantos]

Thanks for that i seen it now just to double check what i need after i done a bit of research:

PCV VALVE
RUBBER GROMMET
FILTER

Are these items correct not sure about the filter.
Regards

[fernsantos]

I went to buy a PCV valve today and i noticed the one that ford sells is plastic and the one that is currently in the car is a metal one.The car runs on lpg/petrol would that be reason for the metal one.
Thanks

[GK]

Originally Posted by fernsantos

I went to buy a PCV valve today and i noticed the one that ford sells is plastic and the one that is currently in the car is a metal one.The car runs on lpg/petrol would that be reason for the metal one.
Thanks

Apparently many LPG installers change them for a metal one when fitting gas. My gas mechanic told me that on older systems they could backfire, blowing the bottom half of the plastic valve back into the engine.

My AU1 and AU2 both on dual fuel use about 100mls every 1000kms which I've thought excessive. My mate's AU2 also on gas uses the same amount, but has done 80,000 kays less than my cars.

I might consider going back to the plastic valve for an oil change though, and see if the consumption goes down a little.

All the best with it.

GK

[NYTEYZ]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

definitely don't change back to 10w30, too thin for a gas motor.
15w40 is fine. I run 15w40 in my 656k old motor and it uses half a litre per 10k. 1 litre per 1k is pretty darn excessive. You'd never need to change your oil, it'd always be clean?
Have a really good look for leaks.

I use Titan super GTO 10w30 in my car and don't have a problem.

[fernsantos]

Thanks everybody for helping me out i replaced the metal PCV valve with a plastic one from Ford and no more oil usage .Just done 1000km and it did not use a drop of oil before with the other PCV valve it would have used just over 1ltr of oil.
Thanks again great site fordforums and great people here.

[GK]

Originally Posted by fernsantos

Thanks everybody for helping me out i replaced the metal PCV valve with a plastic one from Ford and no more oil usage .Just done 1000km and it did not use a drop of oil before with the other PCV valve it would have used just over 1ltr of oil.
Thanks again great site fordforums and great people here.

Great outcome, for such a cheap price too!

I couldn't find my old PCV so I grabbed one off a mate who'd also replaced his (on my advice LOL!) with a metal one. In fact I'm pretty sure I bought it for him.

Anyway, so holding them together, I could clearly feel that the weight in the plastic one was heavier. It's also larger (higher) in size. I'm suspecting that the lighter weight inside the metal PCV means that it's open for longer periods. I'll see in a little while in any case.

My other AU (wagon) is also due for an oil change in a few weeks, so I'll replace the metal one with a plastic one. It's a cheap part, so no risk in trying.

Here's something else. I actually reduced my oil change intervals from 10K to 5K because it was using about 100mls or more every thousand kays. Perhaps if the consumption goes down, I could go back to 10K intervals.

Cheers, and thanks for your update on this. I hope I remember to do the same.

GK

[Mr Hardware]

good job old son
mate of mine had an old car which would use about 3L per 2000klms. So he never changed the oil, cos the oil in his car was always fresh from so many top-ups he had to do