[owen998]

I bought a 2007 Clio 1.5 DCi last September, it had 72500 miles on the clock and it had just been serviced, the oil was clean.

For the first 7 months or so the car did not use any oil, but in the last 4 to 6 weeks the oil has gone down to under the half way mark on the dipstick. It has just had the usual driving in this time, the mileage is now 78000.

The car does not show any signs of excessive smoking at start up or when warm.

I have had a look online and see that the 1.5 DCi is known for sticky piston rings, could this be the problem ?

I've read that Renault recommends a double engine flush, is this the case ?

What make of engine flush is recommended ?

Would it be OK to use a cheap non synthetic oil for the second flush ?

Cheers.

 

[timddeb]

Hmm. A friend of mine had a similar problem. I would be wary of the clean Oil. Mine, after 49000 with changes at the correct intervals, has dirty oil, even shortly after a change, so it might be that the flush was already done. Back to your problem. My mate found out the hard way that it pressaged the failure of the turbo. After 78000 miles I would be surprised the turbo was worn out, but it should be a possibility you should keep in mind. If the consumption starts to go up even more and you still can't find where it is going....... I'm using fully synthetic oil which costs me around £20 for 5 litres, if you are only using oil to flush and then discard whatever you use ought to be fine. Try and find a detergent one. Good luck

 

[owen998]

Yes, I have had a think about the clean oil;
just because it was clean doesn't mean it was the correct synthetic oil,
maybe the dealer was trying to save a few quid ?

I think that I will take the turbo outlet pipe off to check for oil contamination.

Is this a straightforward task ?

Should the inside of the pipe be as dry as a bone or is some oil acceptable ?

Cheers.

 

[owen998]

I have just checked the turbo outlet hose and there is a thin film of oil on its inner surface.

Is this normal ?

There appears to be an oil catch tank/seperator plumbed in between the outlet pipe of the turbo and the inlet of the intercooler, which I assume is to stop oil getting into the intercooler?

Should I expect to find some oil in there ?

Whilst I was investigating I had a look at the air filter and it was very black and dusty; according to the service booklet it was changed at 61432 miles and not due untill 24000 miles later = 85432 miles; It is one of the dirtiest air filters that I have ever seen, yet it's not due for another 7500 miles !

Do Clio DCi air filters normally get dirty this quick ?

The stamp in the service booklet is by a 'Mobile Mechanic',
the 'Air Filter' box was ticked, but I'm in doubt as to whether the filter was actually changed.

It seems like a genuine Renault item ?
It has a secondary filter element fitted, a 10mm thick piece of foam glued to the intake side of the paper filter, a third of the foam had broken off in pieces and had to be hoovered out of the front of the airbox.

I have a theory / question;

as the air filter is blocked, is it possible that it is causing a restriction to the turbos feed of air, causing the turbo to suck some oil past the turbo oil seal ???

 

[owen998]

Regarding my theory;

I've just done an internet search, and have found that the turbo experts, including Turbo Technics, agree with the following;

A) a small amount of oil in the turbo pipes is normal.

B) a blocked air filter can cause high oil consumption by causing oil to be sucked past the turbo oil seal.

I have a new air filter on order from ebay :d

I live in hope

Cheers.

 

[owen998]

Since my last post I have changed the air filter and am happy to report that the car doesn't seem to be using any more oil

I shall also be changing the oil to ELF 'Evolution SXR' 5W40 as the recent service history seems a bit dubious.

Before the oil change I shall be using a good quality engine flush, I managed to buy some 'WURTH' flush off ebay for under 6 quid :d (though I'm pretty sure that the piston rings aren't gummed up).

Cheers.

 

[adamh108]

oil in a diesel will go dirty 10 minutes after it is changed. This is normal.

 

[owen998]

oil in a diesel will go dirty 10 minutes after it is changed. This is normal.

I bought the flush / cleaner because somebody said that there are known problems with gummed up piston rings on the CDi engines ???

Also;
it doesn't seem that the air filter was changed when it was supposed to have been, so it could well be the same story for the oil ?