Cold Car / Possible Damage

Sonea Fifer

Sonea Fifer

Sonea Fifer

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Hi there

Just looking for a bit of advice please - the car in question is a 53 plate Seat Arosa 1.0L. It's sat outside now for the past three days in temps of -20 or so.

Today while thawing it out the oil warning light beep and comes on. I put in 1.0L of Tesco 20w/50 as I had this in the shed. The car starts and ticks over fine (a bit tappety tho) but rev over 2K and the lights on again! I've just put in 1L of shell Helix Ultra 5w-30 and the lights is still on then I noticed a little bit of mayo on the filler cap:

IMG00093-20101208-1029.jpg


I've cleaned the cap up and am wondering if its just the cold/moisture got into the engine or is it possible the cold has cracked the cylinder head?

Also, should i leave the car on tick over until it reaches running temp?

Thanks guys
 
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Given that the car in question is a Seat Arosa 1.0, I'm assuming it's been doing lots of short trips and never getting fully up to temperature? That'll be why there's a bit of mayo. As snowball1 said though, mixing oil grades isn't exactly an A1 great idea.
 
I take it you checked the oil level yourself before adding any oil? In the cold sensors often give false readings. A small top up is understandable but if you've lost 2 ltrs of oil then something is up.

If you've not done so already I suggest checking the oil topping up to the correct level with the correct grade of oil then let the engine warm up, it's been subjected to those temps so I'm not surprised its sounds a bit funny.

If everything is ok then do an oil change!
 
Does the oil in the Seat Arosa need to be up to temperature before reading it? OP - check in the manual.

As said, CHECK the oil (when warm if required), add the CORRECT oil to the engine as necessary. When adding oil, be aware that it can take a few minutes for it to filter into the sump and show up on the dipstick.

EDIT: You should be using 5w30 or 10w40.

EDIT 2: I've just noticed you've dumped 2 litres of oil into an engine that only has a capacity of 3.4 litres! :eek: Check your oil ASAP and don't drive with it until you have.
 
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A tiny bit of mayo is normal if you do lots of short journeys. However sticking in 20/50 in a modern engine... that's a bit lol.
 
You put 20/50 in it???? Why????

That's the same grade oil i use in my 30 year old Ford Capri, it's like treacle!
 
Haha, i'm not the most mechanically competant, but surely most people know not to just go and whack in what ever oil they can find? It seems without even measuring the dipstick too!
 
Check the dipstick, if you require oil put it in. This is nothing to do with the cold.

Some mayo is fine and can be expected in this weather if you don't use your car much.

Assuming your oil level is fine, leave the car to get fully up to temperature and don't rev it until it is.

Finally don't attempt this stuff if you don't have a clue.....not that checking a dipstick and putting the right oil in is exactly difficult.
 
oil sensor could be mega cold oil not picking up properly

it doesnt sound like the best maintained car in the world, id bet it has got tar in the sump and cant pick up anything.

the best part is, people pay good money for cars, and just treat them like crap

i bet if you spent ££££ on a sofa you wouldnt treat it like crap like that
 
I'd personally drain the oil out of the engine/sump. Replace oil filter and put new oil in. THE CORRECT OIL.

Messing around like this could cause issues. The cold will only crack the block if the water freezes. If you've got anti-freeze in it, this wont happen.

NEVER mix oils
If you've lost 2 litres then it's either an RX8 or it's leaking somewhere.
 
Matt-Page said:
NEVER mix oils
If you've lost 2 litres then it's either an RX8 or it's leaking somewhere.
Click to expand...

i dont think the mixing thing is a totally rigid rule. i presume youve said so due to the different viscosity?

if youre using (for example) 10w40, after XXXX miles it will be out of that spec anyway (in most cases), adding more 10w40 wont kill your engine though, even though they will have different viscosity.

i have mixed 5w40 and 10w40 in the past without worrying at all

but sticking 20w50 or whatever it was does sound a bit odd as thats a very strange viscosity that you mostly see on oils like asda smartprice etc
 
What where you thinking man lol. Hopefully it was the cold that made you crazy :)

Poor wee thing. I know sonea fifer so the car does get a good run of around 30 miles round trip on motorways so its not been run around town and never warmed up if that helps diagnose it for the car boffins/
 
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