Fiesta burning oil

[HumanShield]

Picked up a cheap car a couple of months ago so my partner could get around easily, its a P reg Ford Fiesta 1.3 (Endura-E engine) and we are having a couple of problems with it which i was wondering if anyone could shed some light on!

First of all, it cuts out when slowing down from high revs, which I think is the ISCV, and should be an easyish fix

However, it is also burning oil quite a bit. There are no leaks, but we are having to put an awful lot of oil in it. And we dont know why. Checked the cap for white gunk, and there was none. So i dont know! obviously if its probably something that could get quite costly, then there is no point getting it fixed considering the cars age and value.
any ideaS?

 

[D4VE]

Standard feature on that engine isnt it?

What grade of oil are you using? Mileage etc?

Has it been MoT'd lately? how were the emissions?

 

[HumanShield]

Standard feature on that engine isnt it?

What grade of oil are you using?

gf bought 10w40 last time, as apparently that is what it says in the user handbook.

I thought the only standard feature of this engine was loud tapping?!

was MOTd just before we bought it. everything seemed fine!

 

[D4VE]

thats the main feature yeah

Look for smoke when you boot it.

Engine might just be really worn
Piston rings, big ends could be worn - what mileage is it?

 

[HumanShield]

71k.

Car does 70/80 miles a day if that makes a difference.

 

[Jonny69]

That mileage is quite high for a small engine and if it hasn't been greatly looked after in the past it will be worn and will smoke. There are a number ways it will smoke though which will determine what course of action to take.

If it just chuffs out a small white plume after it has been idling and you press the accelerator then the rubber valve seals are knackered and need replacing. This is a fiddly job, can be done with the head on with the right tools but might be pricy if you pay someone to do it.

When it is idling take off the oil filler cap and put the palm of your hand over the hole. If there is a lot of pressure blowing out then the headgasket is failing and is letting some of the combustion pressure into an oilway. You should replace the headgasket or it will get worse and eventually you'll get the old mayo in the oil when it reaches a waterway as well. In this case there will be a general exhausty-oily smell and the engine will be pushing oil out of the seals and out the breather.

The third option is difficult to spot with the engine assembled. You want to measure the bore and the rings for wear and ovalling. This is the least likely but to fix you need new rings and to get the bores honed, basically a complete rebuild.

You could try using a thicker oil, I'd recommend cheap 20/W50 if you change it at least every 5000 miles as it has less tendency to get through the seals and where things like the crank bearings are worn it will provide a thicker cushion of oil to sit on. A thin oil like 10/W40 squeezes out of bigger gaps quite easily which is why old style engines use thicker oil than new ones.

 

[HumanShield]

car was serviced regularly it seems until early 2004.

Will check everything this weekend when i get time. Cant do anything too technical, as nothing will work when i have finished with it.

if i do decide to change the grade of oil i will need to get rid of the current oil in there?

 

[Jonny69]

Yes, drain it out.