coupe 2.2 oil problem

nathshep

hi all, first of im nath and im new to this site so looking forward to becoming part of the comunity .
im new to the astra coupe 2.2 but not new to vx as a whole. ( also have a pretty sweet astra van )

any how... my query is.... i purchased a 02 coupe 2.2 last week from ebay, i payed a reasonable amount which i was happy with as i knew it needed some bits doing to make it how i wanted so cant grumble at the seller for false listing..
basically as stated on the auction ' smokes when cold and when booted '

now he said its had a comp test done to check rings and the 'mechanic ' said it was fine and suspected valve stem seals which i thought sounded pretty reasonable as im very mechanicly minded myself so knew i wasnt getting my self into a big mess when buying..
i have owned this car a week today and already put oil in twice but not a huge amount to worry my self as i knew i wanted to service anywayfor my own peace of mind.

just wondering if this does sound suspect as its annoying me allready lol, the 'check oil level' has shown twice now on the mfd and id rather get the problem cured than keep driving like this before i really do get into the 2.2 world .

apart from this,the car runs

nathshep

the car runs spot on and sounds sweet as a nut .. ( sorry for split posts, my tablet went crazy on me lol)
also i have noticed the eml has come on and gone off and now came back on but has not altered anything in any way and still runs fine ?? any ideas? possible crank or cam sensor??
looking forward to your replies to see what ive actually got myself into lol!!!!!

astra22bertoneauto

I had a 2.2 coupe once that had 1 dodgy piston ring and every now and then it would chuff a bit of blue, esp when i gave it the beans. After sticking in some 75w90 oil it didnt do it anymore........... then i traded it in because the previous owner had abused it. severely!

To answer your question thou, it could be valse stem seals or something more drastic like a piston ring playing up on 1 of the bores.

nathshep

Hi mate, thanks for your reply. I was definately suspecting it would be one of either if not
Both at fault.. I will deffo be doing my own compression test as the seller was a bit of a airhead so didnt know what to beleive and with no invoice or receipt of compression test complete i beg to differ weather he had it done or not.... Worst case scenario is i'll just replace the stem seals and the rings. Good excuse to give the engine an overhaul while im at it as i like to keep my own peace of mind by knowing such things have been done.. The car has only covered 68k and my gaffa told me it will be valve stem seals as they are known for ' drying up ' on low mileage engines altho they are sat in oil all day they do not get the use they should be causing them to dry and perish basically.....
Thanks again 🙂

sandyc

If the head is coming off, it's not much extra work to do the rings and big ends. Ive just done it all on my own car along with a new chain.
It's probably best to take the belt and braces approach and do it properly. Imagine having to remove your head again to do the rings because it starts smoking a few hundred miles down the line.

nathshep

Thanks for your replies 🙂 ive ordered the new rings, head set and other items
Needed to tackle the problem 🙂 hopefully
Once sorted i'll start getting some pics up for you all to look at 🙂 thanks again, nath