The reason why our Z22SEs are oil guzzlers? (and potential solution)

[richard165]

that's quite a mark up. does it contain active God particle ingredients? lol. I don't know if swearing is allowed on this forum sooo im saying nothing.

it doesn't say anything about the rings, do you think its a natural effect not mentioned

I've been thinking about the gunk branded degreaser/ cleaner mentioned in U.S video, I can get that cheap, what if I just pour that into holes and change engine oil with wynns oil flush?

im liking the idea of not removing pistons a lot

 

[Berto]

that's quite a mark up. does it contain active God particle ingredients? lol. I don't know if swearing is allowed on this forum sooo im saying nothing ...

^ Wholly agreed, ridiculously priced in Europe. I'm not coughing up the cost of 10 litres of quality synthetic oil for less than a litre of magic potion.

Also some people claim to get results from certain unexpensive homebrew concoctions.

... it doesn't say anything about the rings, do you think its a natural effect not mentioned ...

Apparently GM 12378549 (the stuff specified for piston ring soak in the 2003 Saturn TSB) was superseded years ago by GM 88861803 / AC Delco X66P.

... I've been thinking about the gunk branded degreaser/ cleaner mentioned in U.S video, I can get that cheap, what if I just pour that into holes and change engine oil with wynns oil flush? ...

Beware piston ring soak is not without dangers, the main one being hydrolocking the engine if concoction is not well extracted/expelled from combustion chambers before replacing spark plugs and starting engine, that can develop into a messy affaire (go to 2:00):

Just saying proceed with care.

... im liking the idea of not removing pistons a lot

Me too but let's be realistic, no magic treatment will cure a flawed piston design. Sometimes piston ring soak doesn't improve oil consumption at all, and even when it does it's rarely a long term solution.

To really solve the problem we need to pop out the pistons and modify/replace them.

 

[richard165]

I might just flush it through with cheap oil and put some fresh magnatec in 10w40 and change oil even more frequently.

does anyone use wynns engine flush with decent results? or is it another snake oil?

 

[evocarlos]

Carb cleaner half can down each bore plug the holes with rag and leave over night gravity will eventually bring the remaining to the sump the next day drain oil and replace
The goal is to loosen the sticky oil ring with regular servicing the oil consumption should return to normal only other thing to use is high octane fuel and wash thru the rings also you can try redx but ive never considered that to work at all
Cars run on 5/30 that have done 80k miles would still have clean oil ring slots the 10/40 run engines seam to be alot dirtier more ash deposits

 

[Berto]

Anyone considering a piston ring soak, keep in mind that (in the Astra Coupe at least) the engine is not horizontal, but slanted back at an angle:

I'd jack up the rear or park nose down at a downward slope for the soak.

 

[evocarlos]

Half a can goes way over the top of the pistons and the capillary action of the cleaner would soak into the ring land

 

[richard165]

I Think I'm going to have a go, thanks for the tip mate

 

[KevinH]

I might just flush it through with cheap oil and put some fresh magnatec in 10w40 and change oil even more frequently.

richard165, when you change your oil afterwards, try using a fully synthetic oil such as GM 5W30 Dexos2 and not a semi synthetic like the Castrol Magnatec 10W40 - better startup protection, superior cleaning properties and the molecular structure doesn't break down as much.

https://www.autovaux.co.uk/dexos-2-5ltr-oil £25.98

 

[richard165]

ill give it a go I changed to 10w40 as per the endless lists of oil problems. didn't use as much on that but best to be on the correct stuff. thanks kevinh for the advice.

said it before but I think only good people own z22se's wealth of information and help

 

[KevinH]

ill give it a go I changed to 10w40 as per the endless lists of oil problems. didn't use as much on that but best to be on the correct stuff. thanks kevinh for the advice.

said it before but I think only good people own z22se's wealth of information and help

You may find you do use (burn) slightly more with the 5W30 at first, but after a couple of oil changes it will settle down.
If you are apprehensive using the GM 5W30 perhaps try one of the Fuchs Titan SuperSyn 5W40 fully synthetic oils.
You can find them at http://www.opieoils.co.uk/

 

[patricks]

Anyone considering a piston ring soak, keep in mind that (in the Astra Coupe at least) the engine is not horizontal, but slanted back at an angle:

View attachment 67565​

I'd jack up the rear or park nose down at a downward slope for the soak.

Berto ive actually done the carb clearner down the plug hole thing. When ur done - id put maybe 20-30ml of fresh oil down the plug hole before starting - just to lube the bore again. Mine was as shaky as all hell for the first minute or two after restarting when i did it. About a week later i also did spray about 500ml of water down the throttle body slowly over half an hour with the engine sitting at 2000rpm - and i noticed a significant improvement in smoothness afterwards - i'd highly recommend that.

ill give it a go I changed to 10w40 as per the endless lists of oil problems. didn't use as much on that but best to be on the correct stuff. thanks kevinh for the advice.

richard165 NOTHING wrong with 10-40 on a z22se - just make sure its not semi synth use full synth always

 

[evocarlos]

Morris c3 KevinH its cheaper at £19 per 5l and the dex rated

 

[Berto]

Berto ive actually done the carb clearner down the plug hole thing. When ur done - id put maybe 20-30ml of fresh oil down the plug hole before starting - just to lube the bore again ...

^ Wise man.

... i also did spray about 500ml of water down the throttle body slowly over half an hour with the engine sitting at 2000rpm - and i noticed a significant improvement in smoothness afterwards - i'd highly recommend that.

^ Indeed! Couple of weeks ago I sprayed 1 litre of water down the throat of my Z22SE with similar results, it ran noticeably smoother after the drink.

The water doesn't seem to have had any effect on oil condumption , however.

 

[patricks]

Berto neither of those methods improved my oil consumption - simply cause my rings weren't fouled - i should have guessed as much - i mean look at my crankcase when i did my chains at 455IKM - clean enuff to eat off lol.....

.After doing EVERYTIHING to improve oil consumption and failing miserably i then assumed my oil consumption was just a "high mileage" thing - but my engine compression contradicted that - and so I cant say i was too surprised when i found that viola my oil consumption level returned to normal after changing the front main seal and cam cover seal . The pic below should have tipped my off but i guess i can be a bit thick at times

Also worthwhile to put some "stop smoke" in the oil to rejuvenate the stem seals and crank seasl.....

Its been a month or so without my Astra and ive been test driving other cars and i can honestly say most other motors suck compared to the z22se - hold on to it Berto its a keeper - few small capacity n/a 4 pots will touch it for responsiveness or midrange punch, smoothness, economy and need i mention longevity lol

 

[richard165]

its there a thread explaining the above? im not sure what's meant by front main seal?

 

[KevinH]

It's the front crankshaft oil seal which is fitted to the timing chain/oil pump cover. It is prudent to change this whenever renewing the chains as the seals have a tendency to leak after they've been disturbed.

 

[richard165]

right I'm with you now! thanks. my cam cover seal was a pain too I had to use rtv! I'm due for an oil change soon, I will be trying all the above although my oil consumption isn't really bad, ive set the trip computer and after 350 miles ures used a quarter of the dipstick.

 

[KevinH]

I will be trying all the above although my oil consumption isn't really bad, ive set the trip computer and after 350 miles ures used a quarter of the dipstick.

The owners' manual specifies that oil consumption is 0.6L/1000Km (620 miles), so assuming that is an average, I would suggest you are consuming less than that and probably no need to be too concerned about it. As mentioned, spend money on a good fully synthetic oil and change every 5-6K miles (along with oil filter).

 

[Berto]

They're boldly printing some very funny things in car user's manuals lately, to try to cover their asses from what they're doing with oil viscosity and control rings. Excerpt from the Prius':

And naturally the bullshit is backfiring:

Excessive oil consumption isn't normal
"Automakers say adding oil between scheduled changes is acceptable. It's not."


Audi Oil Consumption Class Action Lawsuit Settlement

 

[corsaZ22se]

i would panic if it ever got to 1L in 5000 miles!