Z22SE Insane oil usage

Hey guys,

I had just located a different problem now I'm on to the next. Normally I don't have long drives but this week I drove 350km and 350km back, (like 7/8 hour drive total) all this cost me 3.5 litres of oil.
And no oil puddles underneath the car.


I already replaced the headgasket, the timing chain and the valve seals.
If it's piston rings I should probably be going to look for a different car I think.


Are there any other solutions you guys might have?
 
Really sad. Was starting to love the car. Is there not some sort of additive I could chug in there? Would thicker oil help maybe? I use 5W30 now. Also Z22SE.
I also tried a can of Wynn's super charge, no luck.
 

corsaZ22se

Senior Member
I have always run 10w40 semi synthetic in my z22se engines, even at 120,000 mile it was only burning 0.5 litres in 5000 miles.
You can try removing the spark plugs and pouring carb cleaner or brake cleaner in to the bores then leave it for 24 hours before cranking over with the plugs still out. I think this is what evocarlos has done in the past but at the level of consumption you have it may need more than this.
You dod do the valve stem seals while the head was off didn't you?
What mileage is the engine on?
 
Yes I've done the stem seals.
137000km / 85000miles
Might use 10w40 then. Will also try that brake cleaner. But why don't you use full synthetic?
I also saw the same car but with z20let engine for sale nearby. If this doesn't help its an option maybe.
Thank you for your replies
 
This will however be another 50€ and a day of no car. It's another guess on the oil usage. And honestly since my usage is this insanely high, do you guys think it would help or if I would be better off getting a new one?
 
Mine uses a fair bit of oil too. So far I just buy good oil on sale, and live with the cost. But my chains need doing, and I've got some stage 1 cams to fit, so I might as well do the stem seals. And I might as well drop the sump and clean it out. And if I'm in that far I might as well drop the rod bolts and either do just the rings, or drop in a forged set etc.

One thought: Is it possible to drill oil drain holes in the control ring groove, like a normal piston has?
 

corsaZ22se

Senior Member
I have only ever used 10w40 semi, It is one of the recommended oils for this engine, It was recommended to me to use it by 2 main dealers, 2 of the UK's leading Vauxhall/Z22SE tuners and a race engine builder. Maximum of 5000 miles between oil changes as well. Proof is in how well and how clean the engine is. I only took my engine apart due to a cracked head (went to a bad tuner for a remap and they checked plugs with a hot engine. They also told me running 10w40 would kill the engine :ROFLMAO:) Chain was still spot on and no noise at all, all measurements still well within factory specs.

It is possible to drill holes in the oil control ring grove of the piston but I don't see the need for this, only reason the rings gum up is use of wrong oils, poor fuel and poor servicing.
There was some people on here with Z22SE engines that had gone way past 350,000 miles without any engine work.

The Z20LET does have a bad reputation for burning oil and stem seal failure. Again a lot of this is down to poor servicing then use of cheap parts when seals are replaced.
 

corsaZ22se

Senior Member
It sounds very much like the car has not been well looked after before you had it.
Rings will be gummed up and in need of replacing, Also in need of a full strip down and flush out of the oil ways, ie a full engine rebuild.
I recently got a 36,000 mile z14xep Tigra B, the engine was in a poor state although It had had 3 services at main dealers with 5w30 fully synthetic oil added the cams, chain, followers and lifters had all had it. Sump was full of sludge and a lot of carbon build up in the head. I knew this before buying and knocked price back hard, plus it will be getting a Z22SE supercharged engine later this year;)
Point is, it doesn't matter what the service book says these days. It's far to easy to get hold of a stamp and fill the book in regardless of what has been done.
Hope you get it sorted (y)
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Good job! Thing is the guy I normally go to as a mechanic he had the engine apart a couple of times now and he didn't really want to do it again.
The cyl. Head was very full of carbon yes, I used a motor flush and it made a big difference on the head. I'm going to try carb cleaner in the spark plug holes as soon as I get new oil. I really hope it makes a difference.
 
Update:
I went to a garage nearby for a compression and cylinder leak test. Compression was great on all cylinders, leak test not so much.
Cyl 1 was worst, at 1bar you heard it bubbling and at 2 it came out of the oil-measurement-stick, considering this engine runs at 12-15 bar you could say that's pretty bad. Cyl 2&3 bubbled a bit but nothing drastic. Cyl. 4 was good.

I asked a company that does revisions of engines how much a revision of just the block would cost. I'm guessing around 2000€, we'll unscrew it ourselves.

Thanks for all the comments! I'm going to think if I should either fix it or sell it.
Cheers
 

corsaZ22se

Senior Member
You would have to measure the bores first and the crank bearing to check for wear, If the bore is worn it can be oversized once then require new liners, the crank can be reground with undersized bearings.
New OEM pistons are around £100 each though. You may be ok and just need to have bores re honed and new rings bearings and bolts.
You could buy a secondhand engine but unless you see it running you never really know how good it will be?
 
If I had the hands to put a z32se in there... definetly would haha.
But OEM pistons, I can't really find any oem pistons. I can only find these: https://racingfuel.es/forged-pistons-opel-vectra-ecotec-22-16v-engine-z22se-l61 but they seem a bit overkill since I don't race the car, tho I drive quite aggressively.

But new pistons aren't necessary I believe? Unless they're broken damaged obviously. If I'm talking nonsense forgive me I'm not very educated on engines

The chain is not that old, around 4000km, but it's come off once now, and will come off again when we pull it apart. Would it be better to replace it?....again?
 

corsaZ22se

Senior Member
You can use the chain again, Best to leave it in oil while it is off. Same goes for the cam followers and lifters.
Piston replacement all depends on bore wear, only need replacing if the wear is past the spec and you need a rebore. You may be able to just replace the rings and hone the bores as I said above.
There are a lot of bolts that are recommended get replaced on a rebuild, Head bolts, big end bolts, main bearing bolts, cam sprocket bolts, timing chain guide bolts. This is where a lot of the cost goes.
 
After a bunch of thinking and discussing with my mechanic, and contacting several companies that do revision on engines.
A revision company told me I was probably best off just replacing the rings and hone the cil. Walls, like you said corsaZ22se, right now that is probably the next step.

When we got all this stuff loose Anyway what do you recommend changing/upgrading now it's open Anyway?
-Waterpump
-Headgasket obvsly
-?


Cheers and many thanks!
 

corsaZ22se

Senior Member
While it's apart, replace all crank bearings, water pump, all seals/gaskets Head bolts (can use studs) big end bolts, main bearing bolts.
If you are lookin to gain power, have head flowed/ported, remove the balancer shafts and fit a light weight flywheel and a new clutch kit.
 
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