182 eating a LOT of oil :(

OrionOne said:

Yeah so my 182 is eating a lot of oil. In all fairness I do like to give it beans a lot but it is probably using about 1 litre every 3/400 miles so I am suspecting valve stems or rings. Has anyone else seen this level of consumption?

Keep my car in your prayers lads

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The Chubby Pirate said:

Have you got any smoke, if so what colour? Where is it parked? Any oil stains?

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OrionOne said:

White/ grey smoke mainly but not crazy amount i think is more due to the decat and it running very rich because it hasnt been mapped but also after starting up after not driving for a while a puff of light blue smoke comes out and sometimes during idle some blue smoke starts to come out not very thick tho

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Advikaz said:

Without seeing it, hard to say.

But it does sound like the bottom end wants refreshing

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hopgop1 said:

How many miles is it on out of interest? Blue smoke only after the cars been sat is usually valve seals I think.

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The Chubby Pirate said:

I’ve genuinely never seen head gasket failure on an F4R - but blue smoke would indicate piston ring wear (oil in the chambers) - whats the status of the engine? Mileage/turbo charged etc?

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OrionOne said:

Is that a very expensive fix? Or is that not whole rebuild worthy?

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Advikaz said:

Needs looking at properly to confirm the issue pal.

If I was breaking cases, the absolute minimum id do would be:

Rings
Hone
Gaskets
Valves and stems
Shells and bearings
Belts
Water pump etc
Bolts
Oil pump


Sky’s the limit though. The above would likely be £900-£1200 ish in parts by my reckoning for stock items. Labour maybe the same again ?
It’s hard not to get in to porting, polishing and balancing when you’re already in there. Speaking from experience. Slippery slope.

You could Ofcourse just get the problematic part replaced, but I think you’ll struggle to find a respectable builder that’s willing to do just that, as the liability on them is high as the rest of the engine will be tired.

Could also swap out the motor with another, but that also carries risk.

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Bluebeard said:

Whatever the cause - it’s rebuild time. If you run slightly thicker oil and don’t drive like a helmet, it could last for years like that.

But if you like driving it fast - you either need to buy another engine or have yours refreshed I’m afraid.

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OrionOne said:

Well as long as it doesnt cost over 4-5k thats fine for me

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The Chubby Pirate said:

Buy an engine with good compression my friend, if you’ve got that to play with. Just swap it out and replace all the serviceable parts before it goes in, its the smart play my friend.

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Advikaz said:

I’ll be picking up a spare motor over the winter to slowly build up for mine. Nothing too crazy. Built for dependability and zero’d.


Why am I like this.

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The Chubby Pirate said:

Its like a properly fruity financial car crash, i just cannot look away😂

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Advikaz said:

This is the problem with being a spastic. I have dreams about balancing cranks and honing bores ffs.

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JamesBryan said:

Honed a few bores in your time 😂

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OrionOne said:

i think is more due to the decat and it running very rich because it hasnt been mapped

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Mr Underhill said:

I assume you're in the UK? Try 10W-40 synthetic oil - it’s a good choice for year-round driving.

My 182 daily, with 87,000 miles and a full-service history, burns under half a litre of oil every 1,000 miles. I think that’s pretty reasonable for a 19-year-old car that’s probably been thrashed from cold by its three previous owners.

It's a matter of deciding whether to spend thousands on a full engine rebuild - which, let’s face it, isn’t guaranteed to fix the issue - or just top up the oil every 500 miles or so.

What are the options these days? Andy at Engine Dynamics is semi-retired, and Alex at AW Motorworks might be able to do a straightforward drive-in, drive-out solution. But who else out there wants to tackle a basic engine refresh? With the scarcity of quality parts, I’d say most quality builders would prefer to push boundaries and focus on bigger projects.

The reality is, for the price of a basic refresh by a reputable builder, you could probably just buy another 182 with a decent engine. Case in point: my previous 182, with 132,000 miles, 11 former owners, and a part-service history, burned less oil than my current car - it used to leak out of the bottom instead.
🤣

Old cars—don’t you just love them!

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Advikaz said:

I'm planning sourcing a spare to rebuild and mine doesn't even need it yet

Just nice to know I've got Gucci freshy on a stand in the garage ready to slot in when the day does come.


But I'm weird.

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Advikaz said:

I'm planning sourcing a spare to rebuild and mine doesn't even need it yet

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Mr Underhill said:

Are you going to rebuild it yourself?

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Advikaz said:

Thankfully I know plenty of engine builders. May be easier to just throw it at ED.

I am capable of building a motor. But certain elements I would have to outsource anyway and I just don't have the time.

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Mr Underhill said:

Are you going to rebuild it yourself?

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SharpyClio said:

I can build a motor. It wont work, but I can build it.

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Advikaz said:

Thankfully I know plenty of engine builders. May be easier to just throw it at ED.

I am capable of building a motor. But certain elements I would have to outsource anyway and I just don't have the time.

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Mr Underhill said:

Funny enough, I was talking to Andy yesterday about my current track car engine as he built it. Knows his stuff.

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Advikaz said:

You should probably sell that engine to me at a crippling loss mate.

Paypal good for you?

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Mr Underhill said:

Too fast for you!

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