[igotregistered]

2000 Jetta 2.0 4 cylinder
I have no idea what is going on here. There is no oil slick where I park, there is no evidence of oil on the engine, no codes or dash lamp warnings?
I took my car to get the oil changed 2 months ago because it was tapping a little and was told my oil pan was completely empty. I have my oil changed religiously every 3k miles. The guy told me the last oil change, they must've put 5w30 in. He said I gotta get synthetic because it was completely burning off. So I did, It hasn't been 3k again, and it too burned completely off. Not a drop in the oil pan. WTF? Anybody have any ideas?
Thanks, I greatly appreciate any help

 

[rsfnatik]

Could be the known "oil consumption" issue with the 2.0L motors... do a search here for in the 2.0L/8V tech forums for more info.
My 2.0L consumes a bit of oil, but nowhere near fast enough to drain the pan between changes. I just top it up every few weeks and keep on driving.

 

[87vr6]

Re: Oil burning off completely....Literally, the pan is empty (igotregistered)

Learn to read the FAQs my friend... here's my freebies... the rest is up to you
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1719309
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=574779

 

[00_Bora]

synthetic or not, your going to burn oil....
but your burning oil at a crazy-iraqi-desert-storm-oil-field's rate

 

[igotregistered]

Re: Oil burning off completely....Literally, the pan is empty (87vr6)

Welsy, welsy. Thanks for the direction.....
That really sucks. So far since I've gotten this thing, I've had to replace both the forward and rear O2 sensors, The thermostat, the MAF, battery, and something else. Now an oil problem, WTF! The car purred like a kitten when I test drove and bought it last year. I even had the a seperate vw tech from a foreign auto body shop do a once over before buying. Ever since it's been nothing but a freaking money pit.

 

[polskihatch89]

Re: Oil burning off completely....Literally, the pan is empty (igotregistered)

who doesnt change their own oil????

 

[00_Bora]

Re: Oil burning off completely....Literally, the pan is empty (polskihatch89)

Quote, originally posted by polskihatch89 »

who doesnt change their own oil????

x2

 

[Jay-Bee]

Re: Oil burning off completely....Literally, the pan is empty (polskihatch89)

Quote, originally posted by polskihatch89 »

who doesnt change their own oil????

x3
That's pretty brutal, do you get a lot of exhaust smoke at start-up or when pulling hard on the highway.
I have a 2000 AEG model assembled in Feb/2000 in Germany, I was really scared of having this issue after I heard about it but it seems like I am one of the lucky ones.
For what it's worth I run Motul 8100 X-cess 5w40 oil in both my 2.0 AEG and the 1.8 8v ACC that my GF drives, the 1.8 has some oil burning/leaking issues and this stuff seems to keep it at bay. Top hers up about 1/2 quart every 1500kms. My AEG needs only 1/2-3/4 a quart or so between oil changes (about every 12,000kms) and that's usually only if I have had a long highway run of 5+ hours of highway driving during that change interval.
I know it would be a PITA to rebuild the piston rings just to remedy an oil burning issue in a newer vehicle, but maybe you can talk it through with a dealer and possibly get some of it covered or at least a discount as it is a known issue by VWoC/VWoA.

 

[JBraga]

Re: Oil burning off completely....Literally, the pan is empty (igotregistered)

dont just use synthetic..make sures its a vw approved oil. 5w40 is what the manual says to use. Ever since I made the switch I haven been burning much oil at all. I think it was around the 3rd oil change when I really saw the improvement.
Been using castrol syntec 5w40 since you can pretty much find it anywhere.
And you should start doing your own oilchanges if possible. It ends up saving you a lot of money, and next you'll know its being done right.
PS. Mine is also German built. Not sure if that means anything. Thought Im pretty sure the upside down piston rings were done in Brazil?


Modified by JBraga at 5:54 PM 7-2-2008

 

[digraph]

Re: Oil burning off completely....Literally, the pan is empty (igotregistered)

When you say "literally the pan is empty" are you judging that by taking off the oil pan and checking or because the dipstick registered no oil?
Did your oil lamp ever go off?
I'm just asking because if there was literally no oil, one would expect the engine to burn itself up within a few miles.

 

[Jay-Bee]

Re: Oil burning off completely....Literally, the pan is empty (digraph)

Quote, originally posted by digraph »

I'm just asking because if there was literally no oil, one would expect the engine to burn itself up within a few miles.

Some engines really can take a beating, and I think the 8 valvers are in that group.
Ever watch the Youtube video of the french guys dumping water in the crank case of an old Civic and redlining the thing for hours on end? I was quite amazed.

 

[cpurvis]

Re: Oil burning off completely....Literally, the pan is empty (Jay-Bee)

Water is much better than nothing.
But, oil pump pickups are set so that they won't pick up all the oil. The oil pump would have starved long before the pan was completely empty. If this engine has been run to the point that oil pressure was lost, (twice) I would say it's toast.

 

[sgolf2000]

Re: Oil burning off completely....Literally, the pan is empty (igotregistered)

are you putting the oil in the right hole?

 

[Jay-Bee]

FV-QR

I think "Oil pan is empty" is a little exaggeration. The dipstick will only read to about 2 liters or so under normal mid mark. That still leaves 2 liters in the oil pan even if the dipstick is dry,
Oil pump would still be picking up but it was probably not below oil level the entire time. Either way change the oil and filter right away and see how it does. And keep a daily watch on your oil levels.

 

[nuttfacesurprise]

fwiw... 5-30... no problems ever burning oil.... 5w-40..... smokes on start up for first 10 min of driving

 

[bliznack]

I changed to Castrol Syntec 5w-40, and only have to add oil every 2000 miles(usually 1/2 a quart). Before that, If would add every 1000-1500 miles. You are going through a ton of oil. Definitely stay ontop of it until you figure out the problem. Could be a bad seal or something that is allowing the oil to burn very quickly. The typical oil consumption is not ~4 quarts in 2000 miles, even on convential oil, with the AEG.

 

[JBraga]

Re: (bliznack)

I think the "normal" limit is 1 qt every 1000 miles. which is pretty insane. you can try to talk to VW if youre above that. They used to do tests for it. Basically they fill up your oil, then every 1000 miles you go back and they check the oil level. If its over they would do a cylinder deglazing or something which should fix the problem.

 

[ps2375]

Re: Oil burning off completely....Literally, the pan is empty (igotregistered)

Do you ever check the oil level? You can't just drive a car and not check the oil level... I had a cust that thought the oil light coming on meant it was time for an oil change. I had to show her how to check the level. I told her to check it atleast once a week, not knowing how far and how you drive, I'd say to you to start by checking your oil every morning.