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2005 E55 AMG, 2007 E550, 83 380SL and Many Jaguars
E55 AMG EXSESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION *UPDATE*
So my 2005 E55 AMG Has been a car I have enjoyed very much. Being a Jaguar guy I appreciate this cars true raw power.
When I got the car I wasn't aware but it drinks a quarter every 200 miles. I have taken to two mechanics to figure out.
One mechanic did a full compression and leak down test. Was scoring 145-155 and leak down was above average. They said I was leaking bad from the cooler line and oil coolers. $3500 later all now oil lines and oil coolers, valve cover Gaskets nothing has changed.
The car has 140k miles and makes full power. And is very smooth.
It's still drinking that oil. And under hard acceleration there is a little smoke. Never at idle tho.
So now I'm told Valve Seals, one mechanic says do valves seals and you will be fine, the ither says he won't do it as it's mostly likely valve seals and valve guides. And the seals will only help the problem temporary. However he said it could be just the seals.
Question is, has anyone else had this problem? What does a valve seal job look like for hours? What are your thoughts?
I love the car, drives very nice, no lack of power, compression and leak down is good. It was sitting for 2-3 years. Could the seals of just dried out?
I would think it would be smoking big time at 1 qt every 200.
Oil leaking from the coolers, that would be leaving puddles everywhere and it's odd you had no issue with that.
Valve seals are easy but very time consuming so I would think 6-8 hours would be average but I never really kept track of the time when I did a set.
Agree with SICAMG here, if a quart every 200 miles was going through the combustion chamber there'd be very obvious signs such as huge amounts of smoke. Something doesn't add up here. Could be leaking in a way where it only leaks on the road, so you'd never see puddles.
Also your spark plugs on what ever cylinder's are using oil should be really fouled.
Agreed Sulaco but then his belly pans would be covered in oil regaurdless.
I would replace the valve stem seals, and hope the catalytic converters aren’t toast at that sort of consumption rate. 15 quarts at 3000 miles you will never need an oil change
It has Long Tube Headers. No cats to worry about. But it was consuming before I put the longtube headers on!
Then blue smoke would even be a bigger issue if you don't have cats and have the oil loss you report. The cats reduce the amount of blue smoke as they get sufficiently hot to more completely burn the oil and have less visible blue smoke. I know you are trying to chase this down but something really is not adding up here.
2005 E55 AMG, 2007 E550, 83 380SL and Many Jaguars
It is very confusing! No one can figure it out. Could it be a high pressure oil leak? It runs so smooth. Powerful. Just this damn oil disappearance. It's really driving me nuts!
It is very confusing! No one can figure it out. Could it be a high pressure oil leak? It runs so smooth. Powerful. Just this damn oil disappearance. It's really driving me nuts!
If the oil gets outside the engine from any source - high pressure, bad gaskets, oil coolers or otherwise, there will be oil visible on the outside. Oil does not dry - so it remains. Gravity takes it to the lowest point (typically the ground) but you can trace it back to the point of leak. It will also hold any dirt that comes close to it. So, a fully cleaned engine and it accessories such as coolers need to be clean to see if there are any leaks. Belly pans are one area that can be helpful as the oil often has to end up on the pans at some point of its travel to the ground. Clean those completely and watch them carefully by removing each one (weekly??).
If the oil is burned off in the combustion chambers of the cylinders then careful watch on the plugs is necessary (weekly or monthly) depending on the mileage.
Lastly, oil can be leaked into the coolant system - craked head, failed gaskets and such. It will turn the coolant to a chocolate milkshake look. Based on the reported amount of oil loss the coolant system would likely be over flowing at this point but all scenarios must be chased down to until certain that it is not the cause.
Remove belly pans. Steam clean engine. Check for oil before starting engine. Observe. Drive. Check for oil after shutting down engine. Observe. Photos. Bright light.
A quart of oil every 300 miles in an older Miata looked like a mosquito fogger when I was driving it.
One quart of oil every 2-3 days does not just evaporate. It's there.
+1, remove the belly pans and investigate the hell out of it. When parking, you can also drop some cardboard under the car to see what is happening there.
It needs to go somewhere, or someone is secretly tapping your oil in the middle of the night?
I have somewhere on the order of a quart per 450-600 miles on mine though it's been fairly consistent. My diagnosis to date has been a combo of leaking (rear main area) plus needing valve stem seals. I don't know if the proportion is biased one way or the other but those are both fairly labor intensive repairs so right now I just live with it. 200 miles is really bad.
I have done valve seal replacements on two cars. The first on an American V8 back in the late 1970's when I was in high school. The other about 20 years ago on a straight six 1984 BMW M engine - 4 valves per cylinder. Both were the same general approach with using compressor air to charge the cylinder so the valve will not drop into the cylinder while the valve spring keepers are removed. Working on one valve at a time, remove the springs, slide the old seal off, slide the new seal into place, put the spring and keepers back in place and move on to the next valve. Take your time and have all the necessary tools - spring compressor, seals, and such. This is a Saturday, two beer job.
I think it is possible on the W211 but multiple types of valve spring compressors may be required. It does concern me that I could be poisoning my cats, since they aren't cheap.
I think it is possible on the W211 but multiple types of valve spring compressors may be required. It does concern me that I could be poisoning my cats, since they aren't cheap.
I hear you. I have bought a number of tools over the years that only seem to have a single purpose. In some cases I have had an opportunity to use them again on another project. But, even if I can't use a tool again the cost was less than paying a top shop to do the job for me. Plus, the satisfaction is a big issue for me.
I made a few modifications to it to make things easyer but worked great. In my opinion due to the silly depth of the springs, this is the best tool to use that I came across.
I made a few modifications to it to make things easyer but worked great. In my opinion due to the silly depth of the springs, this is the best tool to use that I came across.
08-16-2022, 06:38 PM
