My wife's filthy Soul

"CalzoneGolem" (calzonegolem) 02/12/2019 at 15:06 • Filed to: None

1

31

My wife’s car is burning oil at around 1qt/1k miles. This make the oil filthy and smelly. When I change the oil it is immediately black with what I assume is carbon but it could be cracked black pepper. I’ve got a Blackstone kit coming.

Anyways, should I get some extra oil and change it a couple times i n a row? Dump some other crap in there to clean it out?

Maxima Speed > CalzoneGolem 02/12/2019 at 15:16

5

*reads title*  

CalzoneGolem > Maxima Speed 02/12/2019 at 15:18

0

It’s 100% accurate.

Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > CalzoneGolem 02/12/2019 at 15:19

1

I haven't heard any evidence, even anecdotally, about oil consumption issues with the Soul. I'd probably wait until you get the report back from Blackstone before throwing money at it. 

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > CalzoneGolem 02/12/2019 at 15:19

1

My guess is the r ings and or valve guides are heavily worn , probably switch to conventional and a higher viscosity like 10w40. Do a couple of 2,000 mile changes see what happens. I had a datsun that burned like this, I never changed the oil, since i was adding half a qt per fill up.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > CalzoneGolem 02/12/2019 at 15:22

3

At least it’s not on fire...yet.

Change oil with cheap oil, add seafoam. Drive like 100 miles, then change again (probably can keep the same filter) . Drive the piss out of it for another 50 miles or so, then change with the good stuff.

CalzoneGolem > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! 02/12/2019 at 15:23

0

Thos e GDI engines are hungry for oil

CalzoneGolem > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 02/12/2019 at 15:23

0

I’ll have to try that out.

CalzoneGolem > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind 02/12/2019 at 15:26

0

I just did seafoam a little while ago in the oil and the gas. 

Dogsatemypants > CalzoneGolem 02/12/2019 at 15:30

2

Is it a gdi? They run pretty sooty oil. Cut your change interval in half for the next couple of services and it will at least look cleaner coming out. As for the consumption, check the pcv. That tends to gum up pretty easily.

Dogsatemypants > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 02/12/2019 at 15:33

2

Higher viscosity will make it quiet, but can cause other issues. There may be oil starvation where it needs to flow quickly through small passages already clogged with ... stuff.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > CalzoneGolem 02/12/2019 at 15:36

1

Shit.  That is like... my only trick.  Seemed to help the Yukon’s sticky valve and the Saab oil consumption though.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > CalzoneGolem 02/12/2019 at 15:36

1

“Anyways, should I get some extra oil and change it a couple times in a row? Dump some other crap in there to clean it out?”

It depends on what your objective here is.

If you want to delay the inevitable, yes, do a couple oil changes 500-1000 miles apart with cheap oil.

If you want to HASTEN the inevitable. I suggest not doing the oil change and instead, top it off with engine coolant.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Dogsatemypants 02/12/2019 at 15:41

0

G ood point, but 10-40 isn’t that bad once warmed up. I think the engine is toast.

His Stigness > CalzoneGolem 02/12/2019 at 15:41

1

Seafoam doesn’t do anything, get BG EPR. I’ve used that and confirmed it works via UOA from Blackstone. 

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > His Stigness 02/12/2019 at 15:53

0

You’re right, EPR works like a charm. It’s just harder to find (at least for me, I can only get it online)

His Stigness > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind 02/12/2019 at 15:55

0

I vaguely remember some national parts store offering it in store.

But I can always send you some at my cost. 

facw > CalzoneGolem 02/12/2019 at 15:56

1

If the oil is consistently dirty, running a shortened change interval will help prolong engine life. Just change it when it looks too dirty. Probably something is going on, the oil test might help, and a compression test could be useful as well. Ultimately I suspect it will need to go to the shop for something.

CalzoneGolem > facw 02/12/2019 at 16:18

0

Like it is immediately dirty.

CalzoneGolem > His Stigness 02/12/2019 at 16:20

0

I'll look into this.

facw > CalzoneGolem 02/12/2019 at 16:26

0

I mean if it’s dirty, you don’t want that dirt rubbing on your engine parts, so changing it is probably good, but yeah, seems like it warrants further investigation.

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > CalzoneGolem 02/12/2019 at 17:14

0

GDI, right?

One, double check you’re using the actual specified weight. Don’t deviate. At all. You do not know better than the engineers.

Two, check the PCV system and intake path. GDIs have very high compression, and very high pressures involved everywhere. Failures in that path will just FLOOD the engine with oil.

Three, what’s your mileage? If it’s 4 0k or over, get the thing walnut blasted. GDIs carbon c oke like nothing else, which results in problems like excessive blow-by. Or an ACTUAL top end clean using ACTUAL SOLVENTS involving ACTUALLY TAKING THE HEAD OFF .
Not the “oh yeah we pour shit in your tank” garbage. Not ‘spray shit in the intake’ because it just gets kicked back out . And f or GDIs you CANNOT feed the fuel rail by S chrader valve. The rail is running north of 1500psi. So yeah - walnut blasting’s the easy way. (Plus I think it smells nice.)

If none of those do the job, it’s compression check time and worrying about bad rings or a cylinder head issue. Immediately dirty though has me thinking you’re seeing dumping through the intake path (EGR, yay.) If it’s not that, possibly a fracture in an oil galley dumping onto the valves or failed valve seat .

Shour, Aloof and Obnoxious > CalzoneGolem 02/12/2019 at 17:28

0

Keep the change, you filthy animal???

CalzoneGolem > Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks 02/12/2019 at 18:20

0

Yeah GDI. I use the weight specified.

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > CalzoneGolem 02/12/2019 at 18:44

0

Then yep, go to step 2 and 3. I would bet it’s one of those two unless the engine’s significantly down on power or making untoward noises. 90% of shops and 100% of shadetrees just don’t know shit about direct injection or how to troubleshoot it. If it doesn’t have a code, they are completely and utterly lost.

I did some quick looking, and it’s also possible in these GDIs that you have ring land sticking. (It’s a non-issue on most DIs I work on.)   THAT would be step 4, and it’s NOT a fun one. Need to break out real crankcase cleaner. Seafoam is bullshit snakeoil . And sticking rings REQUIRE real solvents .

For GDIs, Amsoil Engine Flush WILL choke itself to death and damage the engine. You need Auto-RX. Ignore the instructions. Full bottle, drive hard for 2500 miles, change oil and filter, add a full bottle and drive normally. If oil burning doesn’t change after all that, the rings were damaged by the baking and the only fix is a full teardown.

But again: Auto-RX is step 4 . Do everything else first. Otherwise, Auto-RX will do more damage than good. The shop should recommend bore-scoping before doing the walnut; don’t say no to that. Getting a scope in there will tell you how bad things really are. And actual visual and physical diagnosis is very necessary for GDI troubleshooting.

CalzoneGolem > Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks 02/13/2019 at 09:44

0

We’ve got 150k on this 1.6. It makes no noise and is not low on power. I wouldn’t even have noticed it was burning oil until it burnt enough between changes that the oil light came on once.

What is walnut blasting? Removing the head and getting it cleaned up blasting it with walnut shells?

CalzoneGolem > Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks 02/13/2019 at 09:59

0

Seafoam has been quite successful for me in getting small engines back up and running that have been sitting for a long time.

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > CalzoneGolem 02/13/2019 at 12:15

0

Walnut blasting is even easier than that. It’s literally: take off the intake manifold, begin walnut blasting. That’s why it’s relatively cheap. Requires very little disassembly. Just pull intake manifold and blast away, and usually blast the intake manifold while it’s off as well.

At 150k, you DEFINITELY have serious carbon build up in there. But I’m not going to say that’s the sole problem. It’s a contributor, for sure. But you need to do all the steps I covered, in order. However, at that mileage, I very much need to add the caveat that there is a non-zero chance that you’re looking at premature bore scoring or failed rings.

Direct injection requires more maintenance than MPFI. And everybody - you included - skips it. Which isn’t helped by manufacturers deliberately avoiding the topic for fear it will hurt sales. I mean, seriously, you didn’t even know you had to clean the intake path on a schedule before yesterday. And missing this maintenance is every bit as bad as not changing the oil ever.

This is what a typical direct injection engine looks like at about 40-50k miles:

CalzoneGolem > Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks 02/13/2019 at 12:48

0

I’ve ordered a new pcv valve. I think I’ll probably call a couple places to see if they could blast the intake and valves. It’s a bit cold in my garage to handle that right now.

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > CalzoneGolem 02/13/2019 at 12:53

1

Media blasting an engine that’s gone this long is something that really, really needs to be left to the professionals anyway . Even I wouldn’t attempt this one myself. There’s going to be way too much carbon, and doing it wrong can easily damage the engine.

CalzoneGolem > Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks 02/13/2019 at 13:15

0

So, what should my intake maintenance routine be going forward? I suspect another bl uer S oul will be joining the stable and this will be passed to our daughter.

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > CalzoneGolem 02/13/2019 at 13:43

1

Rule of thumb I tell folks is to check with the manufacturer first to see if they have any TSBs about carbon build-up. That’s where they hide the interval recommendation if they have one. Otherwise, Hyundai/Kia’s probably good with a 75 k intake interval. Though shorter may be better if fuel mileage is a concern. But I’m just guessing without knowing how bad the engine is at 150k.

The problem with DI is that i ntervals vary extremely from engine to engine, and require a lot of in-depth hands-on knowledge to really estimate accurately though. That’s the problem. You definitely don’t need to follow GM LTG interval (never exceed 35k) since you don’t have misfire codes.

While the photos I posted are extremely typical, the build-up rate matters. The GM LTG looks like that at 30k if you’re lucky. But the Audi took twice as long. And Porsche 9A1 DFI’s almost never need more than solvent even at 100k (due to their setup providing some valve wash.) And without getting in there with a bore scope to site the condition of the head and pistons, I’m just gonna be guessing.

But some digging seems to indicate that Hyundai/Kia’s design is excellent and has exceptional resistance to carbon coking. So presuming there’s no valve or piston burning, I honestly don’t think there’d be any issue with going to 100k. Understand that c arbon build up in a DI engine is an absolute guaranteed thing  - so the question will always be one of resistance and intervals.

This article from Engine Builder probably does a better job of explaining DI issues than I do.

https://www.enginebuildermag.com/2017/10/solving-gasoline-direct-injection-issues-facts-fictions-gdi/