[lgbalfa]

i have a 92 spider veloce with 13k miles. had an oil change at 12k miles - used amsoil synthetic 10-40. 1k miles from the oil change i realized that i already burned 2 quarts of oil. my mechanic recommended that i switch to 20-50 and that this will reduce the amount of oil i lose. no leaks anywhere so that is not a reason for the oil loss.

any feedback?

thanks

 

[ddouglas77]

i have a 92 spider veloce with 13k miles. had an oil change at 12k miles - used amsoil synthetic 10-40. 1k miles from the oil change i realized that i already burned 2 quarts of oil. my mechanic recommended that i switch to 20-50 and that this will reduce the amount of oil i lose. no leaks anywhere so that is not a reason for the oil loss.

any feedback?

thanks

You have to have a leak somewhere! Even if it through the piston rings or valve seals and escaping as smoke, there is a leak! Go under your car (watch out for those cabbies going 60mph!) and look for any visible sign of wetness, especially at the front of the engine and rear of the engine, double check your plug is tight and filter is tight, seem common-but that is the point, it does happen more often than you may think-especially the "double gasketed" oil filter-that will leak like a sieve!

 

[lgbalfa]

You have to have a leak somewhere! Even if it through the piston rings or valve seals and escaping as smoke, there is a leak! Go under your car (watch out for those cabbies going 60mph!) and look for any visible sign of wetness, especially at the front of the engine and rear of the engine, double check your plug is tight and filter is tight, seem common-but that is the point, it does happen more often than you may think-especially the "double gasketed" oil filter-that will leak like a sieve!

i had the car on a lift at my mechanics yesterday and he said there were no leaks. he is a specialized alfa only mechanic here in NYC.

i will play around and see if i can find something out of the ordinary.

 

[ddouglas77]

i had the car on a lift at my mechanics yesterday and he said there were no leaks. he is a specialized alfa only mechanic here in NYC.

i will play around and see if i can find something out of the ordinary.

If you have 0 external leaks, then your poor spider is hemorraging (spelling?), you would have to have an internal leak. Try: http://www.goldeagle.com/no-leak/faqs_no-leak.asp?sub_cat=Brown Leaks Unfortunately, yes, I've used this product in the past and it has worked as advertised. It swells up rubber seals to make them reseal again, works great for non-teflon valve seals, doesn't do anything for leaky piston rings though.

 

[ocduff]

lgb alfa -

That's very excessive consumption, considering there are no leaks. Although 10w40 is recommended for our S4's, 20w50 is recommend here on the BB for anytime the weather is above 55 degrees or so.

Also, please don't put any "stop leak" products in your Spider.

Most of us use Castrol GTX 20w-50 with good result. Some might argue that synthetic oils are not good for old engine and seals. There may be some truth to it. Anyway, Castrol 20w-50 dino works fine.

Amsoil is a great product - and in theory should work well in an Alfa, but I would try Castrol dino and stick with it and post back with your results.

 

[lgbalfa]

lgb alfa -

That's very excessive consumption, considering there are no leaks. Although 10w40 is recommended for our S4's, 20w50 is recommend here on the BB for anytime the weather is above 55 degrees or so.

Also, please don't put any "stop leak" products in your Spider.

Most of us use Castrol GTX 20w-50 with good result. Some might argue that synthetic oils are not good for old engine and seals. There may be some truth to it. Anyway, Castrol 20w-50 dino works fine.

Amsoil is a great product - and in theory should work well in an Alfa, but I would try Castrol dino and stick with it and post back with your results.

thanks for the advice - i will monitor and report back.

 

[John M]

Check the oil vapor seperator and see if its clogged up. If so will result in burning oil due to crank case pressure forcing oil past the stem seals on the valves...or at least that is where I would assume the oil would get through. A true 12k mile car shouldn't be burning oil otherwise.

Best Regards,
John M

 

[Zunige]

lgb alfa -

That's very excessive consumption, considering there are no leaks. Although 10w40 is recommended for our S4's, 20w50 is recommend here on the BB for anytime the weather is above 55 degrees or so.

Also, please don't put any "stop leak" products in your Spider.

Most of us use Castrol GTX 20w-50 with good result. Some might argue that synthetic oils are not good for old engine and seals. There may be some truth to it. Anyway, Castrol 20w-50 dino works fine.

Amsoil is a great product - and in theory should work well in an Alfa, but I would try Castrol dino and stick with it and post back with your results.

This is good advice.

...A true 12k mile car shouldn't be burning oil otherwise.

Best Regards,
John M

John,
Do you think that such a low mileage car could have sat a bit too much, and now that lgbalfa has purchased it and is driving it, he's experiencing issues related to rings sticking a bit?

Best regards,

 

[John M]

This is good advice.

John,
Do you think that such a low mileage car could have sat a bit too much, and now that lgbalfa has purchased it and is driving it, he's experiencing issues related to rings sticking a bit?

Best regards,

Yes I do....if it sat without being started for a number of years. But I would think after 1000 miles of driving the result would be either unstuck rings or broken rings for a car that had just sat so long that the rings froze somewhat. This car doesn't "look" like the typical victim of such neglect. I don't know the history on it though. Valve guides and stem seals should be good at that mileage. And I wouldn't think the oil weight had anything to do with it. And I second the castrol gtx 20 50 recommendation.

Best Regards,
John M

 

[ocduff]

I wonder where the oil is going - if your mechanic is correct, and there are no oil leaks in the block (which, not to undermine him, but nearly ALL Alfa's leak), then we need to look at other possibilities. When you park the car next time, put a clean piece of cardboard or paper underneath the entire engine, and let it sit for a while. Even a small leak, when the oil is warm, could realllly be spitting out a lot of oil at highway speed.

The next question is if the car smokes - a blue oily smoke on hard, full throttle acceleration - or blue smoke when you snap the throttle closed after hard acceleration. Either of these will indicate worn rings or valves.

My best guess is that you have a tiny weep somewhere, and also, you're using a thinner grade of syn oil that may not fare well in stopping oil burn off.

So, again, I would switch to 20w50 dino of a good brand, and then drive that sucker around some more...take the GWB to 80, all the way out to Sussex County NJ, or even to the Delaware water gap, and drive up along the river to Port Jervis, then take 23 South back down to 80. Open it up some!

And top down too please!

 

[Zunige]

...So, again, I would switch to 20w50 dino of a good brand, and then drive that sucker around some more...take the GWB to 80, all the way out to Sussex County NJ, or even to the Delaware water gap, and drive up along the river to Port Jervis, then take 23 South back down to 80. Open it up some!

And top down too please!

Sounds like a perfect reason to get together and go driving around. I'm in - just say the word.

On AROC drives, we have made it a defacto standard for the car behind to tell the one in front what comes out the tail pipe, under different loads...

Best regards,

 

[rogerspeed]

stupid question maybe, but when the oil was originally changed at 12k miles did someone mistakenly only put in 5qts of oil instead of the necessary 7qts?
Sounds to me that you drove 1000 miles before checking the dipstick? How can you be sure it had the correct amount in the first place?

 

[lgbalfa]

stupid question maybe, but when the oil was originally changed at 12k miles did someone mistakenly only put in 5qts of oil instead of the necessary 7qts?
Sounds to me that you drove 1000 miles before checking the dipstick? How can you be sure it had the correct amount in the first place?

7 quarts were added - i watched the oil change. i did drive 1,000 miles before i checked the dipstick.