Hello Guys

Today I went for the periodic check (MFK) of my VW Golf. Just at the start of the test when the guy was checking the back lights, he told me that there is oil leakage (Ölverlust). Presumably he did that by just smelling/seeing the exhaust. The car does seem to have a little smoke, though barely noticeable. There is no oil leakage on floor where I normally park it.

On the paper that was handed to me he wrote "Motor - Dichtheit". Now what does this mean? Of course, I'll take it to a garage. I just want to hear some advice from the engine veterans. Could it be the piston rings, cylinder? If yes, what does such a repair normally cost?

There was no other issue and he asked me to come again for a recheck within 14 days.

Thanks for your comments.

If there is oil burning consistently then you need to get it checked. Some cars/engines are designed to deliberately burn oil - but they tend to be special hand built engines rather than a standard production one.

There are lots of reason a car could be burning oil - but leaky piston rings are certainly possible - although not a cheap job to do.

HOWEVER before you panic - double check you don't have an oil leak dripping onto the exhaust. And when checking for leaks start at the top and work down - systematically. And make sure the engine bay is clean.

How many KM has the car done , which engine ?
Was the engine fully warmed up?

Thanks for your comments.

The engine bay is clean but the exhaust outlet does look a bit oily. The engine was well warmed up. I drove on Autobahn for about 15 minutes. The engine is 1.6L petrol with 235000 KM on it. Externally, it is very clean, no oil anywhere.

I hope for you that it is not the "head gasket"...When you have oil in the exhaust, it means the water is mixed with oil...have a look to the engine oil and check if you find some water droplets..or check if you have oil droplets in the cooling water system..Anyway, I think it is the end of your engine...Sorry

Does a bad cylinder/piston/valve/gasket mean the end of an engine? The earth does not have infinite resources.

Better educate yourself than write silly answers.

At that km valve guides spring to mind, rings or head gasket. None will be cheap unless your into DIY.

You could spend more than the car is worth , think very carefully before going to a main dealer. A small mechanic with a friend may be able to get a pass!

I'm not familiar with that engine, but something to check is the oil breather pipe (if it has one, usually goes from the top / side of the engine and either back into the engine, or into the air box) it could just be that has come lose, or split, some older cars also vent into the air (not allowed now) or down to the exhaust for that to burn off the oil vapour (again not allowed now)

take the air filter out and see if its full of oil, give it a clean out (the filter box, not the filter)

if it is the breather pipe venting to air causing issues then sticking in an inline filter will cure the issue for the mfk

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Calm down... what he means is that it might be a write-off.

If (if!) the head gasket needs replacing, you're looking at a good 6+ hrs labour, plus parts. Close to CHF 3'000 I'd say (more if done at a VW dealership). Is your car worth that much?

Educate my self? You need education and even more... This is a FORUM, anyone can add his point of view while respecting each others...stupid answers for stupid people!! I'm trying to help you and this is your way of answering??? If you car had only 100 000 Km, you can spend 2000 frs to repair your engine...do whatever you want with your engine...Despise learning and make everyone pay for your ignorance

hehehe No comments
Thanks jean and see you later

What?

What has water to do with it?

Oil in the exhaust normally means rings or guides.

With 236k km, either or both is likely.

Tom

think he is talking about head gasket failure, then you get all manor of s**t coming out of the exhaust, and everywhere else (yes yes, get the rover jokes in now)

easy to check for, take the oil cap off, if it looks like someones poured mayonnaise into your engine then you have hgf (usually caused by cooling issues, hgf is a symptom of another issue usually)

Thanks Tom.

With guides you mean valve-guides or the cylinder-sleeve?

If you have oil in the exhaust gas then that normally that shows up somehow in the exhaust gas (Abgas) test. I assume that was OK? The HC level was OK?

Are you sure the inspector was not looking at some drops of oil on the floor at the time?

ah BB2 you beat me too it Yes check the oil filler cap

But damn... I had a particularly fine Rover joke too

At 200,000+ kms its not uncommon for the gaskets to get problematic. Head gasket is usually the top culprit, but sometimes its the rear gasket for some engines. That is not a very big deal.
When you change oil, do you notice that engine oil is less? If your car is eating oil, it will give you bluish smoke.
Best time to check that is morning, when firing a cold engine

If you are getting vapor/white smoke even on a warm engine, then it could be head problems

So check on the color of smoke on warm engine as well as cold engine.

Early morning(near zero temps) you may get water vapor in exhaust initially, but its normal, no need to worry.

However, if you are noticing any other kind of smoke, do tell.

I think you may be confusing a few things here.

First off, head gaskets are very easy to change.

Secondly, an engine burning oil (detected in the exhaust emissions) is nothing to do with water and oil mixing. I think you mean the situation when you find that water has mixed with the engine oil due to head gasket failure. (Sometimes this can be detected by finding creamy gloop on the underside of the oil filler cap or under the camshaft cover. This is the result of oil emulsified with water.

To the OP:

Whatever the cause, it's not all doom and gloom. First check some basics as pointed out by the other posters in this thread. If the engine is worn, then it can be repaired. I have successfully reconditioned a few car engines in my time without even having to remove the entire engine from the car. (And at a reasonable cost too!) As CH is quite expensive, it may be worth asking a German garage to carry out the repairs.

I am sure I don't know what you mean I'm sure there's nothing ever gone wrong with BB2's Rover.....

On a side note, I changed the head on a 214 years ago on my friend's car and was surprised at how easy it was to work on. My mate ended up getting 230K Miles out of the motor before the gearbox finally let go. (Actually, the engine was the only thing still working properly at that mileage. Even one of the doors nearly fell off!)

that rover has the V6 engine, no HGF for me