Stop smoke

[MikeR]

With the aging focus using a pint every 100 miles or so , so about 200 miles from high to low on the dip stick. 

I came across stop smoke , and decided to try it .

Warmed it up first and got the filler ready and it poured like the blob ...

Feels very sticky , then took the car for a run and then let the oil settle ... engine sounds the same but the oil now seems more sticky .  So with some commuting to do and a short trip at the weekend it will be interesting to see what happens

.

[HMC]

So 6L every 1000miles ish? Sounds heavy! Be interesting to see the effect

[MikeR]

what I will really be looking out for is the puff of smoke when the engine goes back on the throttle when on the motorway ...

whatever way this goes I am looking at another car next year anyway , but it will be interesting to see what happens ...

the local garage said try the stuff and they sell a few cars ???

[New POD]

Make Joe an offer for his mk4 Astra. He's hardly using it as it's not Birmingham emissions compliant. And he's getting the train to work.

60k on the clock. 

 

[sierraman]

Watching with interest. Sense says this is the best solution, I’ve no doubt someone will be along to suggest you embark on an engine rebuild but it’s at the end of its working life, chucking a tin of gloop in to nurse it through another few MOT sounds more sensible.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

48 minutes ago, MikeR said:

what I will really be looking out for is the puff of smoke when the engine goes back on the throttle when on the motorway ...

Blue smoke?

[MikeR]

17 minutes ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

Blue smoke?

yes

[Zelandeth]

Our experience of this stuff is that it's generally what you stick in to tide you over either through an MOT or for a couple of days to sell a car to some unsuspecting buyer.

We tried it back when we had a Sierra which was producing a James Bond style smoke screen at times.  It did reduce the visible smoke initially but the effect only lasted for about a tank and a half of fuel.

[Liggle]

Thats insane oil consumption, I hope it works!

[Tadhg Tiogar]

35 minutes ago, MikeR said:

yes

Valve stem seals and/or piston rings/cylinder bores gone, then.

[MikeR]

58 minutes ago, New POD said:

Make Joe an offer for his mk4 Astra. He's hardly using it as it's not Birmingham emissions compliant. And he's getting the train to work.

60k on the clock. 

 

I will give him what he paid for it ....

[steveo3002]

intresting to see how it goes

does your tappets sound rough?...my aged one sounds like an old ice cream van , oil use isnt too rude on 5/40

[sierraman]

Rings probably on those, they usually get a bit smoky by 150k. It’s not the smoke that’ll see it off it’s the hydrocarbon content of the emissions. 

[DavidB]

Doesn't this just make the oil thicker so it doesn't seep past seals as easy, like the gearbox stop leak stuff (that stuff doesn't work though).

[sierraman]

Stop leak just swells the seals slightly. 

[DodgeRover]

A point of oil in 100 miles is utterly fucked, cut the cat off and bridge it. I'm amazed you haven't been pulled for leaving a smoke screen!

You could try an oil change and a slightly higher viscosity oil and using semi rather than got synthetic. Most people don't bother changing the oil when it's going through that much, but it might benefit slightly.

[sierraman]

You can’t scrap a good car like that! @DodgeRover there’s only 20,000 Mk1 Focus petrols left you know!!

Seriously forget putting fresh oil in the cunt on the basis it’ll make it better. It won’t. Chuck any old used shit, even the stuff out of the lawnmower. By this point it’s just to keep the motor frictionless enough and the smoke screen down enough. 

[MikeR]

2 hours ago, steveo3002 said:

intresting to see how it goes

does your tappets sound rough?...my aged one sounds like an old ice cream van , oil use isnt too rude on 5/40

Tappets are fine , to be honest the engine is very quiet , still pulls  80 without any effort with 3 adults and a dog plus shite , it's just run well on the 13 miles to work on the a road and motorway , no smoke 

[omegod]

I have a very good 2005 100k 1.6 Focus engine with fresh belts in my stash , I'm 10 miles from you, and tis but a weekends work  

[sierraman]

43 minutes ago, omegod said:

I have a very good 2005 100k 1.6 Focus engine with fresh belts in my stash , I'm 10 miles from you, and tis but a weekends work  

This, if you can borrow a crane and drop another unit in much better. While you are at it, swat a fresh clutch in as well. 

[Ian_Fearn]

There’s a guy on YouTube called DIY Dave that has spent a fortune on magic potions to stop his otherwise sweetly running Corolla from consuming oil.

Nothing worked even temporarily.

[Minimad5]

I hear Eddy has a brilliant Astra Derv of many frugal points, that should replace a focus well 

[MikeR]

1 hour ago, omegod said:

I have a very good 2005 100k 1.6 Focus engine with fresh belts in my stash , I'm 10 miles from you, and tis but a weekends work  

I will be moving on , it will need a new screen , welding , brakes, etc  , thanks 

I will be looking for cheaper tax , more mpg and inner city access ..for 400 notes it has served me well over the last 4 years 

[MJK 24]

Be interesting to see if you get even a small improvement.

I had an old VW years ago with one noisy tappet that would drive me mad.  A garage owning mate gave me a can of Miller something or other that was supposed to solve such issues.

I thought it would be snake oil but it worked after a few miles and the noise never came back!  I was amazed!

[junkyarddog]

Maybe the crankcase breather is blocked,that can cause excessive oil consumption on a Zetec engine.

[stuboy]

tried 2 stop smoke potions on my old mondeo 1.8... nothing worked

[HMC]

I had an early mk3 mondeo 1.8 which also had a hunger for oil. In the end I decided it was a combination of rings and top end damage from swallowing swirl flaps from the disintegrating inlet Manifold. Once the remains of the swirl flaps were removed from the intake port it was less strangled, ran fine, but still Liked a drop of oil or three.

[stripped fred]

Back in the late 1990's myself and mate went halves on a 924. Bought for £600 odd. It smoked a bit so when we sold it we bought some tablets from the back of a magazine which claimed to stop it to some degree.Spark plugs out and one in each cylinder. It did seem to work and we made a small profit on it.

The current me thinks the old me was an immoral scoundrel.

[New POD]

18 hours ago, MikeR said:

I will give him what he paid for it ....

I think he'd be happy to do that....when he gets back from his hols, I'll see if I can broker a deal. 

You won't get the same warranty though. 

[New POD]

14 hours ago, MikeR said:

 

I will be looking for cheaper tax , more mpg and inner city access ..

That might be a problem with a 2000 Astra.