# Where is the oil going in my 4.2l S4?



## runvdub (Mar 23, 2011)

So a little backstory on the car to start.

-Bought the car with a bad flywheel at 143k miles, while replacing the main chain guide "fell apart" and skipped timing.
Onto the motor repairs 
-Replaced 10 bent valves
-new headgaskets and all new valve stem seals, also lapped all 40 valve seats.
-new valley pan gasket and check valves
-new oem timing chain tensioners, chains and guides, all new gaskets and JHM mechanical adjusters.
-Visual inspection of the cylinder walls proved no scoring only normal wear.
-tons of other new parts, VC gaskets, spark plugs, motor mounts and front and rear main seals.

Problems now at 147k
Car runs great other than the following
-the loss of about 1qt. of oil over 150 miles or so (tried switching to thicker oil but did not help)
-On cold startup there is a misfire that has been slowly getting worse since the change to heavier oil and colder weather. (misfire also disappears after the car is warm or over 3k RPM)
-Pistons are already coated with carbon buildup
-Replaced PCV valve at 146k but still having the same problems
-There is no noticeable exhaust smoke, especially for this amount of oil loss
-Last time the car was scanned I got misfire codes for cylinders 1-4 which I believe is leading to the Secondary Air/ O2 Codes I'm getting. No timing codes whatsoever have been stored since the repairs.

My diagnosis,
-Blow by, or possibly PCV issue. 
-Could be rings but the car pulls very well and theres no way compression numbers would be low enough to suggest bad rings/walls and still run this strong.


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## nutsofast1.8T (Feb 4, 2004)

That sounds like quite a bit of oil for a short duration. Could be a factor of many things and not just oil burning. Get yourself a strong flashlight and a small inspection mirror for those tight "around the corner" spots. Looking for oil seeps is not gonna come off shiny like oil leaks. It will look more like really thick, dirt spots around gasket areas and seams. Look around head and valve cover gaskets, front and rear crank areas, and around the oil cooler which is behind the alternator i believe. Also, check your coolant to verify you dont have chocolate milk spots floating in it. good luck and keep us posted on your finds. cheers :beer:

Just realized i resurrected a dead post... lol. At least some helpfull info above for those searching


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