# 2002 Jetta Burns lots of oil!!!! help?



## kidsjetta02 (Oct 2, 2010)

hey all
I have a 2002 Jetta 2.0 with about 73k miles on it 
the car burns oil badly it doesnt smoke, it gets to the point that it gets so low it doesnt read on the dipstick.
the car does not leak oil so I know they tend to burn some oil but to burn almost 5 qts in less than 5,000 miles
What can cause this?
thanks!


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## AudiSportA4 (Mar 3, 2002)

Sure. A small group of the 2.0 engines received the rings installed upside down, you might want to check that reference for your VIN. There is no fix for that besides engine work. 

Other mechanical fixes include eliminating any leaks, which can be a large or small job.

By running low, you are actually making the engine condition and whole situation worse in terms of wear. It's not like a gas tank where it doesn't matter if it's full or half or quarter... Once you run down past 50% capacity, you are also damaging the oil in a number of ways, and it's better at that point to drain and refill it with fresh. Don't worry about changing the filter until it's 6k miles or more. You can always remove, drain and re-install a filter with a few 1000 miles on it, esp if you'd rather put the money into a better oil.

As for oil, $2 15w-40 HD oil will be the lowest consumption product in general, but there are also High-Miles oils. I don't know your climate, but that matters a lot how thick or thin an oil you need for winter. If you only see below freezing a few times a winter, 15w-40 is fine. IF you think it's going to get down into the teens F, 10w-40 either plain or in a High-Miles version should still cut your consumption in HALF over a 5w-30. IN a colder climate, 10w-30 High-Miles or one brand of HD oil that comes in 10w-30, Shell Rotella "T5" 10w-30 is available at most WalMarts now. Just quitting buying oil in quarts will save you money!

So, going in to winter, I'd say maybe try the 10w-30 HiMiles (MaxLife, Castrol GTX HM, Pennzoil HM or whatever) with a extra jug of the same brand 10w-40 HM to use as top-off or even custom-blended if you are that into it.

You could also add some 2-cycle oil (TCW-3) to the fuel at 500:1, a little extra the first time.

Another technique is to try and free the caked piston rings a bit by soaking the tops with a mix of light oils and solvent, 2-3oz poured cleanly into the sparkplug holes. Crank the engine w/o plugs, taking care to not let dirt pour back into cylinder w/rags stuffed in or pre-cleaning the area. Let sit overnight, crank some more and then after replacing the plugs if possible do an intake cleaning, a "Seafoam Cleaning" (but Berryman's B-12 is better, some say water is best!). Soaking the crud with solvents (Berryman's, Seafoam, Gumout) and oil (Marvel Myst or even the 2-cycle) allows it to detach from the metals as the oil soaks in rather than trying to dissolve everything.

lmk if you have any more questions. I don't suggest antiquated 20w-50 as a solution over high-tech 15w-40 and I don't think you want to use synth until you have consumption under control, HOWEVER, Mobil 1 High Miles comes in 10w-30 and 10w-40 for $23/5q...overkill for a 2.0, but one of the best products on the market. Climate is important, keep that in mind.


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## JoshStoryDesign (Sep 29, 2008)

i have this issue too i just bought that can of Restore for 4cylinder engines. Think that would help? I'm going to add this to the oil change when i do it this weekend


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## AudiSportA4 (Mar 3, 2002)

Funny thing about Restore, it just increases engine wear. 
Look at this UOA where a guy added some...











Epic amounts of copper and lead, from the formula, not the engine. Still, all that metal particulate is abrasive. If you have worn parts, it's just wear them down more. It certainly won't be plating up lost metal. Sorry. I'm sure it has some thickener and stuff too, that'll temporarily increase compression or decrease consumption until it shears into sludge.

Please don't use Restore, it's the last thing you want in your engine. Adding oil occasionally isn't the worst thing in the world. Consider doing the services I described and I'm sure you'll get a decent result. Quit using cheap 5w-30 too, if you are doing that. It just makes your sticky cyl rings worse as it burns away. All you have to do is free the stuck rings a bit. You can try a normal solvent flush in the old oil for 10 minutes at idle (1q Kero or Diesel) before you drain it out. Then maybe some Auto-rx (.com) in the new oil afterwards.


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## JoshStoryDesign (Sep 29, 2008)

AudiSportA4 said:


> Funny thing about Restore, it just increases engine wear.
> Look at this UOA where a guy added some...
> 
> 
> ...



Oh man, nah i use Pennzoil or Castrol 5w30 or 10w30 all the time.


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## AudiSportA4 (Mar 3, 2002)

Well then you have the stuck ring issue in combo with mild leaks and such. Just try a HiMiles oil, GTX HM is good and consider the other approachs I described. Any and all are way better than the Restore. You can move up to a 40 weight or a thicker 30 like M1 High Miles. Light 30s can be troublesome in older VAGs once consumption starts. 

Be sure to check your PCV valve and system too, it's a source of consumption and a lot of other troubles, like dirt ingestion and seal damage.


btw- GTX is typically good at burn-off...


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## JoshStoryDesign (Sep 29, 2008)

AudiSportA4 said:


> Well then you have the stuck ring issue in combo with mild leaks and such. Just try a HiMiles oil, GTX HM is good and consider the approach I described. Any and all are way better than the Restore. You can move up to a 40 weight or a thicker 30 like M1 High Miles. Light 30s can be troublesome in older VAGs once consumption starts.
> 
> Be sure to check your PCV valve and system too, it's a source of consumption and a lot of other troubles, like dirt ingestion and seal damage.


will do, yeah mine has 58k only on it. I bought Pennzoil 10x30 already so the next chnage i'll try the high mileage one in 10w40.


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## AudiSportA4 (Mar 3, 2002)

AudiSportA4 said:


> You could also add some 2-cycle oil (TCW-3) to the fuel at 500:1, a little extra the first time.
> 
> Another technique is to try and free the caked piston rings a bit by soaking the tops with a mix of light oils and solvent, 2-3oz poured cleanly into the sparkplug holes. Crank the engine w/o plugs, taking care to not let dirt pour back into cylinder w/rags stuffed in or pre-cleaning the area. Let sit overnight, crank some more and then after replacing the plugs if possible do an intake cleaning, a "Seafoam Cleaning" (but Berryman's B-12 is better, some say water is best!). Soaking the crud with solvents (Berryman's, Seafoam, Gumout) and oil (Marvel Myst or even the 2-cycle) allows it to detach from the metals as the oil soaks in rather than trying to dissolve everything.



...and freeing the ring pack.


but I forgot what a pita the plugs are to get to in the 2.0. At least try the solvent flush in the old oil.


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