My 1980 300TD has been burning way too much oil. I drive it an average of 3000 miles a month and it has pretty much always been heavy on the oil burn. Sometimes as much as a quart per fill up! Sooo I decided to hit the search and came up with a lot of good info, except I don't know how to interperate it. What am I testing for with the "teakettle"? Because mine doesn't even move with or without the CCV elbow thing attached. Secondly I did the thumb over thing and it ran real slow and rough but didn't stop at all. Now I know THAT can't be good! I watched the videos and did the test and I don't know what either of them is checking.

My locks don't all open after sitting a few minutes but they will all still lock after sitting quite a while. Cruise control works flawlessly, the vent system opens and closes correctly and the car shuts off immediately after turning the key off. There may be a small leak, but I don't think it is a HUGE leak.

Anyway, thanks for any response. I'm out for tonight but I will check back in the morning during work.

Todd

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1980 300TD, SOLD
1984 300TD, 275K
1999 C230 K Black & Tan
2013 C250 Black
1974 CJ5 Red
You might faint from the fight, but you're gonna find it. Every challenge could have paradise behind it. -John Popper-

Teakettle test refers to measuring blowbye, The idea is you plug the valve cover Breather line, and with the oil fill cap unscrewed observe the amount of blowbye seen escaping around the cap, If the cap blows off, thats bad,

Engines can still run with excessive blowby, but typically it means the compression is down.

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1984 Euro 300SDC, (4spd standard)
1986 Toyota Landcruiser Diesel HJ60 5spd X2

Gone but not forgotten (some sold, some stripped)
1983 300 SD, 1985 300 SD, 1983 240D, 1986 300 SDL, 1985 300 SDL, 1983 300 D, 1984 300 D, 1985 300SD, 1987 300 SDL, 1983 300 SD, 1985 300 TD Euro, 1983 380SEC, 1990 300 D, 1987 300D, 1982 300D, 1982 300D, 1994 E420, 1987 300 TD, 1987 300 D, 1984 300 D

You probably have a leak in one of the lock actuators. You'll need a Mity-Vac to find which one is leaking.

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My filler cap does a little break dance for me when i plug the PCV hole with my finger. never comes close to falling off, but its funny to watch it bounce a bit.

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1983 300DT 284k miles. :-) "The Benzo"
1998 Mustang GT Custom 4.9 L engine.
1997 Dodge ram Pickup 5.9L

I'll have to try it again. I think that I didn't do it right. Unfortunately ALL of my door locks, fuel door and hatch included, have leaks.

I guess my question is when I do the thumb thing with the cap attached is it suppose to kill the engine? If it is then what does it mean if it doesn't kill the engine? That is what it looked like the guy was doing in the videos that were posted.

Also I wanted to add that there is no smoke at idle or when I excelerate except if I really need to put my foot into it, then I get the usual black smoke but it goes away as soon as I lift again. I have fixed all of my fluid leaks so I know I am not directly leaking oil onto the ground anywhere.

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1980 300TD, SOLD
1984 300TD, 275K
1999 C230 K Black & Tan
2013 C250 Black
1974 CJ5 Red
You might faint from the fight, but you're gonna find it. Every challenge could have paradise behind it. -John Popper-

It only take a leak in one for the rest of them to not work. So I woudn't be surprised if only one is leaing.

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Be careful doing the test by plugging the line. You can cause a blown seal from pressure build up. If the engine does not die, that is a good thing. IF the oil cap does not dance that mean zero to very little blowby.

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RRGrassi


70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car

13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete.

91 W124 300D Turbo replaced, Pressure W/G actuator installed. 210K

90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K

Okay good, but then what is my next step to figuring out why I am using so much oil? I drive it a lot and the oil is a pretty hefty expense. That is the main reason that I haven't switched to synthetic, it would be WAY to expensive. For years I have used Rotella.

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1980 300TD, SOLD
1984 300TD, 275K
1999 C230 K Black & Tan
2013 C250 Black
1974 CJ5 Red
You might faint from the fight, but you're gonna find it. Every challenge could have paradise behind it. -John Popper-

Does your exhaust exhibit signs of oil burning? Mine dribbles more than it burns. I have traced it to bad oil return seals from the oil/air separator. It seems to leak more now that I washed the engine and got rid of the dirt that helpd to seal the leak.

You do not have to have blowby to have oil burning. You can have valve guides and seals leaking, or the wiper rings getting either weak, or carbon choked, preventing proper expansion, contraction. Being that you do not have the oil cap dancing, I think your compression should be fine.

Have you perfomed a compression and/or leakdown test?

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RRGrassi


70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car

13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete.

91 W124 300D Turbo replaced, Pressure W/G actuator installed. 210K

90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K

rrgrassi - Okay I know that this is something I should know with all the other repairs I've done but what and where is the oil/air seperator and how do I check to see if it is leaking?

I do not have any oil leaking or is any of the tailpipe wet from oil. It appears to just be soot or carbon in the tailpipe, bone dry.

I have not perfomed any compression or leakdown test. Primarily because I do not have the correct equipment for the job or the know-how to do the job correctly. Looks like I will have to invest some money and some study time to the subject.

__________________
1980 300TD, SOLD
1984 300TD, 275K
1999 C230 K Black & Tan
2013 C250 Black
1974 CJ5 Red
You might faint from the fight, but you're gonna find it. Every challenge could have paradise behind it. -John Popper-