recon engine 1.6Td oil scare

[banana]

Ive had a recon in now for 3000 miles. I check my oil every now and then and did so a few weeks back adding about 1 litre to get the dip stick level up to 3/4.

Yesterday I experienced what the AA man thought was a big end gone. I was towed to garage and told today it was low oil and tappets that I was hearing. I checked the oil before the tow and it was about 2mm on the stick so I knew something was odd.

The advice I have been given is to monitor the situation as the pistons might not be bedded in etc and possibly the turbo is faulty. But a nearly full sump in what was probably 600 miles seems worrying to me. Would the turbo do this ... bearing in mind this engine does not smoke and compared to the outgoing engine is clear. The turbo is the old one so now on 130,000

I suggested the garage test the compression which they said wouldnt prove much so I dropped that line of attack.

No leaks anywhere.

I would appreciate any thoughts on the issue.

[HarryMann]

Has/was the turbo checked when new lump went in, for bearings and seals?

If you take off the compressor outlet hose to the intake, you might see if theres a lot of oil about, which might not be definitive, but at least if that's clean(ish) you'll know turbo should eb OK. When that plastic moulding is off, you could try rocking the impeller shaft. Any axial play at all, dodgy, a little bit of riock, up to 0.020" ~ 0.030" max OK.

Make sure your air-filter is not dirty or worse (presume it had new one with new lump), this can create a sit where oil is sucked past turbo seals

So, if its running clean, where is it going? Got to find a couple of litres somewhere, or are you just assuming its running clean under full power?

[TD]

Hi
What source was the recon?, and who fitted it?
I have a VEGE recon fitted by independent VW garage that checked the turbo before fitting engine, this was at 108K.
Turbo went at 140K, but not using oil, was 'noisey', a bit like stick in bike wheel , at times.
The engine uses some oil, say 500ml in 1000, but VW quote 1l in 1000 so if more than that there's a problem.
Assuming no leaks, the oil is being chucked out , from leaking pipes on turbo?, happened to me, and resides on back door, or is being burnt and the smoke is blue rather than the black diesel smoke.
If being burnt the engine goes well.
As these are not high performance turbos it is not always oils seals thatgo , but bearings from being cooked.
A recon Turbo cost around £400 and is easy to fit , but studs may well snap.
But is the dipstick the right one?, to lose that amount of oil would mean a feckin big cloud of smoke or a dirty great puddle.
The low oil is worrying as it would put wear on the bearings

[banana]

Thanks for the replies.
My engine was not a vege but from Ivor Searles in Soham. I have a years guarantee and will use it if the oil situation doesn't improve. My concern is how quickly the oil must have dropped when the van although used every day generally does 20 miles a day. My second concern is that the guarantee can be transfered onto a replacement engine if needed but only allowing the time thats left on my existing engine. So i really want to find out sooner what is wrong so as to give me the longest guarantee time on another unit should worse happen. There is no oil around/ under or above the engine or on back door. I haven't looked into the turbo as I am not willing to compromise my gaurantee by any dismantling that could be spotted and used as eveidence your honour. My sense about this is that the engine must burning but I havent seen the smoke nor has the garage.
How much oil did I use up if I had some left but no oil buzzer or warning light or overheating. Vans on the raod today so Ill be checking oil tomorrow and the dip stick is just a pain in the a*** to read correctly as I will get 3 different levels each time. How would I tell if the dip stick is not the right one Ive no reason to suppose its not.

[TD]

yes difficult to check dipstick without one to compare with?
But I would say that 1000 to the litre for use of oil on a 'recon' would be the limit of acceptability.W hen my motor was 'new' as with VW engine, it used NO oil between changes at all.( 4000 miles) so they are not designed to use oil. The recon I have now does but never more than a Litre per 500 miles, depending on how hard it is driven.
But if it isn't on th eback doore, or in blue smole where is it?
sorry I'm stumped

[banana]

I suspect i will find out, but I hope its not at my expense. At least my garage refilled and checked it all for free and that tells me they are a bit baffled too.