Waynebaby Posted May 26, 2016 Report Share Posted May 26, 2016 Hi All, My Mk3 GT6 gets through about 1 litre of Millers 20:50 engine oil every 1000 miles. There are no significant oil leaks (now) and the engine doesn't smoke. Is anybody able to tell me if this is a "normal" oil consumption rate or should I be concerned? The engine has done ~55000 miles and the block hasn't been touched. Cheers Wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted May 26, 2016 Report Share Posted May 26, 2016 as the routine checks for engine oil levels is daily weekly and @3k intervals i guess the approved consumption from tTiumph will be something quite high. somewhere they will have whats accepted for warranty periods ....normally so bad it allows anything awful to be deemed acceptable . my hairy Vit6 never used a drop between services but the 2000 saloon ( much younger ) does about 500ml per 1000 approx. pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Caswell Posted May 26, 2016 Report Share Posted May 26, 2016 I have found that if you keep topping up the oil to the top dipstick mark the engine does use more oil. Try monitoring the level and only top up if it gets below about half way between the two marks. When topping up don't go right up to the top mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted May 26, 2016 Report Share Posted May 26, 2016 on Bens thoughts it reminds me that i have come across cars with incorrect dip sticks so when you next drain and refill check the level hi/low marks are roughly calibrated to the amount you add and you dont need extra than specified to reach them. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waynebaby Posted May 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2016 Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll give Ben's idea a go over the next few weeks. Wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gully Posted May 26, 2016 Report Share Posted May 26, 2016 My Mk 3 GT6 doesn't generally need topping up between annual oil changes and I do around 2500 miles per year in it. But there is no 'norm' really. I had 2 Vectras on an S plate a few years ago. The first one, which I had from new, was run in carefully as per the instructions, always used around 500ml per 5000 miles, right up to the point when my now wife wrote it off! The replacement from the company car pool was one which looked as though it had been through a much harder life to get to the same mileage, but never needed a drop between the 10000 mile services. Gully Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooter Posted May 27, 2016 Report Share Posted May 27, 2016 Hi All, My Mk3 GT6 gets through about 1 litre of Millers 20:50 engine oil every 1000 miles. There are no significant oil leaks (now) and the engine doesn't smoke. Is anybody able to tell me if this is a "normal" oil consumption rate or should I be concerned? The engine has done ~55000 miles and the block hasn't been touched. Cheers Wayne A pint a month was much the norm for cars back in the day. You routinely checked your oil when you filled up with petrol and topped up as needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waynebaby Posted May 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2016 Scooter, I remember my Dad regularly buying cans of oil along with the petrol. No screw-cap plastic bottles then - they either had a tear off foil strip or you punctured the lid with a screwdriver, so it all had to go in. Wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted May 27, 2016 Report Share Posted May 27, 2016 Way back in the 60s there was a 100,000 mile oil consumption test done by Shell it involved a good few popular cars from Hillman Minx to Vauxhall Cresta, many didnt get to 100k and I believe only the Minx still did more than a 1000 per pint others were appalling tried a search but can only find books about it no online copies,,,,,, unless you know different???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooter Posted May 27, 2016 Report Share Posted May 27, 2016 Scooter, I remember my Dad regularly buying cans of oil along with the petrol. No screw-cap plastic bottles then - they either had a tear off foil strip or you punctured the lid with a screwdriver, so it all had to go in. Wayne Aye, you always had the rack of 1 pint tins of oil beside every petrol pump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooter Posted May 27, 2016 Report Share Posted May 27, 2016 Way bay in the 60s there was a 100,000 mile oil consumption test done by Shell it involved a good few popular cars from Hillman Minx to Vauxhall Cresta, many didnt get to 100k and I believe only the Minx still did more than a 1000 per pint others were appalling tried a search but can only find books about it no online copies,,,,,, unless you know different???? A combination of very poor oil technology, poor metallurgy, poor surface finishes and loose tolerances. We forget how poor old cars were when new. Who now talks of 'getting a good one' if they have bought a new car that doesn't drink oil and leak like a sieve! Modern oils and machining technology, along with better rings and bearings allows us to dramatically improve these old engines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waynebaby Posted September 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 Just re-opening this thread to say that after a summer of driving I can confirm my "excessive" oil consumption has been halved by following Ben Caswell's advice to use a mid-way point on the dipstick as a topping up target rather than the upper level mark. Thanks Ben. Wayne 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Caswell Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 Yes get in, Thanks for the feed back Wayne. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 i had a 6 with an incorrect dipstick or its tube this allows overfilling . easy to calibrate , look up oil change volume, reduce by 1 ltr , add remaining oil and mark the dipstick as Low level add the 1ltr and mark as full. job done , you may find its very different to the marks on the stick you have . Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Caswell Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 Another problem can be when a big saloon six that lays over normally is used in an upright position in the small chassis and the sump is a different shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fasterandfuriouser Posted October 11, 2016 Report Share Posted October 11, 2016 It is worth noting that modern engines usually have a windage tray. How is this relevant? Without them, vast amounts of oil are in suspension inside the egine with a 'rope' of oil being drawn up from the sump by the crank. This causes excess oil up into the bores as well as helping the 'leakage factor' of our old engines by keeping lots of oil up in the block, rather than were it belongs in the sump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AidanT Posted October 11, 2016 Report Share Posted October 11, 2016 I will try this to. I was a little concerned about my oil usage Thanks for the great info Aidan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 do check what the stick reads when you do a oil change with the specified amount of oil , it may just surprise you that its very wrong Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gully Posted May 19, 2018 Report Share Posted May 19, 2018 On 12 October 2016 at 10:26 AM, Pete Lewis said: do check what the stick reads when you do a oil change with the specified amount of oil , it may just surprise you that its very wrong Pete I've always been slightly suspicious that the dipstick on my GT6 is too long. I changed the oil today and less than 4 litres came out - it was registering 'full' before I ran it to warm the oil before draining. Left it for plenty of time to drain and poured the oil canister contents into the bowl too. Measured out 4 litres (capacity shown as 4.5 litres in the handbook), added it, checked the oil level and found it sitting a reasonable amount above the top mark on the dipstick. So my question is - does anyone have the dipstick dimensions for the GT6, please? Length, top and bottom marks. Part number is 127653 and it's common to the Vitesse 2 litre. Guessing I may have a saloon or TR part. I may be checking dipsticks at Twiddle Day! Thanks, Gully Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad4classics Posted May 20, 2018 Report Share Posted May 20, 2018 On 26/05/2016 at 3:05 PM, Ben Caswell said: I have found that if you keep topping up the oil to the top dipstick mark the engine does use more oil. Try monitoring the level and only top up if it gets below about half way between the two marks. When topping up don't go right up to the top mark. Just read through this thread. Last weekend did a round trip of 750+ miles in GT6 mk3. On the journey there, the oil level went down from the high mark to half way. So obviously though "this is going to be hovering on the low mark by the time we get back!" However, after the return journey it was still sitting at the half way point. Sounds like the same issue. As Gully said, does anyone know the correct dipstick dimensions? David 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteH Posted May 20, 2018 Report Share Posted May 20, 2018 Not sure of the sizes, but I`ve come across plenty of "Dipstick`s" in my time. Big one`s and little ones, but nearly all with that "vacant, house is empty, but the lights are on" look, Including the ones texting as they drive!. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68vitesse Posted May 20, 2018 Report Share Posted May 20, 2018 Checked two dipsticks for Mk1 2l part number 127653 stop to top mark 9 11/16 plus an inch to bottom mark. This is assuming they are the correct ones. Regards Paul 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave.vitesse Posted May 20, 2018 Report Share Posted May 20, 2018 The figure given by Standard Triumph was 500 to 1,000 miles to the pint for the small four and the six cylinder engines. Having used these engines for over 50 years I have found this to be right. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave.vitesse Posted May 20, 2018 Report Share Posted May 20, 2018 The 2 litre had a different marked dip stick than the 2.5. The 1300 and 1500 had different marked dip sticks. The 2000/2500 saloon have a longer handle on the dip stick because its more difficult to get to. Vitesse 2 Litre dip stick in photo's Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gully Posted May 20, 2018 Report Share Posted May 20, 2018 Thank you for the dimensions and pictures! Once mine cools down from the run back from Twiddle Day I shall investigate and report back! Gully Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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