Upon my search, compiled from searches from this Audi forum, and two other Audi forums, one UK, all show, indicate same results for the following.....................

I have owned and driven over72 automobiles in my 52 years of life, including MG, Rover, International Harvester, Mercedes Benz, GM, Ford, Chrysler, Volvo,(in my boats)Perkins diesel marine, Yanmar marine diesel, Man, diesel engines also including Mercedes Benz marine diesels,I have owned only 2 brand new cars, a g-20 chevy van, Pontiac Fiero,most used cars I've owned had120k or more miles when I began driving them,a fewwent to 300k before I parted with them including Volvo, Mercedses, GM, Ford 300 six...

NONE of theseused more than a quart between 3 and 5 thousand mile oil changes, or 50 hour oil changes.................

With this said, and by trade I am a Marine Mechanic, dealing with Detroit Diesel (leakers) Caterpillar, Cummins,Westerbeke (jap) Volvo, Gardner, GM, Ford Leman..........to mention, and others.............My big Question here.............................................. .................................................. .........................


My 1997 Quattro A6, with 96K, uses a full Quart of oil approximately every 1000 miles.........................NO, there are no leaks, and I guess if I could look closely, I should be able to see BLUE smoke out of the exhaust............changed plugs and they look normal..........where the hell is this much oil leaving the engine and if it is, I wonder how much the Catalytic converter can handle before it needs to be replaced?

Anyone with comments?????
WHY do AUDI engines USE excessive amounts of engine oil, above and beyond what is considered "industry standard"

 

What is industry standard?

I had a 96 A6 and had no oil consumption issue. Have none with current A6. I hear some A3 2.0 and RS4 users ahve to keep several quarts in the trunk though.... I drive 5k b/w oil chnages even the book recommends 10k intervals !!! OIl chnage requires 7 quarts of castrol Euro synthetic oil.. level drops 2 quarts maybe.

 

Like GIGI said the A3 and RS4 have oil consumption problems, and it all stems from a clogged PCV valve. Change your PCV or puck valve and perform a seafoam treatment in the oil and you should see a hugh decrease in oil consumption.

 

I'm on my 5th Audi, had 3, 5 cylinder models, and now my second 2.8L V6. The "worst"oil consumption was the '91 2.3L 5-cyl, with over 325k km (201k Miles) and it was down 1 quart when the 5-6k oil change was due. The others were less than half quart down at oil change time.
Any Audi engine that burns oil (leaking out of cam seals is another issue) is rare and probably abused.

 

Thanks for the info guys....but I haven't pulled the bottom engine enclosure yet,and a look elsewhere cant find the PCV and there are no pcv valves listed in any of the online parts suppliers for this model year 1997 A6 Quattro 2.8. I see pcv's listed for later models, but not this one!

Also, where is the best easiestplace to add SeaFoam for the upper end?

 

First of all -- Your problem is Bristol RI.. everyone knows that Bristol RI is really part of Mass and before rt 24 was extended it got in the way when traveling to Newport unless you used the Jamestown Bridge. Now Bristol is one of those places that you can't get to or wouldn't want to get to.

I have never used that amount of oil in a vehicle since my 1941 ford coupe. My audi's usually go 5,000K or more -in fact I used the oil level to determine when I changed it on my 200QT - It dropped a quart in about 6K My current A6 with 245K uses a quart in around 5K.

Although there is no actual PCV valve there is a hose (I don't remember what it is called) that could be plugged. There is a recent discussion here about what it is....


PS Sorry about the Fiero -- I had one of those. I went like a scalled rabbit till it burned to the waterline and sunk..

 

My audi goes through quite a bit as well. about a quart every 2,000 miles

 

In my shop practice, 1qt/1000 miles is time for a rebuild. If it is leaking it, that's different. As has been said, do a com-pression test first to see if th erings are shot. Then clean the crankcase vent system, it is ported, there is no PCV valve. Just clean the little holes in it. Folks that don't change oil often enough get sludge in these holes, causing high crankcase pressures and subsequent driving of oil into the cylinders past the rings.

 

So the question what is "normal" consumption...we ahve an A6 that is always needing oil...
Is this "normal" behavior as stated by the dealer?

 

My 00 A6 2.8 with 170-180k (can't remember) uses 1/2qt between 5-6k mile oil changes. I used to use Mobile 1 but recently switched back to dino as my car is getting too old to justify the extra cost. I still only use 1/2qt in my 5-6k oil change interval. *not all of it is being burnt, my cam seals are and will continue to leak*

I have never owned a car that used that much oil. My Volvo with 334k on it when I traded it used 1qt every 3k but it had 334k miles on it. I owned a 83 Nissan Pulsar in HS that would only burn oil if I added any. If you checked the oil it would not register on the dip stick. If you added a qt, it would fill the neighborhood with white smoke for 5-10 mins, and I mean fill the neighborhood. Far more smoke then any Seafoam treatment can product. I just simply never added enough to register on the dip stick. Drove that car for 1 year and a buddy of mine drove it for 2 before the engine blew.