SC - Oil Consumption

[kayjh]

I am concerned about the rate of oil consumption by my 4TEC SC. It currently has 17 hours on it and has used 1.5 litres in the first 12 hours (oil changed by dealer at 12 hours) and .5 litre in the last 5 hours. The dealer wasn't firm on what is normal oil consumtion for this engine. I'm using Penzoil 10W40 mineral oil. Does anyone know what is acceptable consumption?

[Technical Support]

I am not aware of any acceptable rate, and most I know with them are not using a measureable amount. I believe I have read some reports of the supercharger clutch issue consuming oil, have your dealer get you the updated parts.

[kayjh]

TS,

At 10 hours I had to add 1.3L, got an oil change at 12 hours (10 hour check up) and I had to add 1.2L yesterday at 18.2 hours. Surely this has to be excessive. The engine appears to be running well except for the occassional stalling on cold start up. I haven't been able to run the engine "flat out" to see what my max rpms are as the lake has been to rough over the past week. Others have suggested the SC could be at fault here?? I'll be testing it this week if the lake "flattens out".

In any event, the season for me is over in about 3 weeks. I'll be having the dealer get to the bottom of the problem at at that point. If it turns out there is a major engine fault, I'll be looking to Bombardier for a replacement engine rather than a repair (depending on the problem as I'm not really interested in having the engine bored out, etc. if this is a ring problem, etc.).

[Technical Support]

I have not heard of any internal failures, only the SC problems.

[tommyadrian5]

good luck with bombardier replacing it lol

[kayjh]

Tommy,

You are right. If I have a major fault in the engine I may get into an arguement regarding repair vs replacement with Bombardier. However, it is clear the engine has got something wrong with it if it is using as much oil as it is "right out of the box". This isn't a case of an engine being delivered working properly and then developing a defect. Rather it is a defective engine (product).

I live in Canada and practice law in the province I live in. The small claims court limit here is $7,500CDN. An engine replacement is less than that (or so the dealer tells me). Filing a claim costs $50.00.

If Bombardier won't replace a defective engine, I'll sue them. Once they get served with a statement of claim and figure out what it will cost them to defend the action, we'll see what they say. If I lose in small claims court I have a right of appeal to the Queens bench Court (de novo - which means a "trial anew"). So they can hire lawyers in my city to start the whole thing over. At $2,000/day insolicitor costs, plus prep costs for Bombardier, I think I have a shot at a settlement, what do you think??

In the end, the worst I can end up with is a repair. Hopefully it is something simple. If not, I'll do what's necessary to have the engine replaced. I've had professional involvement in this type of action before and can tell you there is a difference between something that is not suitable for sale (merchantable quality) and something that developes a defect after purchaser use.

[sbic]

Re: SC - Oil Consumption

Hi, I have significant oil use on a 4-TEC NA. Like you, I don't have any other issues with the machine - it seems to run well enough without problems. My machine is second hand and I bought it with about 55 hours on. In the peroid of 55-70 hours, it has gone from half way up the dipstick to just below the bottom kink. do you have any idea how much oil this equates to?

Looking at various forums, it would seem some of these engines do use some oil but without ant other issues.

How did you get on with Sea Doo?