Losing oil after PCV Crankcase breather valve replacement

[kiz17]

Hi all

I recently changed my PCV crankcase breather unit as my engine light was on. Since the replacement I seem to be losing oil very quickly?

My oil light first came on a few weeks ago. As I hadn’t topped up in a year I thought nothing of it and just topped it up. It is worth noting that I only topped it up a little bit because I didn’t want to add too much.

A week after topping it up the oil light came back on again. This didn’t worry me too much because I didn’t put that much oil in to begin with, as I’ve mentioned above. So I topped it up for a second time and put a lot more in, possibly even too much.

However, a week to ten days after this my oil light has come back on again?

Car details:

A3 hatchback
1.8TSFI
57 plate S Line

I understand the 1.8TFSI is known to have oil consumption issues, however, I have owned the car a year now and have never put oil in it up until now. This leads me to believe it’s something to do with the breather unit replacement.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Thank you for reading

 

[ch1z64]

Firstly have you checked all hoses going into it and leaving it for any holes , plus did you put a Seal in it once you put it back together

 

[kiz17]

Firstly have you checked all hoses going into it and leaving it for any holes , plus did you put a Seal in it once you put it back together

Thank you for the reply!

Yeah I’ve triple checked everything I’ve done and it all seems ok? The new crankcase breather unit came with a gasket so I used that one. I’m very confused...

My engine light came on so I took it to the garage for them to diagnose, they advised the crankcase unit has a vacuum leak so I changed it.

My engine light has gone out and my long term fuel trims have gone down, however it’s now created another problem! Oil consumption was fine up until this point.

 

[ScottyP45]

Have you checked the actual level on the dipstick? Sender units can be faulty.

 

[kiz17]

Have you checked the actual level on the dipstick? Sender units can be faulty.

I’ll check for this when I’m home - thank you for the suggestion!

 

[ScottyP45]

No worries mate, proper level will show on flat ground after the engine has been off for a good few hours, best overnight.

If you check it hot after a run, it will be a bit lower than the actual level once all the oil has drained back into the sump - which takes a while.

 

[kiz17]

I’ve checked the oil level via the dipstick and it’s definitely low on oil...

Weirdly though, after checking it and putting the dipstick back in the oil light went out? It has came back on since though.

I can’t see any leaks around the crankcase unit - very confused!

 

[ScottyP45]

Could be burning it - is the exhaust smokey? Do you have an under tray with the foam liner? It's amazing how much those can soak up but if nothing is wet or oily....i'd be very tempted to get it to a trusted mechanic for a right look over on the ramps. If nothing else you'll cost yourself a fortune in oil, and it may run too low while driving at speed.....not good.

 

[kiz17]

Could be burning it - is the exhaust smokey? Do you have an under tray with the foam liner? It's amazing how much those can soak up but if nothing is wet or oily....i'd be very tempted to get it to a trusted mechanic for a right look over on the ramps. If nothing else you'll cost yourself a fortune in oil, and it may run too low while driving at speed.....not good.

Everything seems to be fine and as it was before the crankcase unit change. The only difference is that the engine light has gone out and I’m losing oil very quickly!!

You’re right, probably best to take it to a garage because as you say oil costs rack up quickly. I’ve put in about 1.5 litres of oil in total the past 2 weeks and the oil light has came on twice...