RV-9A Average Oil Consumption

[Kevincav]

Apologies if this has been asked, I tried looking for it. I did a pre-buy for a beautiful RV-9A and most things seemed good. There has been concern about the oil consumption. It seems that it goes through a quart every 7-10 hours. Is this normal? I've talked to some people who were thrown off by it being so low. Obviously the seller / broker seem to think it's good. The engine has 740 hours on it with a new cylinder 4 years ago. This is an IO-320. This is the plane.

[pjoshyjosh]

My 9A will use up oil until about 5.25 quarts. Then it slows way down on consumption. So, when filling, I try to fill to about 5.5. I can run 10-15 hours on .25-.5 quarts.

That's anecdotal at best..

But if you were in a similar -320 engine and filled to 6 quarts - it would consume faster for sure.

[bruceh]

I have an IO-320-E2D in my RV-9A. 820 hours as of now. I change the oil about every 35-45 hours, or every 4 months. Usually at around 30 hours I need to put in 1/2 quart to keep it at 6 quarts. I'm running Aeroshell W100 with Camguard. It doesn't really go through any oil. I send out my sample to Blackstone and they have basically said to keep doing what your are doing!

[rv6n6r]

There seems to be a wide range of "normal" oil consumption in these engines. I'm no engine expert but from my pretty extensive investigations the consumption is a little high but still in the "good to go" range. But don't take my word for it -- the maximum oil consumption for the engine should be in the engine operation manual. If one of those isn't with the plane, it should be acquired and consulted.

It is a good idea to check for reasons why oil might be going where it shouldn't -- borescope the cylinders and look for pitting and check the condition of the valves, do a compression check, look for gunk out the tailpipe and on the belly, check for oil on the bottom plugs, and make sure there are no leaks. That will tell you if there is a specific problem.

[rvmv]

My IO320 with 200 hours is similar to bruceh’s. 1/2 quart ever 30-40 hrs.

[Desert Rat]

rv6n6r has it right.

compressions good? Oil on the belly? What about the spark plugs? If the lower plugs were oily, it's possible it could be an oil burner even if it has good compression. About the best way to tell other than that is to borescope through the spark plug holes.

Personally, I would be annoyed by an engine burning that much oil, but Lycoming will tell you not to worry about it until it gets into more like a quart every 2-3 hours.

[Vlad]

O-320 past two TBOs drinks one quart every 3.5 - 4 hours at 65% power

[airguy]

Oil usage is all over the map - when I change oil and filter I put 7 quarts in, and my engine will dump most of 1/2 quart overboard within the first 2-3 hours. Then I'll need to add a quart at about 30 hours, and before I need to add another it's time for an oil change at 50 hours. I've got 750 hours on this engine and it has not been babied.

[Kevincav]

Originally Posted by rv6n6r

There seems to be a wide range of "normal" oil consumption in these engines. I'm no engine expert but from my pretty extensive investigations the consumption is a little high but still in the "good to go" range. But don't take my word for it -- the maximum oil consumption for the engine should be in the engine operation manual. If one of those isn't with the plane, it should be acquired and consulted.

It is a good idea to check for reasons why oil might be going where it shouldn't -- borescope the cylinders and look for pitting and check the condition of the valves, do a compression check, look for gunk out the tailpipe and on the belly, check for oil on the bottom plugs, and make sure there are no leaks. That will tell you if there is a specific problem.

He suspected that it might have oil consumption problems but didn't see anything on it.

[SMRacer]

Originally Posted by Vlad

O-320 past two TBOs drinks one quart every 3.5 - 4 hours at 65% power

Hey Vlad, make sure you check your ELT before every flight.