Sell, Fix, or buy lots of oil?

[gazareth]

the valve seals can be done without removing the head so that's what I would go for first. 9 times out of ten that's the reason for oil burning anyway. bottom ends rarely give any trouble. oil sure aint going to get any cheaper.

[Craigwilson]

Theres a 2.0 mk3 gti 8v in a Glasgow scrapyard if anyone's close and wants it.

[Gambit]

You could pick up a 2.0 bottom end for as little as 50, throw a set of bearing and rings in it for another 100 if you really want. Then drive it for another 100k mile

[Waspy]

You could pick up a 2.0 bottom end for as little as 50, throw a set of bearing and rings in it for another 100 if you really want. Then drive it for another 100k mile

Im not really at a stage where I would be confident changing bearing or rings tbh.
I could really do with knowing what my actual compression results are. Havnt a clue why it was chucking out such low readings...

Might give the valve seals a go and see if it improves. The bottom end could be fine at the end of the day, its just whether it will stay fine for the next few years.

[Gambit]

Does it smoke under acceleration?

Compression test usually better with two people.
Take all plugs out
stick compression tester in plug 1
Crank over car for about ten secs WITH throttle wide open

record and move on two next cylinder

compare all 4 results.

[Waspy]

Haven't been able to see if it smokes under acceleration. If it sits and idles it smokes. On rare occasions it won't smoke at all. But 90% of the time it smokes on idle, be it on startup or traffic. But like I say I haven't seen if it smokes on acceleration.

That's exactly how I did the test as well, had two of us and we did exactly what you said. Might be a faulty tester tbh.

[Gambit]

If it smokes on idle, and startup etc then it would point to valvestem seals

as for compression, ideally you want 180psi odd which is a fair bit more than 4 bar so id get a new tester!

[Wayne]

Stick a mk3 2.0 8v bottom end on it. Least hassle and cost. And insurance wont know anything about it as it still looks like a 1.8 8v in the engine bay

They should be told, non declared engine change is a major problem if they find out.

[Sgt_Lemon]

Stick a mk3 2.0 8v bottom end on it. Least hassle and cost. And insurance wont know anything about it as it still looks like a 1.8 8v in the engine bay

They should be told, non declared engine change is a major problem if they find out.

How would they ever find out?

[Gambit]

Exactly itd need to be a pretty sharp eyed insurance person to spot a 2.0 bottom end