Hi FrankB
That penrite oil should be ok, is this the oil they have always used? Or was it changed when the injectors were done?
With med kms engine, I would be tempted to use a lighter oil say 15 40 for example and see if you get blue smoke when running hard, which would indicate oil control rings worn.
Thick oil is not always better, unless you need it to cut oil burn. Thicker oil untill it warms up can rob you of the little power you have available to you with the 2.2L.
I have a 270k engine and use bp vanellus 15 40.
Hey if it burns thru it quicker, then your onto something ;(, if not, you have given it a "flushing" oil change with nothing to loose.
I did 4 changes in a week of running, and it took quite a while to blacken up the last oil change oil, I was worried that it might have had an adverse affect on the motor, removing aged old grime that helped seal the whole thing together if you know what I mean, but it actually helped it alot, and freed it up and cut the black smoke considerably.
If the oil light is flashing on and off intermittantly, and you have a sump full of oil, I would suggest that you replace the oil pressure sender unit.
I think going by my memory (would be better to call it a forgettory), the unit is on the drivers side of the block, closer to the firewall than the oil filter. Its a small unit, about and inch in diameter, with an 8mm or so threaded end into the block, with a wire hanging off it.
Unless the wire has fallen off the unit, and its occasionally grounding to earth and causing the oil light to come on
.
The bell housing is the bit that joins the gearbox to the engine block.
At the join of this unit, and the engine block, at the lowermost part of it, there is a thin metal plate bolted onto it which acts as a dust seal. Between that thin metal plate, and the bellhousing is a spot where there should be a small gap, its usually covered in years of oil and dirt, and no longer acts as a drain, poke up a small bit of wire into it after you scrape off the years of grime to find it. It will become clear when your looking at it from underneath.
For the amount of oil your using, I would not expect that to be the problem, but more along the lines of the oil pressure switch leaking.
Trace the oil back from where you have noticed it on the bottom of the engine and see if it leads to the source. Rocker cover gasket leaking down the back of the head etc?? take into account the effect of the fan, and gravity and the many eddies inside the engine bay, ie it can blow oil anywhere ;(.
re the white smoke, and poor running when cold, that sounds like glow plugs to me.
If it were me, I would replace them as a set.
A mates 2.2 I look after has one glowie thats lazy, and it runs rough, and pops out a puf of white smoke each cyld fire until that pot has warmed up and it all runs fine.
Re the poor performance, not sure, It could be that the new injectors, with raised opening pressures, have now shown up the wear in the pump, but lets keep to eliminating the simple cheap stuff for now before blaming that and leapfrogging over the problem.
Trains