[Corsa C 2000-2006] Corsa C Blue smoke up hills.

[Neilttrider]

My '51 plate 1.2 petrol Corsa C has a strange problem. It runs excellent and has no excessive oil consumption,until it goes up a steep hill when the engine goes flat and belches blue oil smoke. When back on normal roads,it is fine again.Since I live in Lincolnshire,there are few times that this happens,but disconcerting and embarrassing when it happens. The oil level is never overfull,and it does not matter what the oil level is,it does the same thing.I have been driving 40 odd years,built classic cars and raced motorcycles in all that time,but never come across anything like this.
Anyone any ideas please? Thanks for reading.

[tanktop]

No excessive oil consumption, so it is using a small amount?

I was stabbing in the dark with valve seal stems, when I read your post.

[Neilttrider]

Hi Tanktop,thanks for your reply,it's done 80 odd thousand,but hardly uses any oil,but this problem with the car is weird.When climbing a steep hill I can hardly see behind in the mirror for blue smoke.I would have thought with guide seals it would burn oil constantly?

[Taurus]

What is the oil consumption and does it show any signs of smoking under heavy acceleration? It sounds like ring/bore wear, most apparent when climbing steep hills of course but usually there are some signs of the problem developing more generally.

Does the engine management light come on when the power drops?

[gb33]

I'd take a look into the breather hose system. If its partially clogged or collapsed, then the crankcase might build up excessive pressure during high load running, causing oil to blow past valve seals and/or piston rings that are otherwise ok during normal operation.

[Neilttrider]

Hi gb33,I had suspected breather system.Can the hoses collapse? Ive had flexible brake hoses collapse on classic cars in the past.
I live in Lincolnshire where it is quite flat so the normal use is not a problem.The engine management light doesnt come on,Oil consumption is negligible until I go somewhere with a big hill.Motorway driving is OK.I will have a look and a blow through the breather pipes.Thank you.

[Taurus]

I had one ages ago which suffered from a pipe which was collapsing internally under load - but externally looked fine - it took a while to spot the problem. If the hose has been soaked in oil mist they can degrade to the point where they won't hold their shape against the vacuum under load, which of course you can't replicate when stationary. And those do tend to get a fair amount of oil emulsion in the breather system even at the best of times.

[Kenny]

Sorry wrong thread haha