VAGCom is on order, should be here any time now.
I'm reading these posts about burning oil...
When I bought it, pulled the dip stick, it was wet, oil looked clean, did not have a rag to wipe the stick with, so put it back in...
Bought the car, stopped to fill up with gas, and while pumping the gas, checked the oil with a paper towel.. Yikes, the oil level was low, the gas station had a few empty service bays, and they would do the oil change for 90.00 with 8 quarts of synthentic, and a new filter... Went for it.
Did not check oil level when they were done. (Took their word that it was filled up with 8 quarts of synthetic.)
Hours later, when I stopped to re-fuel again, in about 400 miles, checked the oil, and dang it! It was low again! (Or they never filled it up all the way? Don't know, as I did not check.)
So, added oil, checked again the next day, and it was lower again. Clearly it's burning oil. Bought some more oil, and by this point, in two tanks of gas, had to add over 3 quarts of oil... Not a good sign.
On my third tank of gas, checked the oil, and was ready to add some, but found it was no longer low, and had not moved since I'd checked it last, in the middle of burning off fuel tank fill #2.
Have checked it since, still not lower, no leaks, no oil in the exhaust, and when I pulled the plugs, none of them had oil on them.
Only think I can figure is the prior owner never changed the oil much, or drove the car much, and the oil control rings gummed up? Or it was low when I first checked it, low when I filled up for the first time, and the shop short filled me. I filled it up slightly more than it calls for on the second tank of fuel, and now it's holding at that slightly fuller than it should be mark still. (Just touching the second plastic part over the "full" hashmark area.)
No signs of it burning oil, no smoke on start up, no smoke when getting on the gas after going down a hill, so I'm not sure what happened.
Perhaps the rings were gummed up, the new oil cleaned that up, and now it's running well?
The prior owner had the cats replaced. They are brand new, and it appears the O2 sensors were replaced as well. If he had stuck oil rings, that would make sense, but the plugs not being wet show it's no longer burning oil there anymore.
As I said prior, the plugs look original, and have some blistered, cracked coatings on the insulator for one plug. One was loose too, and had carbon blown up all around it, and into the plug well. (I could hear the exhaust leak, but thought it was the manifold.)
The exhaust leak is gone now, I have the Irridium plugs in there, and it's working great. I did use anti-sieze, and I'm reading that is a no-no on this motor? Why not use it? Anway, I'm looking forward to the VagCom, and what codes this engine has thrown since it was last re-set.