Oil loss

[mossberg]

'01 4cyl MT
oil: Valvoline Maxlife Synth. Blend 10w30

I am losing quite a bit of oil. It's been 4,100 miles since my last oil change and in that time, I've added 3.7 quarts oil. Basically I'm going through nearly 1 quart every 1k miles.

I left the car sitting in one place for the last 24 hours - no oil drip. So I'm guessing that it must be one of the following:
1. Oil leaking while driving
2. Oil burning

Is #1 even possible if there is no oil leak when the car is cold/parked?

I'll check the color of the exhaust - bluish is for oil burning, correct? But assuming there is no leak, it has to be burning.

I don't have a lead foot - usually keep it under 3k RPMs and rarely exceed 4k RPMs.

Is there anything relatively inexpensive that can be done to cure this? Should I just live with it and keep replacing the oil as it burns off?

I'm driving less than 10k miles/year, so 2 5qt jugs of oil will cover the burn, so we're talking less than $50/yr to just replace the burnt oil, though it is a PITA to check/add oil every 2-3 weeks. If I go this route, are there any other maintenance items that should be done more frequently due to effects of oil burn on the engine or exhaust?

 

[agginline86]

'01 4cyl MT
oil: Valvoline Maxlife Synth. Blend 10w40

I am losing quite a bit of oil. It's been 4,100 miles since my last oil change and in that time, I've added 3.7 quarts oil. Basically I'm going through nearly 1 quart every 1k miles.

I left the car sitting in one place for the last 24 hours - no oil drip. So I'm guessing that it must be one of the following:
1. Oil leaking while driving
2. Oil burning

Is #1 even possible if there is no oil leak when the car is cold/parked?

I'll check the color of the exhaust - bluish is for oil burning, correct? But assuming there is no leak, it has to be burning.

I don't have a lead foot - usually keep it under 3k RPMs and rarely exceed 4k RPMs.

Is there anything relatively inexpensive that can be done to cure this? Should I just live with it and keep replacing the oil as it burns off?

10w40 is pretty heavy
honda says use 5w20
what color is your oil on your dipstick? does it look burnt?

 

[mossberg]

10w40 is pretty heavy
honda says use 5w20
what color is your oil on your dipstick? does it look burnt?

My mistake - it's 10w30.

Here's a pic. It's certainly darker than the oil I'm adding, but not black, as can be seen by the lighter spots on the paper towel.



What does this suggest?

 

[001Stunna]

Have you checked for any leaks from any seals on the engine...
...distributor inner/outer seal? vtec valve gasket? pcv valve? cam seal? balance shaft seal? rear main seal? oil pressure switch? valve cover gasket?

Have you ever checked cylinder compression or done a leak down test?

Have you had someone drive behind you and see if you're puffing blue smoke as you go?

Is your coolant a milky color? or is there any milky substance under your oil filler cap?

If it is not leaking or mixing with the coolant, it is getting burned.


Personally if the car drives fine and shows no issues i'd even just check and top it off once a week. It takes all 20 seconds.

 

[agginline86]

^ +1

make sure your oil isn't leaking into your coolant (and vice versa)

 

[305S0L]

Have you checked for any leaks from any seals on the engine...
...distributor inner/outer seal? vtec valve gasket? pcv valve? cam seal? balance shaft seal? rear main seal? oil pressure switch? valve cover gasket?

Have you ever checked cylinder compression or done a leak down test?

Have you had someone drive behind you and see if you're puffing blue smoke as you go?

Is your coolant a milky color? or is there any milky substance under your oil filler cap?

If it is not leaking or mixing with the coolant, it is getting burned.


Personally if the car drives fine and shows no issues i'd even just check and top it off once a week. It takes all 20 seconds.

Im going to have to check all this as well. My car appears to be burning oil also

 

[mossberg]

Have you checked for any leaks from any seals on the engine...
...distributor inner/outer seal? vtec valve gasket? pcv valve? cam seal? balance shaft seal? rear main seal? oil pressure switch? valve cover gasket?

Have you ever checked cylinder compression or done a leak down test?

Have you had someone drive behind you and see if you're puffing blue smoke as you go?

Is your coolant a milky color? or is there any milky substance under your oil filler cap?

If it is not leaking or mixing with the coolant, it is getting burned.


Personally if the car drives fine and shows no issues i'd even just check and top it off once a week. It takes all 20 seconds.

I checked the oil filler cap, radiator cap and coolant reservoir - no signs of milkshake syndrome.



You can see the clear, greenish fluid on the left side of the top of the reservoir - placed a drop there to check if it was clouded.


I checked the exhaust at idle - clear, no smoke. I'll have to recruit a friend to see if the exhaust is smoky at higher revs.

I haven't checked the engine seals, but that's next. No cylinder compression or leak down test yet; I was hoping to diagnose this without taking it to a mechanic.

 

[001Stunna]

You just need a compression tester tool for a compression test. Most stores would probably carry it for $30 or less. Assuming you know how to take off and install your sparkplugs and have the tools to do so you wont need anything else.

 

[mossberg]

You just need a compression tester tool for a compression test. Most stores would probably carry it for $30 or less. Assuming you know how to take off and install your sparkplugs and have the tools to do so you wont need anything else.

I've changed sparkplugs, so I can buy or borrow a compression test kit.

If I do this, might it reveal an issue that is going to be worth repairing, considering that I'm burning less than $50 of oil per year?

From this EricTheCarGuy video on compression testing, it sounds like any problems discovered by compression testing are going to be relatively expensive, in which case, I'd just carry on replacing oil.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_tbksFYhl4


Does the color of the oil on the dipstick suggest anything?

 

[001Stunna]

Well to me it would just be the peace of mind that you would have a rough idea of what is wrong...not just going blind into it.