Civiccity03

Hello everyone, I am new to this forum. I have a 99 Honda civic and it is very sluggish during acceleration and driving, it also gets incredibly poor gas mileage (cost $20 every other day with average driving). It's been like this since we bought it off the last owner. I noticed the smell of oil coming through the vents when I drive it, and the engine barely ever has any.

It burns a ton of oil. Witch brings me to my question. I suspect that it has an oil leak on one or more of the seals, I'm guessing that this would cause the sluggishness, but would it also be the cause of the very poor gas mileage? My friend has the exact same car and his feels like a Ferrari on acceleration compared to mine and barely burns any oil. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

TomCat39

Not enough information to provide proper feedback.

Have you done compression tests? Checked for spark in all four cylinders? Checked the fuel injectors? Does the engine knock?

There are so many factors that could contribute to a sluggish motor.

My initial guess would be your rings are just about totally shot but you should see the car seriously smoking anytime it runs if that's the case. Maybe your fuel filter or injectors are clogged so it's not getting enough fuel. Maybe the bearings are nearly toast so the crank doesn't turn properly but then you'd have severe knocking and the engine is near seized. Maybe the valve lashings are so far out of spec they don't open all the way and so the combustion chamber never empties or fills properly.. Maybe the valve seals are toast and it's sucking a ton of oil down that way.. Maybe your valves are burnt so don't seal properly. Maybe some of the things I mentioned wouldn't just affect acceleration but a few of them would and each has it's own signature. None of which have been mentioned.

I'd start with a compression test then leak down test. That will tell you volumes about the engine. If it's bad enough, an engine swap would probably be your cheapest fix.

Civiccity03

I have done a compression test and the mechanic said it was fine, I think we got like 220 across the board or something like that. I can't remember the exact numbers but if there was a problem with compression, he would have mentioned it for sure. And yes all 4 cylinders have spark. I have not checked the fuel injectors and no the engine does not knock. On start up, I've heard it knock very very slightly before for a min or 2 but no serious knocking or anything like that.

And yes, it can't be the rings because the car does not smoke but it could be fuel injectors/fuel filter, not sure. How common is it for these to go though? I doubt the bearings are gone or a valve is burnt, because they would present very obvious symptoms. And what do you mean by valve lashings, are you saying that it might need a valve adjustment? Wouldn't the compression test read lower if that was the case though? And also not sure about the valve seals, but again, wouldn't it smoke?

The reason why I didn't mention anything else is because I remember driving the car after just putting in a lot of oil and it wasn't sluggish like how it is now. My guess is that oil must be leaking from a couple of seals and it's burning off on the exhaust or engine, and that is why I can smell the burnt oil through the vents. I just wanted to confirm if that would cause poor gas mileage and sluggishness cause that's what it seems like.

Thanks.

TomCat39

Yeah valve lashings mean valve adjustment.

Yeah no burnt valves or bad rings if compression is good.

As for valve lashings being out of spec, would not affect compression test. Would affect how much fuel enters and how much exhaust exits though. But more than likely not it.

As for injectors or fuel filter, they both can get clogged. If the filter never has been changed then it's quite likely starving the motor of fuel. The injectors can also get clogged and do the same thing but take quite a bit more work to see if they are clogged.

As for extreme oil consumption, that could be in any number of places. First things first, check around the motor to see if you have any leaks, if it's it's completely oil and dirt covered then a steam clean would need to be done first or use a oil dye test and UV light to see where the leaks are coming from. Rear main, between block and tranny; front main, from the crank pully side of block. oil pan, the whole oil pan would be wet with oil usually. Cam seal, between the cam pully and head. Cam plug, oil on the other side of the head around the black terminator plug. Distributor, usually oil inside the dizzy or coming from around dizzy stem in the head. Valve seals, no visible signs except cars smokes after idling at a light or upon I think it's deceleration. Don't remember exactly. Breather box leaks show oil around the breather box area of the block or the upper hose going into the breather. Valve cover, the whole head usually is wet.

If your PCV valve is stuck open it can suck oil up into the intake. Just not sure if it would be enough to suck the engine dry especially that quickly. Over time it can clog the intake though.

After running through all of this, it just occurred to me, have you checked your coolant? Pop your rad cap to see if it's still looks like coolant (green or red depending) if it's muddy looking then start the engine with rad cap off, let warm up and see if you get bubbles. Even if it's not muddy, I'd do this check. If you get bubbles then you have a bad head gasket and that would account for loss of power and can also account for major oil consumption. The other route is the coolant goes into the oil which then makes the oil look like creamed coffee. If you can get a block tester it's a definitive way to check for bad head gaskets. Seen em on amazon for 35 bucks with the blue fluid you use to test with. The more I think about, the more I think your head gasket gave up the ghost.

Civiccity03

I will try and check the fuel filter and injectors. As for the oil leak, I checked quickly and I saw that there is oil underneath the distributor and around it is pretty wet. There is also some sludging on the front bottom part of the engine around the oil pan, but my friend's has the same thing too. The valve cover might have a little sludging as well, I will have to check it again.

My friend's civic has a oil around the distributor too, but not as much as mine, there's actually a tiny little puddle underneath the distributor on mine. And I haven't checked those other areas but I will do so. Also yes I did check my coolant, and their was none! I started the car today and it had no heat after warming up.

I topped it off, let the fan cycle a few times and I capped it. I changed the cap because I thought that it might have been loosing coolant through there, since the oil looked fine, and the car doesn't smoke either. Could I still have a bad head gasket? I was driving it around today and it seemed fine, still no oil though and very bad gas mileage..

Telecatster

Along with the other possibilities stated, if you have a Vtec and the oil is dripping on the back side of your engine and possibly down the top of your transmission the Vtec solenoid gasket could be the source of your oil leak. A bad oxygen sensor would cause poor gas mileage, sluggish performance.

purgat0ry

iTrader: (3)

Distributor O-Ring, easy fix, costs a couple bucks, it will stop that oil leak.
Once you've replaced that O-Ring, spray down the block to clean it, wait awhile for any other leaks to surface, track them down one by one.

TomCat39

Like others said, bad O2 can account for the bad mileage but not usually the sluggishness.

The no oil, no coolant and no power really sounds like a bad head gasket. Surprised your not blowing white smoke though, then again it's cold out and it could be slight enough to not blow plumes so looks like regular cold air puffs during winter.

I think I'd look at getting a block tester to check the head gasket. I'd also fill the oil up, coolant up, warm her up with rad cap off and see if you see bubbles. Then drive her for about 5 to 10 miles around your place, then check both the coolant and oil for color. See if either look sludgy, milky or muddy.

The other places leaking oil wouldn't consume oil that fast unless you had serious puddles on the ground, not tiny puddle on the engine. Only things I know eat oil like no tomorrow is a nearly shot set of bearings and hard running and blown head gaskets. I don't even think bad valve seals will consume oil as fast as a bad head gasket will and wouldn't make the engine sluggish like the gasket either.

Also, once up to temp with coolant/water in it, does she overheat?

Civiccity03

No I don't have vtec, it's a 1999 honda civic 4 dr and the engine code is d16y7.
Ok will do.
The o2s and cat have been changed, these civics are known for cat problems so everything was changed cause the engine light was on and it wouldn't pass emissions like that. Also, if it is a bad 02, wouldn't it throw a code? And that's the weird thing, it has never smoked, even in the summer time while it was still like this, it never smoked.

I did this yesterday, I topped off the coolant, checked the oil, drove it around, checked it again and everything looked fine. The coolant did foam up a bit while I was waiting for it to circulate, but it was just a tiny bit at the top.

Yes I don't know how it eats so much oil. I think it may have a bunch of leaks witch are causing it all, not sure. I can smell oil burning slightly when I drive sometimes. If it was the rings or anything like that, wouldn't I notice blue smoke out of the tail pipe? I will try to get a block tester and see if it is the head gasket. And no, she doesn't overheat.

TomCat39

I guess the question is how fast is fast for your oil consumption?

Spec says you can have up to 1 liter of oil consuption every 1500 kilometers and it's normal. I check my oil every time I fill up. I tend to keep tabs by taking total oil topped up over the life of the oil (in my case every 7500 kilometers). I'm sitting just within spec but I drive hard and it sucks oil through my breather and pcv valve when I red line it.

If you had a coolant leak you should see a white-greenish residue somewhere, enless it's going into the cylinder and then you usually see white steam out the tailpipe consistently.

Also if your coolant was quite low you will probably want to burp it. Bleeder screw is tightened to 7 ft-lb per in.

Civiccity03

Well, it eats a lot of oil. It basically never has any in it. I'll put oil in to top it off and a couple of weeks later the dip stick will read empty when I check it. I check the car when its cold and on even ground too. Also, I don't think the d16y7 engine has a bleeder for the cooling system, does it?

When I topped up the coolant, I just let it cycle like 2 times and each time when the fan turned on and off and the engine took in more coolant, I added more. It's running fine so far.

I still haven't checked for the leaks carefully. I think the reason why its eating so much oil is cause it probably has more then one leak, or one major one, maybe around the distributor? And the reason why I'm not seeing it on the driveway is because it's getting burnt off on the engine. We'll see, I'll let you know what it was if I ever figure it out. Thanks for your help though man, I appreciate it.

Former User

^Recipe for engine destruction.

If you know the engine leaks oil, check the level daily and top off. Never let the engine run low on oil. Never.

Civiccity03

That's true, I'm just tired of buying oil all the time man. I mean, it has some oil in it but hardly any. Good thing these Hondas don't run that hot though, if it was a VW the engine would have probably seized by now lol.

Former User

Fixing oil leaks = no need to buy oil by the case

TomCat39

My bad, no bleeder valve on 96 and newer I hear. They say the best way is to raise the front of the car and run it with rad cap off to get the air out. You probably got most of it out already. If you see your temp gauge fluctuating it usually means there is still an air pocket in the system. Find yerself a hill, park with the nose up, pull the rad cap let it run and warm up and top up as needed, let it cycle a couple of times and boom she be burped. Basically what you did but with the nose of the car raised somehow..

Civiccity03

I'm still chasing this oil leak, I took some pictures of my civic and another one to compare. There seems to be a splash of oil residue underneath the hood and valve cover on mine, both close to the oil cap.

Can the oil be leaking through the oil cap when the car is under load? Like I said, I could smell oil burning through the vents before, it would make sense if this was the case but I don't know. I checked the oil cap seal on my car and another civic and mine seems worn out more. Could it be that the oil slowly leaks out and burns on and around the valve cover while I'm driving? Could it be a clogged PCV?

I posted pictures of my car and the other civic for a comparison, on mine you can see the oil residue around the oil cap and under the hood and on the other civic it seems bone dry, I did spill some oil around the cap and valve cover on mine a while ago while I was filling it up but it should have burnt off by now, no? Could the leak be around the distributor. It has literally no oil.