Koko4

I have a '97 Civic LX with the D16Y7 motor, and 204k. I have been losing oil between every couple of gas fill-ups. The amount varies - sometimes I only have to add about a cup, and a few fill-ups ago I had to add closer to 1/3 - 1/2qt.

Here's the weird part: I have noticed NO smoke from the tailpipe and no oil puddles under the car at all. I did a compression test and all cylinders tested good (wet and dry) and they were within the correct percentage of each other (sorry I forgot the exact test numbers, but I want to say they were in the 160-180 range).

I recently replaced the rear main seal, and double checked the little "weep area" between the transmission and engine, and there are no leaks / drips. When I did the rear main seal, I also did the oil pan gasket, and that looks good. The cam and crank seals have been changed recently, and I checked that small hole at the bottom of the lower timing belt cover. It has a couple of drips of oil on the bottom of it, but nothing bad.

Could it be something more simple / something that is staring me right in the face, like the PCV valve? I heard that this can cause oil-loss issues, and it's not REAL bad but enough to kind of annoy me. I also heard it's easiest to get to the PCV with the oil filter off on the D16Y7 motors. I also checked under the distributer, and it looks good. My engine is SOHC so it does not have a Vtec solenoid to leak from. Kind of stumped with this one!

Thanks for any / all suggestions that you guys may have.

Johnne625

being SOHC doesn't dictate whether you have a VTEC solenoid or not, i have a 98 EX w/D16Y8 which is SOHC and i have a VTEC solenoid. But yes the Y7 lacks VTEC... Have you checked for proper seating of the rear main seal when it was done? What brand and type of oil are you using?

Koko4

Sorry, I should have known that! I did check for the proper seal, and even posted a picture here (as well as sent one to a Honda mechanic). Between those two sources, all looked well, and I have not noticed any oil leakage from between the engine / tranny (there is that small area where oil WOULD seep out - where the dust shield for the flywheel is). So I am 99% sure that is good, and it was an OEM Honda part as well.

The crank / cam seals were not OEM Honda, but I was very careful to seat them properly, using a technique I learned on here, actually (cutting up a plastic bottle to get the "lip" to seat correctly when you push it in).

As for oil, I am using Valvoline Max-Life 5w-30, and doing oil / filter changes every 5,000 miles. I would run synthetic, but I do think that the synthetic oil would find its way out of my various engine areas even faster..

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

Did you check the distributor? Look under it, for a possible outer o ring leak, and inside the cap, for a possible inner o ring leak.

Former User

Fix this^ oil leak, and all others. Then go from there.

TomCat39

Another thing to take a peek at is your spark plugs.

If they are showing build up, it could be valve seals aren't working as well as they used to.

It can be really hard to see the symptoms of the oil burning from valve seals when they are just starting to go bad. It's usually not enough to catch it easily in the mirror but is enough to consume oil.

Once you have all your engine seals sorted and dry and you are still consuming oil, the two spots left are oil control rings (can be ungummed up with Marvel Mystery Oil treatments) and valve seals (can be replaced without pulling the engine head).

Can look like any of these:

Koko4

Got to take a closer look today. There was some gunk under the distributor, but I had replaced the o-ring recently so I don't think it is fresh. Cleaned it off with brake cleaner and will reassess later. Some oil on the backside of the engine, right where the timing belt cover is (upper), right next to the alternator. Also think this is from oil that I've filled into the valve cover filler hole - cleaned that off too and will reassess. Other than that, engine is clean all over. My spark plugs are not fouled or dirty looking - they are normal, with a light grey hue to them.

TomCat39

Sounds like you have a pretty healthy motor overall.

Just so you know, Honda considers anything up to one liter of oil consumption every 1500 Kilometers as perfectly normal on the older Honda motors. They won't rip into a motor until it surpasses that.

If I recall what I read you posting, your consumption is quite a bit less than that.

I would avoid Mobile 1 synthetic as it burns off way faster than most other brands.

Last I've heard Penzoil Platinum is the best synthetic out there currently.

Personally I'd just stick with conventional 5w30 and change it every 5000 KM. Seems these older Honda's have a tendency to use more synthetic than they do conventional.

eHMxhACk

iTrader: (17)

I bought a case of synthetic 0W30 and as soon as that's gone I'm switching back to conventional 5W30. It's not worth the extra cost and the engine's tolerances just don't need synthetic.





eH.

TomCat39

If you can get quality Extended Life synthetic on sale you can run it for 20KM intervals and it's cheaper, assuming your consumption is low enough to not need a lot of topping up in that time frame.

Even the fast burning Mobile 1 Extended Performance after 20,000 KM of use had equal properties as conventional unused fresh off the shelf. Didn't look as good being black and all, but oil analysis showed the 20,000 KM synthetic to still be just as protective as fresh unused conventional.

But other than that, the tolerances of the engine definitely don't require it like the newer engines for sure.

Koko4

That's good to know - that equals out to about 1qt every 950 miles... I hadn't been using that much oil. However, yesterday I had lifted the drivers side of the car so I could get under there and peek around, once it was level for a few minutes, I checked the dipstick and it was only to the bottom dot! Added about a quart to get it to the second dot, then drove it for 15-20 mins. Stopped at a gas station for gas and checked it again. Now it was OVER the 2nd dot. What gives? Am I retarded and don't know how to properly check oil??! I usually try and give it some time to settle down (30-60 seconds) and I have checked it both hot and cold. Always on flat ground, lol.

Koko4

And I've been using the Max Life (not synthetic, but a "blend" for the life of the car (since 151k). I wouldn't mind putting synthetic in but I feel like it'd get burnt up / leak out of various holes even faster!

tony_2018

When checking oil, the car needs to cool down and you also need to be on level ground.

TomCat39

30-60 seconds isn't always long enough after you've tilted the car, especially if it's cold.

I try and give it 2-3 minutes minimum. I am not like Tony as I prefer the engine to be warm to check as I know the oil returns faster when hot than cold.

If you ever been at or worked at lube shops, the final check is only after about 2 minutes (on most cars) after being run for a leak check.

You just had some bad luck in checking prematurely after you tilted the car on a cold day methinks.

Koko4

Is it also alright to check while bone cold - before I've even run it for the day, or after its been sitting for hours? Or is it best to check it after its been run, after waiting 2-3 minutes?

TomCat39

Bone cold is fine too. Probably the most accurate you can get is when it's been sitting on level ground for hours.