crxgsrsi

Hey Honda-tech, I recently purchased a GSR (B18c1 obd1) powered CRX and realized that I'm losing lots of oil. It burns about a quart every 500 miles the cam seals also leak, but definitely not enough to cause this. upon going on a canyon carving cruise with friends they said a cloud of blue smoke comes out of the exhaust upon moderate to hard acceleration. I'm not sure how many miles are on the swap, but I'm guessing 100k+. I did a compression test, 220 220 210 220. I checked the PCV valve, rattles like it should. It smokes a tiny bit upon first start up, but not a ton. I just want some opinions on whether you think its the oil control rings, valve seals, or???

I'm a full time college student commuting two hours each way and this is my only car. Can't afford to be without it, or to pay for a swap. Please help me with your vast amount of knowledge,
Thanks, Rob.

sleepyaccord96

no need to panic but it sounds like you have blow-by. which means you need a set of rings and might as well do valve stem seals. Although you may have good compression doesn't mean your oil wipe down ring is doing it's job properly. better off to go ahead and throw a set of rings and stem seals in it and replace your leaking seals at the same time

Schister66

Rings are probably worn and the spark plug grommets most likely leak (causing the burn on start-up) but I wouldnt worry about it too much. If you have a long weekend, a simple rebuild is quick and easy

crxgsrsi

Thanks guys, very knowledgeable and respectful answers as always. With ring replacement does the block have to be honed? Would really like to keep the engine in the car if possible.

Deksinjo

First do valve stem seals then is that note solve problem piston rings, it's be good to do honing when change rings, you can DIY with some chip honer and power drill, it's better anyway then noway.

beecee18

Could also be leaky valve seals that leakdown into the cumbustion chamber between startups.

If you dont drive the car for longer then normal, does the car smoke more cause it sat longer?



Non the less the consumption of oil you are seeing during acceleration/load situations is most likely due to worn rings, or rings that have lost their tension over time, which is normal for older B-series

el crapitan

replace the pcv valve first. i know it rattles, but trust me. replace it and see if it was causing the problem. it's less than 5$ and takes only a few minutes

with those readings, it doesn't sound like compression rings. maybe oil control, or valve seals

spun95

It's your valve seals causing the smoke at start up.

JuggerNaut-CTR

Why are people here randomly telling the op..."replace this first, if it doesnt fix it then do this"

Not very smart way of going about it....

Leakdown test will pin point where the issue lies

Deksinjo

Indication of burned valve seals (and probably guides) is blue smoke at start up and deceleration with throttle off. First reason is just oil leaking and second when throttle off, vacuum created inside manifold and sucking oil to consummation chamber.

racebum

if the seals are leaking the guides are probably worn. replacing seals and not checking the guides for run out is a good way to have to go right back in the engine when the new seals start leaking.

typically a qt every 500 is your borrowed time mark. very good chance all your exhaust valves are shot and coated with soot. you should not reuse them if you pull the head. metal has been fatigued from all the soot along with the high mileage you likely have. exhaust valves are a wear item. intakes on the other hand go virtually forever.

you will have to rehone to use new rings and use a fine grit, say 320 grit ball flex hone with an 800rpm drill, milwaukee magnum would be choice, keep a good film of oil going while you hone, do not let it go dry. a cutting hone that removes material will not only be too rough causing oil burning but it will remove material and give you a larger piston to wall clearance. machine shops love to use these but the tool steel honda rings require a fine finish.

make sure you clean the block well after honing. either use 5+ cans of brake clean or pay for a hot tanking at the machine shop. there will be flakes of metal and grime

el crapitan

a leakdown test will only pin point where compression is being lost. he isn't losing compression. TBH, it probably is valve seals. a vacuum gauge would be the tool of choice for identifying this.

believe me, i'm not one to throw parts at a problem without verifying. but a pcv valve is like 5$ and takes no time to change. more of a last ditch effort before more major work would need to be performed. if it were anything else, i'd say confirm first

el crapitan

high vacuum isn't the only time oil is pulled through valve seals. if exhaust valve seals are worn, it can happen on acceleration as well. as the op has described.
the oil will pull through the seals and straight out the exhaust

biya

iTrader: (2)

Agreed.

S2BumpsticksGSR

Have you pulled plugs and looked into chambers? That's how I found a cracked ring in my orig engine. Looked in w/flashlight and top of 1 piston was noticably more wet than the others. Take a look at the plugs for buildup, too. I'm with the majority here, probably valve seals.

Runnerdown

Leakdown and compression test is useless if the engine mechanically runs fine. These static tests will not necessarily indicate a problem area unless there is major damage to the engine or a specific cylinder. Going off those compression numbers one can assume its sound, so it rules that out. There is only a couple places oil can enter the combustion. Oh and also, people seem to jump on vacuum always pulling oil past the seals, not realizing the same vacuum is in the cylinder.

tico

OP!! plain and simple explaination is that a rebuild is required. doing all theses tests are good to do and be familiar with when diagnosing but the fact remains thats as far as the cylinder head goes is that it needs a valve job, new guides and seals. and a resurface.. the block needs to be resurfaced, honed and new rings put in. there is no way around it. with the amount of oil consumption and the visible smoke at different driving conditions proves all of that. get all your parts together and you can rebuild it in a couple days.

el crapitan

well now. that 5$ pcv valve is starting to look pretty good about now, eh? TBH, you don't necessarily need to rebuild the entire engine from top to bottom. matter of fact, you can replace the valve seals without even pulling the head off. that is, if it actually is valve seals. confirm first with a vacuum gauge.