JosephColy

Ive had my car about 2 years now and within the last year we've changed to a full synthetic motor oil and it seems to be leaking more and more. it leaks out about a quart to a quart and a half every month, yet there are no stains on my driveway or when i out the car in motion. there is a small leak on the valve cover (Z6 vavle cover on a Y8 head). i think that it may be passing through the rings and burning out because the tip of my exhaust is black all over. question being, is there ANYWAY that i can fix it from passing through the rings without replacing the rings themselves?

Former User

What color smoke is coming from the tail pipe? --->Blue = oil, white = coolant, black = fuel.

I'd start by fixing any oil leaks seen on the engine. Replace the oil pan and valve cover gaskets if necessary, and also check for leaks from the distributor, VTEC solenoid, oil pressure switch, and oil filter.

shoklid

well 1st of all synthetic oils are more slippery to the touch. if u have a leak stop using synt and use conventional. and use lucas to thicken it makes leaks less when using a thicker oil. and NO u cant fix it without changing the rings how would that work. u cant fix an internal prob without doin it right . its a honda they all will eventually leak just keep it full of oil ull b fine. for now anyways

JosephColy

smoke was the first thing i checked, and there isnt any coming out of the tail pipe while driving. looked over the whole motor yesterday and the valve cover gasket is the only thing that looks to be leaking. so we're in the process of changing that within the week.

shoklid

umm yea i forgot to ask those crucial points as well. ^^^listen to this guy

JosephColy

how can you switch from conventional to synthetic then back to conventional. i've always been told you cant do that.

Former User

This black residue may indicate that the engine is running rich. Is the gas mileage low? Any CEL codes?

JosephColy

gas mileage is aboout 32 MPG the past couple of tanks which is normal for my car. and as a matter of fact i was riding down the interstate the other day in forth at about 6500 RPMs going up hill. Was at 6500 for about 30 seconds when it just died out and the CEL came on. so i geared up to drop the RPMs. well when i got off the exit ramp and took off from the stop light every gear that Vtech engaged it would die off, like it was pulling off. well i turned the car off and let it sit overnight and it runs fine now. i checked the oil after it happened and it was a quart low, so i figured it was just a spike in oil pressure.

shoklid

ppl make a mistake of listening to helpless info from ppl whom dnt know anything about oils. i was SAE certified salesman for penzoil and u ever hear of a blended synthetic? its conv and syth mixed. and also all petroleum is compatible with itself, the diff between the 2 is the molecular design. conv molecules are all diff sizes and synth all the molecules "man made" are all the same size thats what makes its slippery to the feel. its a total lie and hoaks . look it up! i promise u can go back and forth, if not explain why then

JosephColy

i've known people with stock motors switch from synthetic back to conventional and it burns up oil pumps.

shoklid

umm yea thats a lie. ive never had an issue

JosephColy

if all you want to do is argue about your knowledge and tell me things are a lie that i've seen with my own eyes, then please go flame someone else. i would acutally like some real help.

Former User

Given that you are burning and/or leaking engine oil, you must daily check the level to avoid running it low. Otherwise, the way you drive your car, it may soon be damaged beyond repair. For what it's worth, I'd stick with the synthetic oil just because in the long run it's better for the engine.

Also, is the leak from the valve cover possibly coming from the VTEC solenoid?

I think you should compression test the cylinders and then repeat the tests after adding a teaspoon of oil to each cylinder. If the compression values rise substantially with addition of oil, then the piston rings are certainly bad.

shoklid

dude im not flamming you in anyway shape or form. but for ur info go to google and ask if u can switch, it will pull up helpful info for u. ppl at like jiffy lubes and pepboys will telll u u cant switch bc if u go back they lost a sale. i was actually just trying to help ur knowledge but if u dnt want it then i wont help you !

tw1tch

It all depends how you drive the car and when you change it. My friend still runs conventional oil in his 400hp 10 second Crx. He just changes it out every 1000 miles. Synthetic oil is better if you start it in time, yes. But a car that's got over 75k or is over 10 years old I'd just keep using conventional and maybe change it more often for peace of mind. Everyone will have different results. Sounds like the op was fine with conventional, but switched to synthetic and things went bad. I would advise you to go back to conventional. It was obviously plugging up some gaps in your motor. Switch back and check on it a few times a week, until the leak hopefully stops or slows down. Going from synthetic back to conventional is perfectly fine. Think of all the used cars that were on synthetic and the new owner doesn't know this and uses conventional again. Cars would be leaking left and right if you could not switch back and forth.

JosephColy

i dont think its coming from the VTEC solenoid. its from the left front corner or the actual vavle cover itself, and it looks as if the RTV is actually being pushed out.

tw1tch

You couldn't be losing that much oil from the valve cover and not see it completely covering the engine bay since it'd have to be spraying out to lose that much

CRXREFIC

PICS of the spot

my car was running on synthetic when it was in california by the 2 previous owner

im like the 3rd owner running on regular conventional its still running same old honda

own a 94 hatch civic

EggRollEMT

Burning oil smells funny