civiccpedx

Well i bought my car a while back, a 94 civic coupe dx. d15b7 with 177k miles. Runs fine except it burns oil. well for some reason my oil light never comes on so i forget to check it every 600 miles or so.

just yesterday i checked it after 1200 miles after an oil change and when i wiped the dipstick off there was not a drop on there!

so my question is, is how long can the motor go before it runs out of oil?

xmr. robotox

I thought cars don't burn oil? I just thought it gets dirty and thats when you need to change it.?

civictildeath

i burn oil too.

however far down it goes before the oil pump can no longer suck it in to pump it out.

just put oil in it and go. there is a chance it could lock up but it probably wont as long as you put oil in it before you start it again

Kamin

um it shouldnt ever run out of oil

its not like gas

if you meant how long can it go WITHOUT oil the answer is short, like very very very short. it only takes 1 place in the engine that dosent get oil to cause "catastrophic engine failure"

delslo93

make sure the car has cooled down a bit before checking it. If its still hot most the oil will be up in the motor, causing your dipstick to not see all the oil that is actually in there.

civiccpedx

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Civiapt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I thought cars don't burn oil? I just thought it gets dirty and thats when you need to change it.? </TD></TR></TABLE>

your wrong, cars do burn oil
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by delslo93 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">make sure the car has cooled down a bit before checking it. If its still hot most the oil will be up in the motor, causing your dipstick to not see all the oil that is actually in there.</TD></TR></TABLE>

the car was stopped for 45 minutes+
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kamin &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">um it shouldnt ever run out of oil

its not like gas

if you meant how long can it go WITHOUT oil the answer is short, like very very very short. it only takes 1 place in the engine that dosent get oil to cause "catastrophic engine failure"</TD></TR></TABLE>

my car does run through oil, it burns it, yes a new car shouldn't but my rings are bad so i do run through oil like gas, just not as fast

hypoxvi

number one, engines burn oil, all of them, even brand new. the amount of oil that is burned is where people should be concerned. the automotive industry states that an engine that burns 1 quart of oil every 800 miles is in perfect working order. that may seem excessive, but that's what the engineers say is normal. now if your car puffs blue smoke, that's excessive oil consumption and is one of two problems dependant on when it occurs. If your car puffs blue smoke at startup, that is generally a sign of bad valve seals. If the car smokes more blue smoke the more you accelerate the engine, then that is called "blowby," and is a sign that you need new piston rings. As far as how low you can let it get depends on how much oil is being consumed. So if your driving and have blowby or bad valve seals, your car will consume more oil. Basically how low you let it get is up to you and how much oil the engine is really consuming. If your car is burning a lot of oil, then I would go and get the problem corrected, and but if it is just that the car seems to be getting progressively lower between oil changes,(in other words, there is no blue smoke, but you check the dipstick and it's lower each time) then this is considered normal, and is not really a cause for concern. Also, think about how you drive the car, if you beat on it (excessive revs) then the engine will have much more wear and wear out that much quicker. I hope this information will help you out in diagnosing your problem. Any other questions feel free to message me, and in case you want to know if i'm just BSing you, I AM a technician, so I think I have some idea what I'm talking about. Hope everything works out.

Kamin

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hypoxvi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> the automotive industry states that an engine that burns 1 quart of oil every 800 miles is in perfect working order. that may seem excessive, but that's what the engineers say is normal. </TD></TR></TABLE>
show proof please
i spent over a year of my life at an automotive school, i have a stack of certifications knee high and i have NEVER heard that burning a full quart of oil in 800 miles is normal.

litterbox

Mechanically, what causes an engine to burn more than a normal amount of oil?

civictildeath

high rpm's

in sticks when using engine to slow down and you downshift to high rpms, the engine is lookign for something to burn and fill the gap where the fuel injectors shut off to allow slowing down possible so oil is sucked into the combustion chamber and burnt

Good ol' Screwtape

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kamin &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
show proof please
i spent over a year of my life at an automotive school, i have a stack of certifications knee high and i have NEVER heard that burning a full quart of oil in 800 miles is normal. </TD></TR></TABLE>

yeah me neither.

well i don't care what they say, anyway. my motor doesn't burn 1 qt every 800 miles, from the moment i do an oil change to 3000 - 5000 miles later when i do the next one. and it isn't even a brand new motor.
gee, i guess something's wrong with my motor?

Good ol' Screwtape

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by litterbox &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Mechanically, what causes an engine to burn more than a normal amount of oil?</TD></TR></TABLE>

well the most common thing i would think would be the rings not working properly for one reason or another.

Turbogixxer

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hypoxvi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">automotive industry states that an engine that burns 1 quart of oil every 800 miles is in perfect working order. that may seem excessive, but that's what the engineers say is normal. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Lets look at this for a second. The normal oil change ( I say normal, Honda says 7500 on light load cars) is 3000 miles. So, if it burns 1 quart per 800 miles, thats is 3.75 quarts for 3000 miles. Normal hondas have a oil pan that can hold 4.2 quarts. So, that means only 0.45 quart(s) is going to be left over before the oil change? They designed it to be this way? Please do not say "you should add oil for the oil that is burned" that is retarded. The normal person cant even find the oil stick, let alone check it on a normal basis. The engineers know this.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hypoxvi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I AM a technician, so I think I have some idea what I'm talking about. </TD></TR></TABLE>

So am I. I see technicians that cant do the basic things and/or know how sensors work.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by litterbox &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Mechanically, what causes an engine to burn more than a normal amount of oil?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Piston rings, valve seals, even a headgasket can. Basicly anything that "leak" into the cyl.

hypoxvi

the automotive engineers say that. I don't agree but they say it to cover their asses. if my car was buring a quart every 800 miles, I would be pissed too. I just thought I would tell you how leaniant manufacturers are with they're cars. And i'm glad that you went to auto motive school for a year Kamin and got a certificate, but I am only relaying to you what I know about the industry. my car doesn't go through that much oil either, but the fact of the matter is, is a manufacturer would tell you that is normal. It's just how they cover themselves legally.

red91sit

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by litterbox &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Mechanically, what causes an engine to burn more than a normal amount of oil?</TD></TR></TABLE> Bad piston rings are the usual culprit, it leaks past the rings into the combustion chamber and then burns. Valve seals can cause oil burn issues also. Theres all kinda of other ways like the PCV system and stuff but they dont' usually burn a noticeable amount.

On my last car my rod bearing was burning oil ha ha but if that happens you may as well let it burn adding oil would just be a waste.

::EDIT::

oops to answer the original question dont' see how long it takes to run out of oil, check it like daily or like every 50 miles till you see how long it takes to burn like 1/2 way down the dipstick and make sure to keep enough oil in it.

Kamin

what engineers? like i said, show me something in writing. i know a thing or 2 about the industry also, so please show me something in writing. and i dont have A certificate. i have a STACK of those ******* things. everything from a EPA 609 to sun microsystems ignition scope. no manufacturer says its normal to burn that much oil. if you show me proof ill gladly admit being wrong.


Modified by Kamin at 8:10 PM 3/6/2005

Good ol' Screwtape

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by turbogixxer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
, Honda says 7500 on light load cars
</TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hypoxvi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> the fact of the matter is, is a manufacturer would tell you that (1qt per 800 Miles) is normal. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Ok, hypoxvi, so according to what you're saying, "manufacturers say 1qt per 800 miles" is normal. Yet at the same time Honda recommends an oil change every 7500 (actually i think its 6500..i think).Like turbogixxer pointed out... after 7500 miles the motor will have burned 9.375 qts of oil...that's TWICE the capacity of a Honda oil pan.

If this is the case, we all have strong grounds for suing Honda Motor Corp. Lets do it.

What next, you'll say manufacturers will tell us we have to add 1qt every 800 miles to balance it out? thats nonsense and you know it.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hypoxvi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> the fact of the matter is, is a manufacturer would tell you that (1qt per 800 Miles) is normal. </TD></TR></TABLE>

How much would you like to bet that I could walk into the Honda service department tomorrow morning and ask them to verify this statement and they would laugh in my face because the idea is ridiculous?

EM2Civic

I've seen quite a few of idiot technician, how do they pass ASE if they are this stupid? The amount of oil consumption depends on the car. I.E. my friend was doing oil consumption test at honda they say it's normal for an h22 to burn 0.5-1.0 quart every 5,000kms. The same does not apply to a brand new civic/accord etc.

Good ol' Screwtape

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EM2Civic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">how do they pass ASE if they are this stupid?</TD></TR></TABLE>

because that test is child's play.

Kamin

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Screwtape: &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">because that test is child's play. </TD></TR></TABLE>
all you need to know is technician b is a retard to pass the ASE's

Turbogixxer

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Screwtape: &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

because that test is child's play. </TD></TR></TABLE>

And they sell "study" guides that basicly give you the answers. And what Kamin said. I took the ASE tests in high school and past most of them (in auto shop class).