I have a Civic with about 100k miles. It has been burning oil like mad, a 500 mile trip will use 3-4 qts. Plugs look OK, which leads me to believe the oil is leaking into the exhaust valve guides and burning there.

Is replacing the head an good option? If i bump the compression back up by 10 - 40 lbs. per cylinder, will that cause a problem for the crank and rod bearings?

What is the procedure to decide what to do? A leak down test (rule out the rings as the culpret), and if thats OK, replace the valve guide seals? How easy is it ro replace the valve guide seals, and do I order stock Honda, or some other after-market that will hold up?

Thanks in advance for any help, I love the car and want to keep it running forever.

Dave

 

Are you sure it's not leaking anywhere?

 

There is a small leak from the rear main seal, a few drops when parked overnight, but nothing big. The car does show some gray smoke on accelleration, but very little. It's like the oil is being burned completely.

No water in the oil, so head gasket is OK. No oil in the water either. I think it's the exhaust valve guides, and want to look in this direction, and see what the forum members say about replacing them. Thanks for your reply.

Dave

 

its definatly more than valve guides...4 quarts in 500 miles is crazy...

 

I burn a little over 1 qt every 400 miles. I don't know if it's my valve guides or rings either. I have an automatic, and when I step on it and it kicks into low gear, I usually pour grey/black smoke. I plan on tearing the engine down in a few months and having the head rebuilt [if it needs it] and most likely giving the cylinders a fresh hone and some new rings.