'89 civic dx burns oil
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2004
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'89 civic dx burns oil
This is my fiance's car. We aren't looking for fast, we just want reliable. It eats about 1 qt for every 1k miles. I pulled the plugs and noticed a fair amount of oil on all but #3. I'm thinking that new o-rings a la here:
http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/sh...pp=15
will help, but I don't know if that's a problem in addition to bad piston rings? Is the only way to check for bad rings a compression test (and can i get the tool for rent at autozone or wherever?).
So, if it burns oil, I know piston rings are one culprit, but could this also have anything to do with it? The plugs were fouled when I pulled them, but they were also drenched in oil since they had to come up through the bad tubes where it was sitting -- so I couldn't really tell what condition they were in.
Any expert advice would be appreciated.
thanks
http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/sh...pp=15
will help, but I don't know if that's a problem in addition to bad piston rings? Is the only way to check for bad rings a compression test (and can i get the tool for rent at autozone or wherever?).
So, if it burns oil, I know piston rings are one culprit, but could this also have anything to do with it? The plugs were fouled when I pulled them, but they were also drenched in oil since they had to come up through the bad tubes where it was sitting -- so I couldn't really tell what condition they were in.
Any expert advice would be appreciated.
thanks
Keyboard Humorist
Joined: May 2002
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From: Granada Hills, Ca, USA
Re: '89 civic dx burns oil (kudude)
Another thing it could be are valve guide seals.
Typically worn valve guide seals let the car smoke at low rpm and not as noticable at high rpm. Piston rings like to smoke most at high rpm, but will eventually smoke all the time.
A compression test can tell you which cylinder is having the most issues, but won't be able to tell you if it's the rings or guide seals or whatever else might be the problem. I once had a cheapo Mazda 626 with a motor that had NEW rings and NEW valve guides and it still blew smoke. The cylinders ended up being warped and the rings never seated correctly. Compression test looked great. Leakdown test looked wierd.
If you want to know if the problem is in the head or the bottom end then get a leakdown test done on the motor. Otherwise I suggest you look to swap out the motor for one that doesn't have any smoking issues or spend some time rebuilding your old one.
Typically worn valve guide seals let the car smoke at low rpm and not as noticable at high rpm. Piston rings like to smoke most at high rpm, but will eventually smoke all the time.
A compression test can tell you which cylinder is having the most issues, but won't be able to tell you if it's the rings or guide seals or whatever else might be the problem. I once had a cheapo Mazda 626 with a motor that had NEW rings and NEW valve guides and it still blew smoke. The cylinders ended up being warped and the rings never seated correctly. Compression test looked great. Leakdown test looked wierd.
If you want to know if the problem is in the head or the bottom end then get a leakdown test done on the motor. Otherwise I suggest you look to swap out the motor for one that doesn't have any smoking issues or spend some time rebuilding your old one.
Member
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 3,668
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From: West Chester, PA, USA
Re: '89 civic dx burns oil (kudude)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kudude »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so....
could my oil burning be due to the spark plug seals or is that an additional problem?</TD></TR></TABLE>
The oil needs to enter the combusiton chamber for it to burn off. So basically if the tube seals leak they just fill the spark plug tubes with oil and the oil cannot get by the spark plug and into the combustion chamber. My money is on the piston rings or the valve guide seals.
could my oil burning be due to the spark plug seals or is that an additional problem?</TD></TR></TABLE>
The oil needs to enter the combusiton chamber for it to burn off. So basically if the tube seals leak they just fill the spark plug tubes with oil and the oil cannot get by the spark plug and into the combustion chamber. My money is on the piston rings or the valve guide seals.
B*a*n*n*e*d
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 316
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From: Louisville, Ky., U.S.A.
Re: '89 civic dx burns oil (kudude)
O.K. heres the real problem: 88-91 Civic's and anything else that got a D15B1
or D15B2 in your case I believe, were sent out with shitting head gaskets and sopposivly the stretch bolts are not all that great either. The problem at hand is htat the headgasket leaks internally and externally. Thus the great loss of oil.According to honda, the stretch bolts are not allowing a poorly designed gasket to exp[and and contract as needed to seal properly.
Don't worry though, its only embarrising, with no danger of blowing.but if you call your local honda Dealer, the should tell you of a new type of gasket and stretch bolt revised bullit for replacement parts.
or D15B2 in your case I believe, were sent out with shitting head gaskets and sopposivly the stretch bolts are not all that great either. The problem at hand is htat the headgasket leaks internally and externally. Thus the great loss of oil.According to honda, the stretch bolts are not allowing a poorly designed gasket to exp[and and contract as needed to seal properly.
Don't worry though, its only embarrising, with no danger of blowing.but if you call your local honda Dealer, the should tell you of a new type of gasket and stretch bolt revised bullit for replacement parts.
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Joined: Jul 2005
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From: Boyce, VA, USA
Re: '89 civic dx burns oil (Civiclized)
get new rings, rod bearings, and valve seals. you can fix it for under $100 without even having to pull the motor. I have done this numerous times and all of them still running strong
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2004
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Re: '89 civic dx burns oil (hott95ej2)
Sounds like a fun time to me. Do you really not need to pull the engine to get to the piston rings? Also, is this going to be a condition that gets progressively worse, or will she be able to drive it for about 9 months? I don't know if i have time to change the seals before I leave in august, and the car isn't worth spending any real amount of money on.
Do you guys recommend haynes, chilton, or "my own personal guess how to do it" manual?
thanks again
Do you guys recommend haynes, chilton, or "my own personal guess how to do it" manual?
thanks again
Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2005
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From: Boyce, VA, USA
Re: '89 civic dx burns oil (kudude)
No its not neccessary to pull the motor to re-ring pistons and put in rod bearings as long as when it was burning oil you kept oil in it all the time. All you have to do is pull the head, pull the oil pan , and girdle from the bottom end. of course you will have to replace the head gasket and it also makes it easier to set engine timing if you set it to Top Dead center before you pull the head oh and it sounds like you need a valve cover gasket too but it will cost less than $200 for all of this
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