Ok, I know everyone with a B series burns some oil, especially in VTEC. I don't hit VTEC that often (very rare that I do) but I have to add about a quart of oil every couple weeks. It really starts to add up when you have to buy $5 of oil so often. I'm using Mobil 1 10W-30 and it's been burning oil since I bought the car last summer. Oh yeah, the car is a '94 Del Sol (~135k miles) with a '98 B18C1 (~74k miles) converted back to OBD1 if that matters. The car smokes pretty bad at higher rpms. I'd estimate it starts around 5000rpm. After letting off the gas it will continue to smoke for a few seconds. The smoke is whitish, and I'm pretty certain it's not coolant. I've heard synthetic oil burns white. Spark plugs are black and a little crusty, so definitely something isn't right. One was noticably worse than the others.

For the longest time I thought my piston rings were bad or I had a bad head gasket, but recently I did a compression test and all cylinders were close together and above 200psi. Now I'm wondering if my valves need adjusting. Could that cause my car to smoke and burn oil? What about valve seals? I've been searching for a while and can't find anything about replacing seals. Can someone point me in the right direction? About how hard is it and how much do they cost? If an adjustment is all it needs, then I'll probably be doing that tomorrow or in the coming days.

Thanks to all for their help. This is my first post here. I've been a part of another Honda forum for a while now, but I'm lookinfg for a new home.

 

use a 40 weight oil instead of 30 and throw some RESTORE in next time u change ur oil. the stuff is amazing. really helps stop oil consumption. stay off the synthetic oil. its too thin for ur mileage. castrol non-synthetic 5w-40 is my favorite.
but keep an eye on your coolant level. white smoke is usually coolant, oil is usually black.

 

It could definitely be oil leaking down the valve guides. A compression test is not sufficient to determine if your oil rings are bad, since they are not the rings involved in maintaining cylinder pressure. As long as you are able to remove/reinstall the valve springs it should not be difficult to change the seals.

 

I've tried going up to 15w-50 and it still burned oil just as bad.

I keep an eye on my coolant and oil. The coolant has always been very constant. It's the oil which drops down so fast, which leads me to believe that is what's smoking.

But, could out-of-adjustment valves be at all responsible for smoking? Or, would it only be related to the valve seals (if the leaking oil was coming from the valves and not worn piston rings)?

 

ok , white smoke = coolant
black smoke = too much fuel
blue smoke = oil.

class is over

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by djsire &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ok , white smoke = coolant
black smoke = too much fuel
blue smoke = oil.

class is over</TD></TR></TABLE>

Exactly.
First determine if it's black or blue.

 

My guess would be oil control rings are worn. "car smokes pretty bad at higher rpms. I'd estimate it starts around 5000rpm". Or...

Have you checked the PCV valve to make sure it's working properly?

Misadjusted valves would not cause oil consumption to any great degree. Worn valve stem seals however would. That would cause a puff of blue smoke when gently applying throttle after a few moments at idle. If you need to ask how difficult it is to replace the seals, you are probably better off having the job done for you.

Heavier weight oil does almost nothing to reduce oil consumption and could in fact cause more damage to your engine.

In the short term I'd suggest switching to regular (cheaper) dino oil and just add more when necessary. But check the PCV system too.

 

Just for ***** & giggles try a can of 4cyl Engine Restorer, you can buy it at any wal-mart or autozone,pepboys,etc.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by djsire &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ok , white smoke = coolant
black smoke = too much fuel
blue smoke = oil.

class is over</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

so white smoke means the coolant is leaking? or u need coolant lol

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by djsire &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ok , white smoke = coolant
black smoke = too much fuel
blue smoke = oil.

class is over</TD></TR></TABLE>

Blue and white look very close out of your rear view mirror under full throttle trying to drive down the road.

Also burning oil any amount over say a 1/4 of a quart between oil changes is not normal and is a indication of worn rings from a tired motor.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxmatt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Blue and white look very close out of your rear view mirror under full throttle trying to drive down the road.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's what I'm thinking. I'm positive I'm not burning coolant. I've never seen anyone drive my car so it's hard for me to tell exactly what color it is when I'm driving.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Perfectionist &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Have you checked the PCV valve to make sure it's working properly?
.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The PCV valve is relatively new so I'm assuming that it's working fine. Might be worth double checking.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Perfectionist &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If you need to ask how difficult it is to replace the seals, you are probably better off having the job done for you.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

It's not that I'm retarded. I've been working on cars for a while now and being an engineering major this stuff is natural to me. I was just looking for some instructions to make sure there wasn't anything special involved in the process.

I guess I'll still do the valve adjustment for the learning experience, but maybe I'll look into buying some new valve seals and try to eliminate all other variables before wasting time and money replacing piston rings.

Thanks for the help everyone!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Flatland2D &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

It's not that I'm retarded. I've been working on cars for a while now and being an engineering major this stuff is natural to me. I was just looking for some instructions to make sure there wasn't anything special involved in the process.


Thanks for the help everyone!</TD></TR></TABLE>

My appologies. I didn't intend to insult you. I don't know you or your level of competence, so I had no way to gauge wether or not replacing the stem seals would be difficult for you.

The 'hard' part is keeping the valves up while changing the seals. I have no first hand experience changing them but I have read up on the proceedure and different techniques.

Again, sorry if I offended you.

 

what is this RESTORE stuff that they mentioned?? i too have a problem burning oil i add half a quart though every week but its still a nuicence when u have to keep paying 5$ every week just for a quart = / i mean if it doesnt hurt to try plz someone explain what this RESTORE stuff is

 

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

My appologies. I didn't intend to insult you. I don't know you or your level of competence, so I had no way to gauge wether or not replacing the stem seals would be difficult for you.

The 'hard' part is keeping the valves up while changing the seals. I have no first hand experience changing them but I have read up on the proceedure and different techniques.

Again, sorry if I offended you.</TD></TR></TABLE>

No worries, I wasn't offended. I was joking around when I said that. I appreciate the help.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fizeks &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">what is this RESTORE stuff that they mentioned?? i too have a problem burning oil i add half a quart though every week but its still a nuicence when u have to keep paying 5$ every week just for a quart = / i mean if it doesnt hurt to try plz someone explain what this RESTORE stuff is </TD></TR></TABLE> Try it, it cant hurt anything.

 

I forgot to ask, if I've got the valve cover off to do the valve adjustment, is there a way I can inspect the seals to see if they need to be replaced? Anything particular to look for? A new set of seals will cost me about $70 that I'd rather not spend right now. I'm sure they'll get replaced at some point, just wondering if there is a way to tell if they've still got any life in them.

 

Restore is basically just a conditioner for your motor.It's not a magic worker though it will only help if the problem is minor. It conditions seals and fills tiny imperfections in your internals and i've been told that it cleans gunk out of your motor.