Hey everyone, I just bought a 91 Accord EX, and the only thing thats seems to be seriously wrong with it is that it burns about a litre of oil for every 500 kilometers I drive and there doesn't seem to be any leaks in the engine.

Im totaly new to accords, so im just asking if anyone knows any common problems that could cause the oil consumption.....cause Im waay too poor right now to fix anything like the piston rings, etc.

Thanks in advance!

 

that is a lot of oil you are using almost 1 qt for every 311 miles,,,,,If no leaks for sure,, you could have worn pistons rings and or leaky valve seals,
Any smoke coming out of tail pipe while car is running ( idling ) or accellarating ??

 

Sorry, I forgot to mentionthat it doesn't smoke - not while idling, accelerating, or when i did the test where you coast from 80 to 25ish and then accelerate hard.

To elaborate on the leaks, there is some very minor leakage coming from like the valve cover gasket area...but practically nothing; and there isn't any oil leaking onto the ground underneath the car where I park it.

So im thinking its the piston rings that are shot....so im screwed...

If there are any other insights (or ideas on how much a ring job or other potential big ticket items are gonna cost me) into what could be causing it please gimme a shout!

Any help is greatly appreciated!!!! Thanks.

 

pull your air filter off and see if there is oil in it. If there is, go straight to rebuild. Another thing to do is get a oil analisys done to see if you have excessive blowby from worn rings.........

 

If it's not smoking, your rings are not the problem. It has to be leaking out somewhere. If it is comming out of the valve cover gasket, it may be going on to the exhaust, and getting burned off there, before it hits the ground. Place a piece of cardboard under the engine over night to see if you get a drop. Good luck

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BLKFLSH &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If it's not smoking, your rings are not the problem. It has to be leaking out somewhere. If it is comming out of the valve cover gasket, it may be going on to the exhaust, and getting burned off there, before it hits the ground. Place a piece of cardboard under the engine over night to see if you get a drop. Good luck</TD></TR></TABLE>

trust me , you are not going to burn a qt of oil per 300 miles due to a leak,, if it is leaking it out and using 1 qt per 300 miles as he says , there should be strong evidence of a leak,,
If according to him , there is only a very small leak and it uses that much oil,, it is worn rings or valve seals,,,or it has a much bigger leak,,

 

But wouldn't it be smoking it's A** off? The oil has to be going somewhere. Burning or dripping.

 

this is probably irrelevant, but a friend of mine has the same problem on his 94 Suburu. the mechanic told him he had a bad gasket.

 

Thanks for the tips, I'm gonna check out the air filter asap, and I'll put some cardboard under the car...just in case.

I had the car inspected when i bought it, and when the mechanic went to test for blowby he discovered that the oil level was below the dip-stick, and said it was the oil was too low to test for blowby...of course putting in the 2 litres of oil it needed to test it and charging me later would have been waay to simple...so now im probably gonna have to get it tested again.

Anyway, there is absolutely no smoke to be seen - I had a buddy follow me around to check for smoke for about an hour, and no smoke showed up under any conditions.

Thanks again for the replies!!!

 

PCV valve??

 

Quick update!

After owning my car or two weeks now, i have discovered that...it is in fact dripping oil onto the ground. However, the emphasis is on "dripping", there is only a few little spots on the ground, and I've parked it there every night for just under two weeks.

So if this brings any clarity to how I could be losing aprox. 1 litre per 500 - 600 kilometres please let me know!

Thanks in advance!!

 

With regards to the observation of possible Piston Ring Issues, I'd like to offer a proceedure which might address your problem w/out tearing anything apart.
It's possible you've got rings which have frozen in their grooves, thus failing to properly seal against the cylinder bores.

Try this; it's cheap and doesn't involve tearing anything apart.

Purchase either a can of SeaFoam or GM Top Engine Cleaner (PN# 1050002). remove all four spark plugs and pour equal amounts into each combustion chamber and let sit for at least three hours.

Go get a coffee
Go "Entertain" the GF or significant other
Go get a beer, anything - just go away for three hours.

Cycle the engine several times to evacuate the excess cleaner and reinstall the plugs. Roll the car outside and start the car. You're going to enjoy a re-enactment of a WW2 Destroyer's putting a smoke screen down (that's why I suggested putting the car outside) so get ready for the Fire Dept etc.

What you've most likely got is the piston rings have gummed up in their lands and have stopped conforming to the cylinders. This will free them up.

P




edited 'cuz 'spell checker wasn't working (yeh, right)


Modified by P_Adams at 12:07 AM 3/26/2006

 

One question..... The coolant in your Radiator Overflow Bottle: it hasn't developed a bath tub ring, or hasn't started looking like a Dunkin Donuts Coffee Coolata; has it??
It so, you've found where your engine oil has gone.

P

 

Good idea re the seafoam! I used it once before on my 86 civic (under heavy guidance) but didn't do the whole take apart engine pour in seafoam wait 3 hours, etc. i just kept the revs up pretty high and I think my uncle poured it into the intake...or something. But the results were spectacular and the neighboors did come out in force after a few minutes.

As for the Radiator Overflow Bottle, it has no signs of oil in it.

Thanks again for all the tips!!!

 

The procedure your uncle treated you to is called Fogging an Engine. It's a procedure by which Top Engine Cleaner is introduced thru the carburetor in increasing amounts until the engine stalls and is allowed to sit for a while. It's excellent for the purpose of removing Carbon and such.
Today, it's still a viable technique for removing carbon. But since the advent of fuel injection; some modification to the procedure had to be made. Today, we use the vacuum hose to the power brake booster to get it in the engine. Why? Because I (and others) had no luck pouring it sideways into the Throttle body.

Let me know how it works out.

P

 

Update: Just cheched air filter. It's spottless.

Getting valve cover gasket kit on monday so I'll see if that helps.

 

I can vouch for the seafoam.P had me do that about a month ago when I found oil in my intake runners.

Like he said I puored it into each spark plug hole and let it sit for a little over three hours.
It stopped the blow by problem and the car ran better right away.I didn't even tell my hirlfriend what I did and she noticed a differance in power and told me about when she came in the door from driving the car.

 

I just put on a new valve cover gasket kit thingy, but there wasn't much oil leakage to be seen. there was some where the spark plugs sit, but not much else.

However, I jacked the car up and got a better look underneath...and I think I've discovered were the oil is going. There's copious amounts of oil underneath the car.

Most, if not all, of the oil is located to the right (air intake side) of the exhaust pipe, there doesn't seem to be any to the left... I know this is pretty vague, but car terminology isn't my forte. Im kinda thinking that the right side of the oil pan gasket might be leaking.

I'll try and get it up on a hoist ASAP and get a better idea of where the oil is coming from. And, in the mean time, try and do the seafoam treatment P suggested.

If anyone has any ideas on where the oil could be coming from please drop me a line!
Thanks!!!

 

If it's leaking on the drivers (left as seated) end of the engine it could be leaking from either:
Front Crankshaft Seal (inside Timing Belt Cover)
Front Balance Shaft Seal (inside Timing Belt Cover)
Front Camshaft Seal (inside Timing Belt Cover)

If it's leaking from the Passengers (right as seated) end of the engine it could be leaking from.
Rear Main Crankshaft Seal (from inside the bell-housing)

If from the engine's rear:
Oil Pressure sending unit

P

 

I Finally got a really good look underneath the car today (and changed the oil while I was at it), and it's not looking like it's gonna be anything major (*runs and repeatedly knocks on wood). The oil is leaking out of the oil pan gasket area, and above that area there's hardly any oil whatsoever.

The idiot who put it on last had the bolts on finger tight, so now that they're tight again I'll keep an eye on the oil level, and if it still goes down, I'll replace the oil pan gasket.

Also, I noticed that the PCV valve is leaking some oil onto the engine, and the hose is rock hard, and it has some carbon crap inside it. I'm gonna replace it, but are these symptoms of a larger, more sinister problem? Or just normal aging stuff?

Thanks agan for the previous tips!!

 

Hello guys! Did anyone ask the milage of this car. This year Accord uses 5/30 oil, A very thin viscosity oil. If you continue to use this oil after 100,000K it will pass by the rings and valves with out noticing. (Smoke) Try going to a heavier oil, Like 20/50 and see if consumption reduceses. Check the spark plugs for white deposits. This a sure indication of oil consumption.(With out smoking) If you still suspect a leak is the problem use a ultra violet dye and light to find it. That's how the Pros do it!

 

How much seafoam are you supposed to put into each spark plug hole? Would splitting up 1/3 a can of seafoam between the cylinders be enough?

And what do you mean by cycling the engine?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by blueshark &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Hello guys! Did anyone ask the milage of this car. This year Accord uses 5/30 oil, A very thin viscosity oil. If you continue to use this oil after 100,000K it will pass by the rings and valves with out noticing. (Smoke) Try going to a heavier oil, Like 20/50 and see if consumption reduceses. Check the spark plugs for white deposits. This a sure indication of oil consumption.(With out smoking) If you still suspect a leak is the problem use a ultra violet dye and light to find it. That's how the Pros do it!</TD></TR></TABLE>
No that's not what the pros do. The pros fix a problem if it develops. NOT cover it up. I own two high mileage hondas and still use factory reccomeded oil. Neither one have any problems. The key is propper maintnence with the CORRECT materials.

 

The car has 177,000 kilometers (aprox. 111,000 miles). And I use 10 30 oil.

 

Yes it is the way the pros do it! I've been fixing Honda cars for close to thirty years and am factory trained and certified in all areas. The ultra violet dye does not mask the problem but determines exactly where a leak is so it can be fixed once and fixed right!