I bought a 91 si that was not running. I found out that I needed a new dizzy. I got a new dizzy and got new cap, rotor and plugs. After that I was able to get the car to start. I adjusted the timing the best I could but it won't hit the timing mark. Its off about 1/8th of an inch. So, I’ve been driving it and it runs great now, but after driving it for 3 or 4 months I've noticed a black film on the back of my car. I assume its burning oil, since I have to put a quart of oil in it about every 3 weeks. I've searched the forum for burning oil and found a post of a guy's wife having a similar oil burning problem. The post suggests replacing the rings, rod bearings, and valve seals. Before I buy all of that I want to make sure that is the problem or if it being out of time could be the problem. By the way the car has 201,XXX miles on it and I bought it from the original owner.

 

First, the black film on the back of your car is probably just carbon build up from your exhaust. Second, are you sure you're burning the oil and not leaking it? One thing I would do is to make sure the car has oil and do a little bit of hard driving. If the car is burning blue smoke at idle or when you're on the gas, it is more likely your rings. If it burns oil (blue smoke) when you're going down a hill at mid RPM's or on deceleration in gear, it's more likely to be your valve guild seals. If you don't notice any blue smoke, your probably leaking it. I would look around everywhere on the motor for any oil and/or grease that's not supose to be there and clean it up. Keep an eye on everything and look for oil leaks. One common place is between the block and the head by the engine code stamp. Check all that out and you should be able to figure it out.

 

I have no oil spots in my driveway. I have noticed on occasion on the freeway seeing blue smoke. When I get home tonight I'll have to check the block to see if there are any leaks.

 

After looking at it there seems to be an awful lot of oil build up all around the engine just below where the head and block meet. Thank you for the advice. I'll try changing out the head gasket. I heard that if the head gasket is blown the motor is no good in these cars is that true?