So I've had my 98 base for a few months now and have had to put like $2300 in repairs into it (blown headgasket, new water pump, tensioner, timing belts, labor, etc.) and now it's either burning up oil like crazy, or I'm losing it somewhere. I haven't noticed any oil spots where i park, but i haven't really paid to close of attion to it either. Any suggestions/help??!!!

 

when U change ur oil, notice how long it will require to refill or when it starts to get black. If it is buring oil like crazy, ur new oil should be black in about one week.

Several things to check before thinking about swapping out of repair:

remove spark plugs are check oil stain on spark plugs and look inside the cylinder, U should see the top pistons (wet or dry).

Do a compression test on all 4 cylinders.

Check ur coolant level if that interfere with oil burning.

If all that looks good, check under the car if it is leaking and burned by your exhaust.

If no signs of leaking anywhere throughout the motor.


It must be pistons itself or the head and head gasket was not put in correctly or damage when they fixed it.

 

how does burning oil cause it to become black ?

 

when pistons have major leak, NOT rings then during combustion, the excess exhaust will rush downward rather than out the manifold.


My h22 was like that, the oil become black in roughly 1 wk.

 

Also the cylinder wall could have many minor scratches or dent. Did U look at the cylinder wall when the head gasket was change?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mongtite &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">when pistons have major leak, NOT rings then during combustion, the excess exhaust will rush downward rather than out the manifold.


My h22 was like that, the oil become black in roughly 1 wk. </TD></TR></TABLE>

How would the pistons leak unless they were cracked ?

 

my mechanic milled the head b/c it was warped a little bit, and i had a coolant/overheating problem prior to this, so who knows what's going on. Everydays a struggle with the lude....