Ok, so I have spent much time searching and reading forums about my problem. I have a 99 accord with 103,000 on it. It is burning considerable oil, probably 1 qt every 400 miles. I got it with only 75,000 on it and it had been burning oil from the beginning. I need to sell it because I really need a truck, but I am not out to screw anyone and don't think I can even sell it with it burning oil. Even though other than oil burning it runs like a champ. I am pretty sure it is probably something costly and I don't want to put that much money into fixing it. So I have been trying to see if I can at least reduce the oil consumption.

I read a forum awhile back about using Seafoam in the cylinders to clean "if" the ring was maybe stuck in its groove. Has this worked for anyone? I know I could switch to a thicker oil too, which may help. I checked the PCV valve which appears to be fine, but will replace anyway. There are no oil spots where I park. In reality, I am pretty sure there isn't much else I can do without changing valve seals or piston rings, but I thought I would see if there were any other ideas to reduce the consumption.

 

What grade oil are you using? If you are using too thin a grade for a worn engine, you will burn a lot more oil.

A 20W-50 weight high mileage oil is a suitable choice for a worn engine to reduce oil consumption. Castrol make a good high mileage oil in that grade.

 

103k it not high mileage for that motor. also i think 20w50 is too thick for a motor that takes 5w20 normally.

are you sure you don't have oil leaks? unless the bottom of your motor is completely dry you've got something leaking. it may only leak while the engine is running so you won't see much in the driveway... also i would put a new PCV valve in even if i thought the current one was fine since they are only a few bucks.

 

If a motor is worn, it doesn't matter if it's got 103k or 303k on the clock. It needs a grade of oil that matches the current condition of the engine.

These engines run 20w-50 fine -- I wouldn't have recommended it if I didn't know for sure. OTOH, 5w-20 is *way* too thin for a worn engine. (And anyway, the factory specification is for 5w-30 for a _new_ engine...)

And don't even think about wasting your money on synthetic with a worn engine -- an expensive exercise in futility.

 

Right now I am just running 5w-30, but was planning on going to 10w-30. So you think I should go even higher? Won't my gas mileage suffer a lot with such high weight oil?

I thought if it would be leaking there would be oil spots where I always park. I will go check the bottom of my engine better for oil leaks. I will go buy a new PCV valve also.

Oh and also I am pretty sure it is burning it because I pulled my plugs and there is a white build up on the tips. I read somewhere that means it is burning oil. Is that correct?

 

Build-up on plugs is likely from burning oil.

If you are losing oil, it's either leaking or burning. Sounds like you haven't got any major leaks, so...

I'd just try 20w-50 Castrol High Mileage at your next oil change if I were you, and see how you go with it. It shouldn't affect your gas mileage adversely at all. But you will save money not always replacing all that oil you are currently burning!

BTW, if you are getting poor gas mileage, consider replacing your O2 sensor.

 

I was curious, is there any reason it would burn more oil with interstate driving than in town? Or is it just because it is running harder on the interstate so it will just burn more.

 

I think plugger is going a bit overboard with 20w-50. Try 10w-30 first then try like 10w-30 High Mileage.

10w-30 is still a Honda recommended weight for the engine and the High Mileage has additives to swell up gaskets and seals to help prevent oil loss/leaks.

As to burning more at higher speeds, I would assume it would be related to your motor running at higher RPM's for longer periods of time vs a range of RPM's for shorter periods.

 

believe it or not engine restorer actually works. i agree with everyone else too, try using a thicker oil and throw a can of engine restorer in. it does help with oil burning. it got my car through inspection. kept failing for visible smoke due to bad rings.

 

A 10w-30 oil won't improve things much, if at all. The reason is obvious if you understand what the numbers actually mean.

In a multigrade oil, the first number tells you viscosity of the oil when the engine is cold, and the second number tells you the viscosity when the engine is running at normal temperature. So a 10w-30 oil will have a higher viscosity than a 5w-30 while then engine is cold or still warming up, but will have the *same* viscosity when the engine is at full temp.

Therefore, unless you are doing most of driving as very short trips where the engine doesn't get a chance to get to full operating temp, you will find that you are burning much the same amount of oil you were before. So you must raise the *second* number of your oil grade to get the required effect.

If you want to be conservative, try a somethingW-40 weight oil first. But the way you're burning it, I'd just go straight to the 50.

 

Completely true.

20w-50 though still seems overkill since OP doesn't know where/when the oil is being lost.

While you're still against it, starting with a thicker OEM recommended oil seems like a better approach than to jump up to 4 times the starting weight and ~1.7 times the running weight.

If it's a leaking/clogged PCV valve (believe that's the one, upper pass side of motor) and dripping down the back of the motor it would leak more while running at high way speeds than cruising around town. But I suppose if that's the case the weight of the motor doesn't matter at all.

 

Ok, so I haven't had time because I have been so busy, but I got a new PCV valve and I think I will probably go for a happy medium between everyone and run 10w-40 HM. When I get the car up on jacks I will double check the underside of the engine, but I am pretty sure it is not leaking externally. With the amount I am losing I really think there would be at least a drop or two in the driveway where I park, but it is spotless.

Hopefully this will reduce it enough, that when I try to sell it, it won't be as bad as it is now.

 

Hey Guys, this was a helpful thread. I though i would chime in on similar problems with oil consumption:
Roughly 1 quart per 300 miles..

I have a 94 Accord 2.2 liter with 150k

Gas milage is about 25-27mpg on average

Had some small leaks, used a quart of seal conditioner and Supertech 10w-40 and all leaks stopped. However still noticed the "burning smell".... and burning 1qt per 300 miles...

I just put in some Lucas Oil stabilizer and later researched it is a fancy "oil thickener".

I will measure my oil consumption and report back. Going to change o2 sensor, plugs, fuel filter and air filter. See if that bumps up the gas mileage to make keeping this thing worth while!...

If I continue to burn oil im going to do what Ive read so many others doing and just use 20w50 dino and say F*** it...

I'll post back with my results with the Lucas oil thickener in it.

 

After some reading on Bobistheoilguy.com you'll find some of the info on this thread is misguided and some is just wrong. check it out, you'll understand oil (automotive) better than 80% of the population.

 

Fix the leaks then go from there. May save you money in the long run.

 

If you're burning 1 quart every 300 miles you have a leak somewhere.