1993 Honda Civic
174k miles

I bought it from a friend for $700 at 152k miles. Car drives great and has 'no' issues.
It drinks oil, about 1/2 - 3/4 qt every 300 miles.

Currently I just keep refilling it. From what I have read I probably have bad piston rings. I don't want to dump any money into this car so my question is, are there any ill effects of just refilling every time it gets low on oil? Or is this a type of issue where it just keeps getting worse and worse until the engine dies?

 

Do you see smoke? You didnt address that issue. It could be rings, valve seals, a leak etc. give us some more info

 

sorry, yes i do see smoke, especially when i get on it. black smoke.
i have a nice little black stain on the rear bumper right above the exhaust

car is completely stock btw if that makes a difference.

 

do a compression test, is it totaly black smoke?

 

looks like it to me from my rearview. so if my compression is fine across the board then does that mean im ok?

what if the compression is not ok? does that mean i can drive for now but eventually need a rebuild?

thanks

 

If its blowing black smoke thats typically soot/carbon and is normal. If oil is burning internally in the motor it will burn blue. Do a compression test and post your numbers. If compression is low its more then likely your pistons rings not sealing anymore allowing oil to pass and combust.

 

If you aren't worried about it and plan on swapping in the future, just keep filling it and let it ride. I wouldn't put any money into it either, but that's just me.

 

ok, so if it is my piston rings not sealing, and if i just keep driving/refilling the oil. will it just keep running ok or will something more major happen down the road?

i guess what im wondering is is if there are any affects from driving with worn piston rings and not repairing.

 

i have a z6 with valve seal problems goes thru a quart of oil per tank of fuel and well it's been like that for 6 months now will not hurt your car to run like that just always make sure your oil don't get to low or you will be spinning bearings like no one's business and just stay outta vtec lol that's where mine burns the most oil anything below 4k is fine but after that blue/black smoke..

 

If its black smoke then it can be running rich or just be carbon. What kind of MPG do you have? Do you have any CEL's? Do a compression test.
And no, driving the car and refilling the oil doesnt do anything. If anything its better than normal because its always running on fresh oil
Check and see if it smokes at idle. When I first got my car it started leaking oil from the rear main seal. It was going through oil like crazy, but it was leaking it on the driveway. Does yours leak oil where you can see it? Or is there a large amount of oil on anything under the hood?

 

Mine does not leak anywhere to the point where i can see at least. No CELs.

I actually get amazing MPG. Given the fact that I do drive it like a baby and 95% highway, I get about 40mpg.

 

as they already said, smoke would be blew if its was burning oil, but we had same issue with my friends dc, smoke looked black form inside, but it was really blue with a little black.

i still recomend a compression test, then come back wiht the #'s

 

ok. but just to know for the future. what if the numbers come back like 180-180-180-70?
What does that mean I need to do? Or could I just keep driving it and itll be ok.

 

The 70 would need rings, if you do get a number such as 70 drop a lil oil in the clynder and try again, if it comes back higher, your rings are bad.