01 Accord 2.3 - 4 cylinder - Only 275000 highway miles, The last 25-30000 miles my oil is disappearing, Dont leak a drop, dont see any evidence of burning, But about 2000 miles after an oil change I am a quart low and keeps going lower, I can imagine the valve guides are an issue, but would I not see evidence of oil burning?

 

Honda SB #82-003, issued on May 20, 1988, although is old SB, says something about that more than 1qt in 1000 miles is considered for New Car Limited Warranty. New engine consumes more oil than broken-in engine, but I thought the numbers are very interesting.

Since the SB is for new cars, it will not be applicable to your car but 1qt in 2000 miles is not considered as problem?? May be???

I would change oil one grade higher in viscosity number than currently used along with additive like "Engine Restorer" or similar ones.

 

lucas oil additive, see if that helps.

 

It's burning the oil.

Burning 1 quart in a 2000-mile interval is essentially nothing. You're not going to see evidence of burning such small amounts of oil. Think of how many combustion cycles each piston or valve may make in 2000 miles, then multiply that by four cylinders. Now think of how little oil must be consumed upon each combustion cycle to add up to a single quart in that 2000 miles...

You generally won't see "evidence" of oil burning unless it is consuming a large amount of oil (multiple quarts per 1000 miles or less).

It's not a problem at this point and you really shouldn't be worrying about it. You're already doing the right thing, which is checking the level in the sump on a regular basis and topping it off as needed. As long as you aren't allowing the engine to run low on oil, it's not really going to harm anything.

Spending hundreds to thousands of dollars on internal engine work to curb minor oil consumption in a 275,000-mile vehicle is throwing money in the toilet. Chances are that without a complete overhaul at great expense, you won't even solve the problem and may even make it worse. Believe me, I've worked on hundreds of these cars. I've seen it happen.

Just keep running it. If you're still using 5W-20, try switching to 5W-30 to see if the higher viscosity helps curb oil consumption. I don't recommend using anything more viscous than a 5W-30 though.

 

 

I have always used a 10W-40, at times a 10W-30 when I could not find my normal brand weight, I also try to add a quart of Lucas most of the time. Not real clear on the oil weights, 5W-20 or 30 be better?

 

10W-40? Why?

If you've already been using 10W-40 all this time, switching to a less viscous oil will increase oil consumption. You might as well continue using it now.

 

5w-30 or 10w-30 High mileage oil is ok to use. Do not use 10w-40!