I have a 1.6 vtec civic that is making around 360 hp on 25 psi. I have oil leaking somewhere. The person I bought it from was running quakerstate fully synthetic. He said the engine has 2500 miles on a full rebuild. Someone told me to switch to non synthetic because synthetic will make the leaks worse. Should I do this? What kind of oil do you guys recommend if I do this? If I should stay synthetic, should I stay with quaker state?

 

You're running a modern engine that has no problem switching between syn or non-syn. This story perpetuates from back in the day when syn first came out and most cars were built with non compatible seal materials. Putting syn in them would cause massive leaks and seal failures. You need to figure out where the leak is and solve the problem. Changing oil isn't going to fix the root cause.

When you say leaking, what do you mean? Is it leaving puddles? Oil residue anywhere? Or are you just having to top off between changes?

 

Check where the leak is coming from. Placing a piece of cardboard underneath you car is a start.

 

There is residue all over the engine. The whole motor has 2500 miles on a full rebuild. The oil falls on the ground from the oil pan so I don't think cardboard would work. It leaks even if the car isn't running.

 

Mine was doing something similar. Had to tighten down the oil return lines. Oil was everywhere on the undercarriage.

 

Its weird... I ran it one day, didn't lose anything. Let it set for two days, I lost 1/8 quart.

 

check your turbo, dsm owners out here call turbos "oil leaks"

 

Sry for the stupid question, but how do I check the turbo?

 

Switching oil types isn't going to fix a leak.

If you can't determine the source of the leak, you need to get some degreaser and a brush and clean the engine. Once it's dry, run it for a while. The oil leak(s) will be evident.

 

Do what I did. Top off the oil. Jack up car. Wipe down everything and just lay there until it starts dripping. Wear an old shirt you care nothing about.

 

im no expert when it comes to turbos but this is what i would do, check around the oil line going to the turbo or play in the shaft/turbine and cracks in the housing. too bad they dont make somthing for checking oil leaks like they do for coolant, it would be nice to just hook a pump up to your oil cap and looking for bubbles. on a side note.......i dont want to say it cuz i hate hearing the extremely bad news when im in a situation like you are but call up they guy you bought it from and ask him for reciepts and stuff for the rebuild. ask him if he rebuilt it himself or if a shop did it. ask him what he torqued the head bolts to or if he even did. ive bought a car that was "jimmy rigged" with promisses of it being in perfect condition only to throw a rod a month later

 

LOL that is a great idea!

 

Okay ill check those things out. You obviously know more about turbos than I do.

 

too many ideas running threw my head :D.........if it leaks when the car is off then its got to be bellow where the oil level sits. like all the oil drains to the pan when you turn it off right, so that rules out bad head gasket, and turbo. is the oil filter tight? is the drain plug tight? did he f*$k up when he put a new oil pan gasket on. like other people are saying just clean it up as best you can so you can see where its coming from.

 

Hmm... I didn't even check the oil fillter... but my whole engine is "wet". I always have a drip or two of coolant on the platform right below where that big bolt (19mm maybe?) is right below the exhaust, if you guys think that is related.

 

sounds like this guy didnt do a very good rebuild. i dont know what bolt your talking about but if your getting coolant leaks anywhere but from hoses its a bad gasket (head, water pump, intake etc....) do you know how to do a compression test? if you do try that out if your getting low numbers its a bad head gasket or rings. rings wouldnt explain a leak but the head gasket would.

 

Yeah I can do a compression test. How hard is it to change a head gasket on this engine? Is there any manual or video that can walk me through it? I hope its not the head gasket but I was thinking of it.

 

Come to think of it, the coolant also appears when the car sits, so that's probably not the head gasket, right? What do you guys think?

 

its not hard, but takes a fair ammount of time and money. and since your boosted you would want to go with a heavy duty head gasket. any haynes or chilton manual will explain it with a degree of detail. as long as you know what parts they're talking about and you have the right tools its pretty easy. hardest thing is getting the crank pulley off. do the compression test when its at operating temp, the first crank over should shoot the gage to like 80-120 then slowley build to 150-170. i did a head gasket replacement on a 99 lx last year and it cost me like 1000$ but i did everything to the "t" you could cut some stuff and lower the cost by a couple hundred bucks but if your planning to keep it turboed then i wouldnt skip on anything. it actually would be cheaper to find someone local selling an old engine then just swap everything out.

 

water pump or radiator

 

Wow, $1000? How? The motor has all new acr bearings, new rods, new pistons, full machine work, port and polished head, the whole motor has 2500 miles. How could changing a gasket possibly cost $1000?

 

Anyone?

 

How about you get off the computer, go do this, and then get back to us...

We can sit here and speculate until we're blue in the face, or you can take some action and actually get it all figured out.

 

Whoa,
Hold it everyone with all the speculation and suggesting $$$$$ fixes.

First, if you're running a turbo, you need to be running full synthetic oil. The turbo gets *really hot* and full synthetic is necessary to keep the oil from sludging or coking in the turbo when you run it hard and then shut down without letting it cool off. (Plus you don't have to change full synthetic as often as conventional.)

Second: you need to figure out where the leak is coming from. Nobody on here can do that for you. If you can't recognize the components, take pictures and post them here - someone will recognize what you photographed and tell you where the leak is coming from. If you don't feel competent to do that, or just plain don't want to get dirty - take it to a mechanic.

Third:
That is the front engine coolant drain plug. If you see coolant below that, it's a good bet that the coolant is coming out of there.

Fourth:
Let me repeat - if you want to stop the leak yourself you are going to have to get dirty. I would recommend spending a whole day cleaning your engine. Oil doesn't come off easily so you're going to have to work. Get some disposable "shop towels" (beefy paper towels) and a bottle of dawn. Now wash the engine by hand.
Make sure that the leaked substance is actually oil. It could also be transmission fluid/lubricant, or power steering fluid

For your information, there are about 16 places (assuming SOHC) from which the oil could be escaping, and it could very well be coming from more than one place. (When these engines overheat, it tends to damage the seals so that they leak a little.)

Let us know where the oil is coming from, and we'll let you know how to make it stop leaking.

 

Okay thanks for the replies guys. You guys are really helpful. I am definitely not afraid to get dirty... I am a off road motorcycle mechanic... I just don't know much about cars. I'm glad to hear that the bolt I was talking about is a coolant plug. My car is in the shop right now getting a full exhaust on it. When its back, ill be scrubbing the engine and I'll let you guys know what's happens.