I did the oil change a month ago, when I recently got the car, been driving it daily... I checked the oil yesterday, and it was already low... Now, the h23 takes 5qts, right?

If it's common for the preludes to burn oil? I'm gonna do the oil change again; because the old guy I bought it from, didn't really do an oil change, because when I had done it, it was blacker than who knows what.

Do any of you use synthetic ? pros and cons?

 

H23a1 takes 4.5 qts and it is common for higher mileage H engines to burn oil. A quick fix that I know of that can help is to check the PCV valve, when they are bad they make a hum when the engine is running and will just constantly pull oil through the intake.

 

I'll check that first thing in the morn, it's dark out right now.
Dang, Thanks, hopefully it's not a leak.... like before.

 

Definitely fix all oil leaks before assuming you are burning oil even though if the engine has a lot of miles you probably are but having leaks definitely isn't helping.

Mobil1 synthetic will do an amazing job of cleaning your engine out btw.

 

I have the same problem with my 2001 Prelude burns about a quart every 1000 miles or so and is very black when I go to change it. It has about 100000 miles and been doing it ever since I bought it about 3 years ago and what I did without spending a bunch of money is use thicker oil and a very good synthetic oil and I do add engine cleaner (get it at wal mart for a few bucks). Everybody I talked to says its not a leak its just burning it up maybe something with the gaskets im not sure. I also notice if I stay out of V tec it doesnt burn as fast. But you should def take it to a garage and see what they say preferably somebody you trust so you dont have to spend thousands. My car has been running strong for 3 years I had it and just did minor things to it.

 

Yea, thanks a lot for the advice fellas... Synthetic it is. I had fixed the oil leak before, it was just the oil filter was a tad loose, but I changed it and everything last time.

I will update this in the morning, thanks again.

 

No leaks awesome. Car has 153k on it. I guess it's time to go synthetic.
Thanks for the help guys

 

Yea that happened to me my oil was low so I went to add some and when I backed out of the spot there was oil everywhere. I went to look to see if I had a leak and it was just the filter came loose thank god it wasn't a leak.(Last time I let anybody change my oil).

 

i use mobile 1 sythetic and my car burns oil. no leaks that i can see.

 

Stay out of v tec and that is just preludes they love running rich and burning oil. I let my sister drive my car for about 3 months since my license was suspended and it barely burnt any oil and I didn't have all that black **** on my back bumper. She never drives fast and never hits v tec so I just figured don't even bother unless racing.

 

that has to be it b/c when i hit v-tec more then i use more oil.

 

There's a few misconceptions in this thread. The one I can pick out easily would be that VTEC itself doesn't burn oil. The combination of the type of engine design used in DOHC VTEC engines, high RPMs, and high oil pressures combine to burn oil during VTEC operation.

That's like saying that turning your key burns gas. No it doesn't. The engine, which is activated by a turned key burns gas. If you turned your key a billion times without turning on the engine, it wouldn't burn a drop of gas from your tank.

DOHC VTEC engines usually have oil squirters under the pistons. They squirt oil upwards. That's a high volume of oil to control at high RPMs. Consider that at 6000RPM, your engine is turning at 100 times per second!

H22s are notorious for burning oil because of the FRM cylinder liners as well.

But the OP has a H23. Non VTEC. Relatively low RPMs. If it's burning oil, it may have something to do with valve seals or rings. I would compression test the motor depending on how much oil it's using. Could also be the PCV valve.

Your problem may also be that you checked the oil right after you had done the oil change without starting the car first. So the oil looks artificially high.

Once you start the car, there is some oil that is "lost" in the filter, head, and other surfaces...that oil doesn't drain back into the oil pan very quickly and will give you a lower oil reading than you started with.

How many miles did you drive in that month? What type of miles were they? Highway miles tend to burn a little more oil depending on the gearing and speed. With my ITR, S2000, or Si, the gearing is low. Sitting at 4k-4.5k RPM (70MPH-80MPH)on the highway will make the engine consume more oil just because of the constant high RPMs and higher oil temps. Any type of high RPM driving will make the engine consume more oil NATURALLY.

How much oil did you burn in that month?

If it's like 1000 miles and half a quart...you're looking at NOTHING at all.

Synthetic oil also DOES NOT reduce oil consumption. It almost always INCREASES it. If oil is being burned by sneaking past the rings and valve seals, synthetic will burn off at a MUCH higher rate. Synthetic tends to "creep" past seals much more than conventional oil. So if you're going to try synthetic as a fix to your oil burning...you're probably going to make it worse.

I also have no idea why everyone LOVES using synthetic so much. I use synthetic only in cars that I plan on tracking regularly. My GF's Si (my old car) has a 00 spec ITR swap with a built head. I use regular *** oil because she has no idea WTF a "gas pedal" or "VTEC" or "DOHC" or "ITR" or "Endyn head" is and does regular *** driving . Even if I'm beating the hell out of it on the street, regular oil does just fine. The stock B16A from that car had 150k+ miles when pulled. Always used regular oil. Always beat on it constantly. It burned nothing more than the expected regular amount of oil. Compression tested out at 220PSI. The engine is still healthy and running in someone else's car today.

Synthetic is pretty much useless unless you're tracking (not talking about drag racing) the car pretty regularly. There's plenty of 200k or even 300k+ mile cars that use nothing but regular *** oil.

There are steps to dealing with oil consumtion on Hondas:
-Use regular oil
-Check oil often
-Add more oil and ignore the issue.

 

SUMMARY OF WHAT ^ JUST SAID:
1. high oil pressure hondas + higher mileage + high rpm = oil consumption
2. vtec itself does not burn oil
3. check ur compression if u want to do anything about it, if not, just do like everyone else and deal with it
4. synthetic cleans better and will actually burn more oil bc it gets past rings/seals easier than conventional
thank you B serious.

 

I did compression test on my car and got 200 psi across all 4. I run mobile 1 10W 30 full syn. Im not really bugged by having to add about a qt. every 3000 miles. (not sure if thats how much it is but its not that bad).

 

This is one of the best explainations you will get from anyone, anywhere concerning the loss of or "burning of" oil especially when it comes to H series and B series motors W/ VTEC.

The simple fix is USE CONVENTIONAL OIL! Using Synthetic oil costs 2X as much, and will slip past seals with ease. Many people who use synthetic oil on high mileage H series applications don't realize synthetic oil can slip right past valve seals and into the combustion chamber at a VERY slow rate. This will cause oil to burn with no visible signs at all... ie Smoke.

Remember it is possible to loose oil with NO visible signs of any kind, and with no leaks even if you don't hit VTEC a lot. Just keep a close eye on you oil level (check it each time you get gas, as the manual recommends) and stick to the same oil each time you change it. Also make SURE you have no leaks at all by visually inspecting each oil change. It is possible to have slow oil leaks that don't actually drip on the ground, but will start leaking more at higher speeds under higer pressures, and higher temperatures.

On a side note, make sure you use Ultra Flange 2, or Honda Bond for all seals around oil pan and the Transmission on 5th Gen Prelude. Do not use parts store "Oil Pan Gaskets" or "Transmission Gaskets." These gaskets are simple ploys for companies to make money outside of the dealer. Make SURE you only use Genuine Honda parts, and ONLY the Half Moon oil pan gasket that is roughly 3" long to seal the pan against the casing under the flywheel and rear main seal on 5th Gen Preludes. This particular "Half Moon" seal is rarely sold at auto parts stores, but can be purchaced at the dealer for about $7.

 

Last post was over a year ago noob...

 

Yeah and his post about synthetic isn't right considering I use it, change the oil every 5k and the oil level on the dipstick doesn't move.

 

In addition to the H22, the H23, B20 (3rd gen), F20C (S2K), F22C (S2K), K20, K24, and the NSX motors ALL HAVE FRM liners

 

K20, K24 and C30A have iron cylinder liners.

 

with all that being said, what type of oil should i use on my 98 sh 155k? im currently using syntec blend 5w30, and it burns about a quart every 2 weeks, i drive it about 300 miles a month

 

If it consumes oil and you aren't doing anything to fix it then just use conventional, why spend more money. Synthetic blends are a waste already.

 

i called honda dealership and they told me to use synthetic blend...5w30

 

Who cares how old the thread is, information is information. And as far as synthetic oil, seals adapt to the type of oil you use. It's called a covalent bond. People get oil leaks, and start burning oil all the time after buying a car with a motor that used a specific type of oil it's whole life, and was then changed to a different type of oil. Most of the time it's when a car has run conventional oil and is sold to someone else, and then changed to synthetic oil. All of a sudden you have a leak, or you start burning oil.

I apologize for being new to the site, and for posting information on an old thread. I know there are still people with problems related to this article as I was having similar problems. I simply googled oil problems with preludes and this article popped up, so of there is any information you can offer me or any comments or corrections you would like to make I would greatly appreciate the constructive criticism. Other wise please treat the thread, and the site for that matter with respect.

 

Im wondering izit the oil temperature? after owning my h22 for 4 years and a solid 300,000km accumulated mileage on it and i know that i'm losing oil ONLY IF I VTEC it,and not losing any if i totally stay out of VTEC range.

Last year i installed oil temp meter and i found out that the oil temp before VTEC consistent at 90celcius,once i start revving it hard the oil temp quickly climb up to 110celcius and the max i ever got hit 115celcius.What you guys think?could a oil cooler be the savior for the infamous problem of h22??anybody with a oil cooler can share some experience here??what is the flash point of engine oil?

 

Hey this forum won't let me start my own thread so hopefully someone finds this question but I have a nonvtec b20 and I think it's pullin oil thru the Pcv but not sure. Idk how to add pictures but I have some o where it is leaking under the hood but I still can't tell where it's comi g from. But it smokes a lot especially at idle. Any help would be appreciated