Hello everyone.

I have a 91 Honda Accord wagon. It has 300,000 miles on it. I got the complete head replaced about a year ago. Every since then I have had lots of oil consumption (1 quart every 200 miles). 3 mechanics have told me that the reason why it uses so much oil is because of when I had the brand new head put on the old engine, it caused a pressure leak.

My brothers think that the problem is something else.

But what do you guys think? Are the 3 mechanics correct?


I bought this exact head: http://www.japanengine.com/products/...age= 0&pID=180



Thank you.

 

is there smoke coming out of your tail pipe at all? vapor looking or anything that might suggest oil into the pistons?

 

I had someone once look out the pipe while I was hitting the gas and said there was a little smoke coming out, and also, whenever I would floor the petal I could see a big puff of smoke out of the rear view mirror.

 

The PVC valve could be stuck open

There's also the possibility your rebuilt head is a piece if ****, you see this a lot with high production “machine shops” slanging parts at too good to be true prices.

I don’t know of any local machine shop that could supply a head, replace the valve guides, grind the valves, replace the valve stems seals, grind the valve seats, surface, tank and assemble for $385. I mena unless one has people working for peanuts I don't see how it's possible IMO.

It would be very interesting to tear a part a head that that cheap to see where the money was spent.

 

yup i agree could be a bad head that was never rebuilt. it was probably hot tanked or whatever and sold

 

I think the prices of heads went down. And I think I trust this store for quality parts, they're Japanese and located in California. The price must have gone down because of the popularity of older Honda's, and this makes for more parts (I aslo see old Honda's everywhere that I live).

How can you tell if the PCV valve is stuck open? My PCV valve VERY easily comes off of the valve cover, I that normal? Its not even sealed on the head cover. I thought it was weird when I was just able to slip it off SO easily.

 

It’s not the quality of the parts I’d worry about it’s the machining skills required to rebuild a head. The 90 day warranty speaks volumes.

The PVC valve should fit firmly in the valve cover.

 

the guy above me is right the 90 day warranty speaks for its self. sorry to break it to you like that. but it could be a head where they cut corners to get out done fast. or just not done right. or like i said. it probably was never machined etc. it was probably tested for flow, cracks, warpage and straight valves and saw it passed those test and put it up for sale. unless the new compression from the machined head it eating at your old piston rings causing oil to leak into the piston. and the pvc valve if you shake it, it should open and close smooth and fast. or blow and suck air thru one side only and see how hard it is for you to do that. it shouldnt take much effort

 

1 quart every 200 miles isnt terrible for a car with 300,000 miles on it to be honest. If the block has never been rebuilt then those piston rings probably aren't in the best shape of there life. And once again im gonna say i agree that price is pretty low for a rebuilt head. But the big thing would be that it would smoke like crazy when you first started it up after letting it sit overnight is this the case? And a pcv valve wouldnt cause the car to smoke that bad unless you had some serious blow by (which in the same case would cause you to lose oil anyway)

I had a 1990 g20 with 350k on it and it used about 2 quarts every 300 miles (And i proceded to drive the living crap out of it until it finally spun a rod bearing because i ran it to low on oil)

 

Sounds like your rings are on their way out.

About the PCV, make sure it has to be a Honda OEM part. A aftermarket/universal one will have a higher flow rate that can pick up oil through the PCV and back into the IM to get re-burn and thats one way of oil consumption. PCV is also an important piece.

 

ok so here is the answer. you put a new head on cylinders with pistons that are worn out. what i mean by that is that the piston rings are not able to keep the compression now. well now i ask you what happed to the rest of the compression if it didnt go up ... it goes down into the crankcase. so now you will say 'but the PCV (positive crankcase ventilation) valve is suppose to take care of that.' the pcv valve is meant to take normal amounts of pressure from the engine. my guess is that you are burning it through the pcv and the air induction hose (from the breather hose off of the valve cover) and that is where it is all 'disappearing' too. you could make an oil catch can and i think that would save some of the oil but in all accuality ... just replace the rings and hone the cylinders and call it a day.

 

btw 1 quart every 200 miles is f'n terrible for any vehicle.

 

It does smoke a lot after I start it up in the morning.

 

well depending on weather thats normal depending on smoke color. the color of cmoke coming out exhuast is very important. could tell u if head gasket is blown,valve stem seals pops to my head 1st. they are normal to go on a head.and cheap fix like 30 bucks for seals and 30 to replace. worst comes to worst remove head inspect and rebuild it urself or someone u know that knows.

 

agreed. as you let the car sit oil drips thru the valve stem seals and coats the piston with oil and thats why it smokes more in the mornings or when ever you let it sit for a long time

 

Could it be the PCV valve?

My pcv valve was not locked in place on my valve cover and so I just decided to smack it in place. I am talking about the male part that goes on the base part of the pcv. I made them seal together just like this, before they were not sealed but totally unlocked from each other:



I smacked the top part with the base of a screwdriver and locked it into place, before it was not lock or sealed at all but just resting on the base like gravity was holding it down. Did I do well by this?


You guys know what im talking about right?


Could this have been my oil problem?

 

If that valve is stuck open or is an aftermarket one it could suck a lot of oil into the intake. The PVC valve should fit firmly in the valve cover, if it does not replace the rubber gasket on the cover. The rubber piece goes on the valve cover first, don’t try and stick them in as one unit.

 

if it was the pcv valve how do you explain the heavy smoke in the morning or cold starts? his in denial. theres no other explanation. his valve seal are not good or could have not been seated right. the oil drips thru them when the engine is off coating the piston with oil causing it to smoke when its started cold or morning start. go ahead and take off the intake and look into your throttle body and take a picture if you can and tell us what it looks like if its not possible for a picture

 

amen lol i have a 90 accord with ORIGINAL motor ran the vin came back to the car. it had 200k mile on it and doesn't consume oil. when i got the car i did everything to it. tune up. water pump, timing belt. tensioner. head gasket. valve cover gasket. oil pan gasket. rear main seal. main seal. when i had the car taken apart it looked like the previous owner didnt take care of it well. and no lost of oil what so ever!!!!! till this day it has about 345k miles and still no oil loss.