Hi, I was driving today and I noticed my oil light started blinking. I pulled over, and checked the dipstick to find it empty. Of course then I added oil and the light doesn't come on, but what would cause my oil to empty out like that? I changed the oil a while ago so I don't think it's due to a loose drain plug or filter.

Any help would be appreciated...

 

could be burning oil
make SURE your not leaking anywhere. as for causes of burning oil i dont know some of the smarter people here do wait for them to reply.

 

1. Leaks, (drain plug, look around behind the head, under the tranny ect.)
2. BURNING. I used to rev real high a lot, and I bunred up 2 quarts and my oil light came on. (thats probably what it is if you drive aggressive a lot.)

 

Place a cardboard flat box under your engine tonight, check in the morning to see if you are leaking fluid.

Other than that, everyone else cleared it up. Just hope you are leaking though a gasket!

 

Hey guys, thanks for being so helpful.

The current state is just a little below the lower hole on the dipstick. So I guess the minimum. But that was after I added a whole bottle of oil, so it was lower than that before.

As to me driving it hard, it's possible, but I never thought I did. I take it up to redline maybe once or twice a month, usually shift at 4k-5k. Well, actually on my highway crusing I am usually at 4k. This is on a b18b by the way. Would that be considered hard driving? I have 96k miles on the car.

I changed my oil last in March or so, that's pretty quick to go thorugh 4 quarts of synthetic. I checked for oil spots under my car and there aren't any.

The only thing that I can think of that might have caused the problem is that the plastic top of my radiator cracked a few months ago and consequently I overheated. Perhaps something was damaged when I overheated it?




[Modified by Ein, 10:12 PM 10/17/2001]

 

Just compression tested it with a sears tester.

Got 175 165 175 175. That should be okay right? This is on a LS...

 

Compression looks good. Check to see if you're burning oil. Start it up and let it idle for a little while to ensure it's up to temp. Then have a friend get in and rev it hard a few timw while you observe the exahust. Any blueish smoke is an immediate sign of oil burning in which case you should have a cylinder leakdown test done asap to pinpoint your leak (9 time out of 10 it's the oil rings).

 

just a friendly reminder.....Check your oil more often. I am sure after this you will.

 

I thought I leakdown test was the same as a compression test... looks like I gotta look into that.

Thanks for friendly reminder... I know I will be more diligent about it for sure. I just never did it before because I was always full.

 

Compression test only reveals how well you're compression rings are sealing. A CLT will tell you if you have any seals bad or a bad oil ring..

 

Hehe, yeah I figured that, and am in the process of looking for a leakdown tester to buy...

 

Look at your pcv valve- if the center pintle is deteriorated or gone- this will cause excessive oil consumption. Replace it with a Honda part. If the PCV hose is collapsed- replace it too.

 

btw... did you change your filter?

 

Yep I change my filter when I change my oil. From all the people I've talked to, if I can't find any leaks, and the leakdown test comes back okay, then I just burn oil.

Gonna replace the PCV valve, although I do change that regularly. Didn't think to check the hose though

 

that is wrong, a check engine light will tell you if there is something wrong with the emission controls: IE o2 sensor, TPS, MAFS... the check engine usually informs you if there is something electrical is malfunctioning. anything on the car that sends information to the ECU can trigger the light.

EIN, it could be more than a low oil problem or leaky seals. if the oil pressure light keeps on comming at you with the oil level full it could be the oil pump.

 

#1 If she's burning oil you'll notice smoke in the exhaust. If so, could mean two things: valve stem seals, or piston rings. (both very educating experience to fix)

#2 Make it a habit to park in a nice dry spot all the time, and when you leave check for oil spots. If so, fix your leak! (nasty pain in the *** work)

 

oh...