Lately my 98 GSR with 103k on it has been consuming a lot of oil. .5 qt every week or two ( I use mobile 1 10W-30). I have no leaks and I dont notice and smoke while I drive. Today I did a compression test on it and is 210 in all cylinders... Where the hell is my oil going??

 

Anyone?? I need some help

 

Answer these questions for me, will ya:

- Driving conditions (ie. stop-and-go, highway). How much?
- Driving habits (ie. redlining, VTEC happy, shift points, lead foot). How much?
- .5 quarts in 1 mile, 10 miles, 100 miles, 1000 miles? (don't go by date please).

If I think of anymore, I'll ask 'em.

Regards,

Oz

 

I drive it mostly on the Highway. 40 miles a day.

I probably redline it 1 time a day. i shift at about 4k. (when going on the hwy probably around 4.5-5k) yes i have a lead foot.

.5qt every 500 miles

 

maybe a headgasket?

 

Hmmm...I forgot to ask....when did this start happening (Date and Mileage)? Before we go off in a tangent here, try these three simple steps first:

- Double check underneath the car that there are no oil sludge deposits. You should eliminate the fact that you are leaking. The oil could be weeping out and evaporating once the engine is warm, leaving you with very minimal residue. The headgasket, oil pressure sending switch, oil filter mount, oil pan gasket, and oil pan drain bolt should be your priority.

- Don't hit VTEC for 500 miles and check your oil level. If you can shift around 3k, that would be ideal...but do not go past 4k. Just do that for 500 miles and check your oil level again. If you can repeat the procedure, then all the better.

- Remove your spark plugs and examine them for any oil deposits. It will not be your typical black soot formation around the tips.

Regards,

Oz

 

It has burned a little .5 qt every 3000 miles for awhile probably since it had 60k on it. its just got worse in the last few weeks. most notibly after i got my timing belt and water pump replaced and had my valves adjusted. when i did my compression test i looked at the spark plugs and they looked normal. i did also go under my car this afternoon to look specifically for leaks and could not find any.

 

I forgot to add: Have you or someone looked at the exhaust pipe while the car is in motion? I'm not just talking about looking in your rearview mirror. I'm talking actually sitting in another car looking at your rear-end while you hit VTEC or generally drive.

Now, if you find that you are not experiencing oil consumption issues if you lay off from VTEC, then you obviously have VTEC-related issues, and not necessarily the rings, etc. (again, it depends on how much you consume without VTEC). If it is still persistent, then I'd look at it more deeply. Maybe a leakdown test afterwards. Now, if you want to, you can run a leakdown right now, but I'm thinking cost-saving here so, I wanted you to drive without VTEC for a bit and see how it goes.

After the no-VTEC test, you could try maybe 5W40 (oil change recommended). OR, if you want to stay within the 30wt. range, try Havoline Synthetic 10W30 as I know that has a high flashpoint (I can't remember the others off the top of my head) and fairly low volatility than Mobil 1 Tri-Synth....and possibly the SuperSyn. Do the test again for another 500-1000 miles or so and see if it goes away. This is - of course - if you're willing to chance it (ie. now I'm making you spend, so it's up to you).

Regards,

Oz

 

No one has followd me when i drive around to check if they can see burning oil.

Should i do an oil change and put GTX in it instead of the synthetic?

Im gonna keep the rpms low for 500 miles to see what happens, this sucks..

 

Just leave the Mobil in there for a few hundred miles first. You want to eliminate if you're consuming oil during VTEC and/or high RPM. That's why I recommended that you change your oil as one of the last things to do on your list. And get followed by someone and see what comes out of your tailpipe.

Regards,

Oz

 

i used to use mobil 1 in my motor for 2yrs. my motor ate that oil up pretty good. now i use valvoline regular oil, i haven't lost a drop.

 

Replace your valve seals. At 100k, I'd say that's likely to be your problem.

You probably wouldn't notice the exhaust of burnt oil until it got very bad.

 

Ok, I drove it 450 miles while driving at low rpm's. I only hit vtec a few times (probably about 5 times). I checked the oil today and its low . its at the low end of the dip stick. Like a dot on the bottom.

I had my gf follow me the other day and she said she didnt really notice anything burning when i was driving (but im sure she wasnt paying that close of attention.)

Tonight I was at a stop light and was in the wrong lane to get on the interstate so I floored it to get infront of the car next to me. I pushed the car really hard in first and partially in 2nd till I saw so much smoke comming from my car.

So my question is Is it like puddling up somewhere when i was at the stop light and then when I was at wot start to burn?? I tried to see if it was burning oil at wot but the 2 times after that i did it, i didnt see anything.... not like when i started from the stop light at least.


[Modified by cjohnson_2, 10:54 PM 10/26/2002]

 

i am having the same problems, motor is an itr with only 30k miles on it and yes it has new valve seals and the compression numbers are still very good. it only smokes at idle and when i push it off the line in 1st and 2nd gears. i am using castrol 10w-30 and have never had this problem before. whats the deal?

 

I have the same problem..... its very frustrating... i bought the car at 58k miles. its a 95 gsr. it had an oil leak and i took it to acura and they finally just ended up putting new cam seals in and it doesnt leak at all anymore.. i thought that was the end of it... i think around 67k miles or so i started to burn oil... i had intake header exhaust and no cat so i thought maybe its the testpipe. becuase i would always get black specs of oil on the rear bumper... i wanted forced induction for a long time and my buddy said just do a compression test and if its fine you can turbo it but you just have to keep adding oil. well, i just put the turbo kit on a month ago, oil seems not to burn as much. but i still get oil burning and i have to add oil alot and the rear bumper is very hard to keep clean. ive had people suggest its piston rings, valve guide seals etc.. i have no idea. i did a compression test and it was 220 220 215 220 so thats fine. im pretty sure i burn it most in vtec. i just washed and waxed the car today, i figured if i waxed the back bumper it would stay cleaner.. well i went to pick up a pizza and didnt hit vtec at all, probably drove 4 minutes. i maybe hit 4000 rpm once i got out to look at the car and i could see some black specs on the back bumper FAWK. anyone have any suggestions? sorry this was sooooooo long

 

see my problem is not in vtec, its when you use partial throttle off the line. from 1500-4000k it smokes like a bitch, but the coolant level remains the same for the most part and the oil levels seem to go down gradually. i dont know whats wrong with this thing

 

Theres got to be someone on this board that knows whats going on with my car... Like CART fan I only burn it really bad that i can notice is when im sitting idling for a few min and then go WOT in 1st gear...... Comeone someone help us out.

 

You didn't follow my directions. I pretty much said drive like a Grandma for 500miles. That means no WOT, no VTEC, no heavy foot. Drive like a cop is on your a$$ all the time.

Also, when do you check your oil level? When the engine is cold or hot? Checking it when it's hot will give you less on the dipstick than checking it when it's cold.

Good luck,

Oz

 

man, that great and all, but that doesnt explain why under partial throttle the car smokes like a bastard. thats whats concerning me at this point. no levels seem to change that much except oil and i havent done anything oil related to the car

 

My comments were directed to cjohnson, and not yours.

Sorry,

Oz

 

any idea on mine?

 

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=205919&page=2

...and look for the post by "RaceBrewer". That might help.

What oil and weight are you using?
How much oil consumption do you consume every 1000mi.?
And are you 100% sure that you are not leaking....anywhere?

Regards,

Oz

P.S. It seems that ITRs are poorly designed in regards to oil consumption issues. I'm not sure if Honda intended that. If they didn't, then I'm surprised there are no complaints or service bulletins regarding it.

 

yeah i am going to try to change the filter and oil tomorrow morning. hoping that may help. there seems to be a little oil residue on all the bolts on the bottom of my oil pan. should i replace the gasket and oil pan as well? there are no drops on the ground just on the bolts themselves and the rim of the pan

 

You still haven't answered my questions While, you're down there, check above the gasket and see if there are oil seeping from above making you think that it is the bolts. For now, try cleaning the bolts and the suspected areas first, then re-tighten the bolts. I would recheck every 50-100mi. and see if the leak comes back. But just make sure that whatever is above the gasket is not causing the leak.....the oil filter and oil pressure sending switch are normally above it anyway.

Good luck,

Oz


[Modified by The_Oz, 9:32 PM 10/27/2002]

 

Oz

I did drive like a grandma for about 450 miles. I then checked the oil and it was low. Only after it was low and me re-filling it did i start to drive it like "normal".