I have a 98 2.3 with about 130k miles on it. It burns off about 3 to 4 quarts of oil betweeen oil changes. I do check every couple of weeks to top it off. I was wondering if this is normal and if anyone else has a similar situation with their car. My car is all stock, no mods.

I take my car to the dealership for service and they have not mentioned any problems except for the one time my engine light came on because of a Vtec malfunction caused by low oil.

 

The 4-cylinders don't usually burn oil. There are several possibilities you should check:

1) Leaks - check underneath and make sure it's not bypassing oil pan or perhaps the distributor (if you have one) Oring. Vtec has an oring that I had leak on a 94 Accord EX.

2) PCV or PCV hose blocked - This will force oil droplets and vapor from the valve cover into the air intake. This could easily account for your oil consumption. Check and clean/replace the PCV and make sure PCV hose is clean.

3) Leaking Valve Stem seals - If you see relatively small amount of oil smoke while idling w/ a fully warmed engine, and get a larger cloud of smoke when you first accelerate after idling in place for several minutes, this indicates oil passing the valve stem seals. Another indicator is no oil smoke at all at steady highway speed, and under hard acceleration from steady highway speed.

4) Rings - Oil control rings are blocked w/ carbon allowing no spring compensation. This usually results in heavy smoking under hard acceleration of a fully warmed engine. This usually requires an engine rebuild to fix. Some oil additive products claim to clean stuck oil rings. Check Bobistheoilguy.com forums for tips on such products. I'm not optimistic these will help, but it won't break the bank to try.

good luck

 

What a great response, thanks TexasHonda. How long do you think the engine can last under scenario 3 if I can constantly add oil whenever it gets low? What sort of damage can I expect if I don't replace the seals with new ones in the long run? I'm trying to let my current motor go before I get an H22a installed. Thanks again!

 

As long as oil level is maintained, no harm to engine occurs. You may not be able to pass an emissions test due to hydrocarbon emissions level.

good luck

 

My CL 3.0 has 75K miles on it, and burns about 1/2 quart between changes (every 3-4K miles)