Its about 5k miles since my last change. I only have a car for about half a year. Looking at the dipstick, the oil seems to be only at the tip. The car runs great, don't see engine power losses. Any one that owns a car longer than me can input some? Is it normal? BTW i rarely floor the car.

 

No that is not normal. You are running a quart or more low. Did you change your oil yourself? If so how many quarts did you use? How many miles are on the car? What kind of oil did you use? Did you check the oil on somewhat flat ground?

 

I changed an oil myself. I put in 4 quoarts of oil for sure. I'm running 5 20 Valvoline Full Syn. Yeah i checked the oil on flat ground. Currently 130k miles on car. I do at times get all the juices out the car, but for most part its normal driving.

 

i think the standard fill is 4.5 qt. check the oil when car is on flat surface and engine is warm. make sure you have the drain bolt snug with good washer to prevent leak. i always wipe down the stick with first pull then reinsert/recheck... other than that you car is burning oils.

 

You should have used 4.5 qts when using a new oil filter.

Do you see any oil leaking from the drain plug? the edges of the oil pan? Around the heads? Valve covers?

Do you see any blue,black or white smoke coming from the exhaust? It could be a coulple different things.

Have you been keeping up with the maintenance? Had it already been done before you bought the car? Such as timing belt, plugs, oil, PCV etc...

It could be as simple as a oil pan gasket,valve cover gasket, drain plug washer, tune up or something major like a blown head gasket, piston ring failure.... Check for moisture around all the major gaskets and the ground where you park your car for oil.

If you are only seeing oil at the tip of the dipstick when it was at the full line from the last oil change then that is alot to go missing within 5k.

 

Hopefully you are checking this with the engine sitting for a while and on level ground.

 

Another thing you can check is the condition of your spark plugs. Pull the plugs and compare them to the NGK chart, especially the one labeled deposits.

http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/tech_su...qs/faqread.asp

Check for oil moisture around the post, threads and base.

 

Best way to read your dipstick is with the car on a level surface and the engine having been off for at least three hours. Yes, I know, you don't need to do this. And yes, I know, the residual oil in the galleries and heads will not take three hours to drain back into the pan; ten minutes is good enough. So what could be the reason? Why does he say this?

Because, you want to avoid wiping off your dipstick each time you check your oil if you can. This little dipstick wipe removes oil. Why would you want to do this? So let it drain back into the pan for a while and then just remove the dipstick and look at it.

Now let the flaming begin, but be prepared to get shot. (heh, heh)

 

putting in the right amount to start would help
Its perfectly normal for the engine to use a small amount of oil between changes
Its part of the process
Many of us put 5 qts in with a new filter and the .3 or so over is not a problem to the engine or oil - that allows a little for use betwen changes
When you are hard on the throttle it burns more oil too

Always keep an eye on the oil level- should be at FULL mark, low means way low-- fill to full before driving~ Top off as needed

 

Minor variation isn't a big deal, but you are running too low. Put some oil in it and be done with it.

 

So about how much you guys lose between intervals? Also should i start using 5w 30 instead since its pretty high mileage?

 

Nothing measurable. Mine doesn't change from oil change to oil change. No difference.

 

Mine doesn't change either. I always change the filter and put in 5 qts. I also replaced the drain bolt with a permanent push and twist release drain, so I don't worry about replacing the washer and possible leaks.

 

The oil weight won't really matter as far as higher mileage go, just make sure you're using quality oil. I usually change to 5w20 in the winter here and 5w30 in the summer because it gets so hot in Charlotte.

 

Mine stays the same all the time...I use 5w20 also what it recommendsd.

 

No measurable usage here. I've run a 10w-30 (straight 30) for the car's entire 84,000 miles and it's never been better.

The OP's original problem was underfilling the car from the get-go. I put a full 5 quarts with every change.

 

OP, add 1 quart, measure the dipstick, and go from there.

 

I just did the timing belt job last weekend. No oil leaks at cam crank seals. The oil pump was leaking a little around, i just re tightened the bolts. I did notice my drain bolt leaking a little because the washer is bad. So i assume that's the problem. Plus i probably didn't put enough oil in it from the first place, was following manual instructions. I also checked if any smoke coming out at cold start, nothing came out. I'm just going to change the oil again. I'm sure its nothing big. Thanks a lot guys.
I will put it in 5 quarts this time.

 

I just replaced my plugs. The old ones seemed like normal wear to me.

 

Hey, as much as you don't want to hear this, your car is probably burning oil. I'm having the same problem. I was using 5-20 synthetic and i lost a quart after about 400 miles. I've switched to 10-30 castrol gtx high mileage and now i burn a quart about every 700-800 miles. I know this sucks but just keep a quart of oil in your trunk and check the level every couple gas fill ups. My car currently has 98k miles and i really don't plan to keep it past 135k casue thats when things can start getting bad. Your problem doesn't seem quite as bad as mine so good luck with whatever happens

 

noob question ... if a car is burning oil ... how hard is something like that to fix???

 

Depends on where the oil is getting into the combustion chamber.

 

it can help to run seafoam in the oil for a week- giving it time to desludge and degum the oil control rings on the pistons- for the problem car install a new filter then seafoam and drive an hour and a few days use
That will fix many oil use problems as the rings seal better

When the oil level is anywhere below FULL it runs hotter and is less effective at cooling and lubricating the many parts that smash and slide togther at high speed

5-20 was a CAFE standards trick to get .01 improvement across the fleet
5-30 is better for most.. except the very cold places,,,those guys are more concerned with a 0-20 so it flows at startup

 

I would agree the sea foam would help clear out passages,clean the rings, valves seals etc.. but at the same time if one or more rings/seals are worn or has failed it will not fix the issue and the engine will still have blow by. But since he said his plugs appear to be normal and he sees no black/blue smoke then I suspect this isn't the case.

I would hold off on the sea foam and see if you're burning off any oil during this next oil change. The lack of the .5 quart and a leaking drain plug is probably the problem. I know you just perfomed major maintenance on your car, but did you also check the condition of your PCV valve?

 

The OP admitted to only using 4 quarts at the oil change. That is the problem.

 

and he said he was leaking from the drain plug because of the crush washer.

I just mentioned the PCV because that would be part of general maintance once you reach a certain milage, I think it says to check it at one of the service intervals.

 

No modern car should burn that much oil at those miles. Your car has something abnormal wrong with it. My car is coming up on 85,000 and burns no measurable amount of oil. I've also only used the best of the best oil and a 30wt at that. But even with the cheapest 20wt it should not be burning oil like that. A quart every 400 miles would show up as a light smoke or soot in the exhaust.

 

Sure, but the main problem would be the 1/2 quart that was not put in. I don't understand it leaking from the crush washer. I'm still on the original at almost 85,000 miles and I change the oil between 3,500 to 5,000 miles so it's had quite a few changes. Mine has never leaked a drop.

 

when its a qt low it will burn more because its using oil to cool as well as lubricate
Putting in a tick or 2 over full mark by installing 5 qts with a new filter is ok- doesnt cause foaming or other issues and will be at full when time for a change

sticky rings from few oil changes or years of abuse etc- seafoam will do a good job of getting rid of the sticky stuff holding the ring in a set position rather than the movement it needs to run up and down the cylinder wall-
as long as the ring is intact it will seal better
Of course it its broken oil ring you would have huge oil blowby and terrible piston noises

 

seafoam also cleans the pcv when used in oil

 

Yeah that is one of the main issues, but he was more then a 1/2 quart if he stated "Looking at the dipstick, the oil seems to be only at the tip"

Honda recommends to replace the crush washer ever oil change. I didn't always, but I do now since they are fairly cheap. I have owned two other honda manufactured cars before this one and I think the longest I have had one last was three oil changes before it started to drip. Maybe you have a factory freak crush washer ha.

 

I'm on 5w40 and never had any issues with mileage or oil loss between changes. Original crush washer too.

 

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honestly i haven't checked my pvc valve and don't really know where to look. I thought about checking it out though. As far as seafoam, i think ill pass on that. Will just do a standard flush. Mileage kinda high.

 

the reason why im asking about oil loss between changes is because my previous cars had it. My previous miata had half the mileage of the current car but it still lost a quart or less of oil between 3000 mile change. I did 5K on TL So thats why i'm wondering. Plus pops 6 cyl outback is also the same. I'm about to do an oil change. I'll keep an update.

 

I know it doesn't burn oil. I just changed plugs last week and they were burnt white. IF oil be burnt then thy would be black (smoked). Plus i checked at cold morning start no smoke just white. a quart at 400 miles is indeed burning oil.

 

I was talking to the other guy that mentioned his was burning oil.

 

My bad. It was intended for him too.

 

I know my car has an abnormal problem. I've talked to a few mechanics including a honda technician and every time i point to my car and say it burns oil they get a complexed look on their face. They told me for now i won't really hurt the engine as long as i watch it and put oil in it constantly ( please chime in if this isnt true). Ill have the car to get me through high school maybe into college, then ill upgrade.

 

Well I might stir something up here with what I am about to post but here it goes. I have been drag racing or street rodding since 1985. I have been around alot of professionals and full time racers and people that work in the industry. Memphis has alot of great companies for hot rods from chasis, cams, heads and so on. We have always used 3 to 3.5 quarts of oil for our 350's, 383's, 454's and such. Seen cars blow motors but usually from other failures or tuned wrong. I know most use crank scrapers and windage trays high volume pumps and special plumbing under intake to carry oil where it needs it up front from the accelaration. So running .5 quart low I doubt seriuosly do any damage, a quart low maybe alright. This is one thing we have done without second thought. I know on our 2001 Ford F-350 Superduty crewcab duallie powered by a 7.3 turbo diesel(makes 305 hp at rear wheels) holds 14 quarts of oil. We were traveling to job when the turbo sprung a bad oil leak, started sometime after we got on the road and we were about 4 hours in on our trip when the motor just quit. Scary for a few minutes thinking of motor just fried. We noticed smoke coming out back pretty good about 10 miles back just had nowhere to stop cause in back woods of alabama. Anyway we found the leak at the pedalstal and made a jerry rig fix to get us to our destination. We checked oil level and not touching dipstick. We added about 5 quarts and the motor started had a slow leak still. The oil level sensor had kicked in to save the motor. So lets say you can run 3 quarts low and the sensor will not kick in. Anybody willing to teach me otherwise, I am more than willing to listen and learn. These are just my expierances and nothing scientific. Sorry for long post. Ready to listen.

 

You may want to check out the simple stuff first before you condemn the engine. If you've installed a CAI and plugged the fresh air opening it will burn oil.

Keep in mind oil burning will kill the catalytic convertors and 02 sensors.

If it's truly burning oil, try a straight 30wt with a super low NOACK like Redline. This should significantly reduce the burning if it's getting past the rings. Redline 5w-30 fits the bill perfectly.