hi everyone, i recently just found out about this forum. i bought an 04 acura tl about 2-3 years ago, and when i recently did an oil change on it, i noticed that it was about 2 quarts low. i've searched the forums and everything, and i think its the valve seals? the car is 6spd and it's been well taken care of ever since i purchased it (oil changes by mid, spark plugs @ 60k, trans flush etc etc) the car has about 88K on the clock and i've been adding oil as i dont want the motor to seize. i would like to fix the problem, but don't know where to start.

ps. also replaced the pcv valve which was clogged with oil. inside that hole is also covered in oil. i've inspected everywhere, and can't seem to find a drip, the motor is bone dry. maybe i'm not looking hard enough, but it makes me figure its an engine problem not a leaking problem. any advice would be great. thanks everyone

 

Don't the TL's burn a quart between changes? I'm not too familiar with this, I just know it holds 4.5 quarts I never pay attention when I change my oil.

 

i usually buy the 5qt of mobil 1 5w-20 and when i went to go pour it back in to recycle it, it only read at a little under 2.5qt. and when i check the dipstick, there is no oil, so i add which also gets blown. its not smoking or anything at all. i'm so pissed i can't figure out whats wrong. performancewise it still runs mint, but this issue has been bothering me.

 

That seems like a lot of oil loss if you're changing the filter too.

 

You know I remember pouring my old oil, back into the 5 qt jug too. Seemed like I read maybe 3.5 quarts or so and I was flipping out! Then my friend reassured me that all vehicles do it, his F150 burns ~1 quart between changes and it has looow miles, around 30k. I hope some one else chimes in on this.

 

The filter is being changed to, which is also full of oil, but surely not enough to make up the ~quart difference.

 

We've all gotten accustomed to the newer vehicles that don't use oil. With close to 70K on the TL, it doesn't drop 1/2 qt between the 7000 mile oil changes, and the daughter's Maxima with 180K on the clock is down almost a qt when the oil change is due. Having said that, it doesn't mean that if a vehicle uses oil, e.g. 1 qt. every 2-3K miles, and overhaul is due, so just drive it and keep the oil full. With converters in place you'll not see any oil smoke out the rear once the cats get hot. If you see blue smoke when first starting, the oil is running into the cylinders through the valve seals, but once again, I'd just drive the car and as I said before, make certain the oil stays in the safe area. Oil is cheap, a rebuild quite costly.

 

Hmm okay, but I don't notice any smoke coming from the exhaust at startup. The car doesn't have any cats on it, and it has a cold air intake. So wouldn't I notice it if the car was warmed up?

 

sludge in the pcv indicates sludge in the oil system
If it were my car: I would install a new oil filter and add 6 oz of seafoam to engine oil
Drive 150-200 miles, with at least a few 30 plus minute runs- seafoam takes heat and time to deglaze and liquify stuff in the oil system
Monitor oil dipstick for sludge
change oil and filter when warm from 15 minute freeway warmup- you want all that crud liquid so it drains out.. rather than sit solid in the oil pan

many put 5 qts in and it not a problem-gets you to 7500 above the Low line
the slight burning and bypass of oil is normal-

 

if sludge is clogging the pistons' oil control rings or compression rings- you will use more oil

 

Okay, I read on the seafoam post that you shouldn't put it in the oil. Anyone else offer an opinion on that? 01tl4tl thanks for the suggestion, I will try that when i do a little more homework on it

 

No cats, but with a qt over 2-3,000 miles you won't notice it being an oil burner.

I'd say with a CAI and no cats, the car hasn't see an easy life and is just plain tired, so just drive the car and have fun as they don't last forever.

 

First, do you have a CAI?

Second, you've already replaced the PCV, right?

3rd, have you checked for leaks? Even a leak slow enough to not cause a drip can cause a noticable loss over 5-10K miles.

What oil are you running? An oil with an ultra low NOACK like Redline will slow or stop oil burning. Try Redline 5w-30 on the next change. The low NOACK will stop oil from getting through the PCV, the low NOACK combined with the high HTHS will improve ring seal and slow down oil getting past the rings. The ester base oil will clean any sludge, especially in the ring lands.

The main thing to remember with Redline is you will see a 1/2-1 quart use in the first 1,000 miles. I can't explain why but it happens consistently the first time you switch. It only happens once and the next time you use it, oil level will remain the same.

With that said, my TL uses no measurable amount of oil over the 5,000 mile interval. I check it in the exact same location every time and no oil use. I have 93,000 miles. I've always used either Amsoil straight 30 or Redline straight 30 (5w-30).

 

For a car like the TL to use oil, it either did it since day one or it's been abused. By abused I'm not talking about being driven hard. At your mileage, even if every mile had been accumulated at the drag strip or road course, it would not be enough to make it use oil. It was either severely overheated or run out of oil.

 

Try switching over to Castrol Edge. If you are experiencing sludge build up Edge is a great oil and will slowly clean the sludge from your engine. I have a Expedition with 170,000 on it and its clean as a whistle from using Edge. And I only change it every 10,000 miles. But I do check it and ususlly have to add a quart at 5000. This is my first post here. I am probably going to buy a 06 tomorrow. Thought I would see the issues going on out there?

 

Edge is just a normal grp III oil. Not a true synthetic as the label would have you believe. It's a good oil but there's nothing out there that will clean like an ester based oil like Redline or Motul.

 

Thank you for the advice. I haven't had time to throw it up on my friends lift, but I'll check for leaks again. Is there a common area where the 3g's tend to leak? Aside from that I will also try the redline stuff. I'll keep this updated when I change the oil!

 

No common places that I know of. Mine has a very slight damp and by damp, I mean barely noticable area near the cam cover on the transmission side of the engine. I doubt a leak could be the only cause of your low oil since it sounds like you're losing a solid 2 quarts every interval.

Please let us know if the Redline helps. If you haven't done so already, a PCV valve may be in order.