99civic99

So i been looking up and down this site for a while and cant find anything on engines burning oil. So i did some research and know that there are two ways oil leaves your car. It can leak or burn. it can leak from gaskets or cracks. it can also be getting pushed into to the cylinders and burning. My problem is that my car has no signs of leaks there is no smoke coming out the exhaust, and the spark plugs are very clean with no oil on them. But every 900 miles I'm losing about a quart and a half of oil and it becomes black. My car also does not overheat.
I have a 99 civic LX, 5 speed sedan. It has 109xxx miles and runs good, except the idle runs low sometimes. i use 5w30 synthetic oil (and yes i know its just a Honda, but i admit i drive it hard)
On line people speak of additives that are supposed to stop oil burning, I'm only 17 and i don't have much experience but i doubt there is such an additive out there. Another option is replacing the engine but i don't have the funds right now. or i can replace the piston rings. but i don't know if this is going to help me since my car shows no typical signs of engine burning oil or leaking it. Any comments will help, refer me to a site or anything but i just need some guidance. Thanks.

masterman1987

hey
it could well be your valve seals, i had same problem recently and replaced seals and it dont burn oil anymore.
It sounds like alot of oil leaking, ill put my money on oil leaking through seals.
Hondas are pretty strong engines so i dont think it be the piston rings at 109k miles.
Just change your seals see what happens most honda engines you can do it without taking the head off.

99civic99

alright koo i need to get on that asap, but what kind of signs did your car have that you knew it was the valve seals?

ScottDR

Typically valve seal leaks (no matter who makes the engine) results in a blue smoke at cold start-up. Have a friend watch your exhaust closely when starting the car when full cold (ie: overnight). If there is a hint of blue smoke, that'd be your seals. Hope that helps!

ChrisC

I know this is an old thread. I wonder if 99civic99 is still active here.
I have a similar problem: https://www.civicforums.com/forums/7...very-dark.html

I wonder what you ended up doing and if it solved the problem.

Best,
Chris

Hpg193

I have the same problem with my 96 EX, it has 162,xxx on it and I used one of those additives you are talking about it helped out alot and I also changed my oil to 10W-30 so I get around 800 miles per quart. I am 17 and have a 5-speed that I will drive hard some times so I think we are in the same boat in a way, except for I do have over an hour and half mainly interstate drive every month for Air Guard drill and it will burn more then usual. My oil is pitch black so its definetly a massive oil burn because I have never seen any oil on the garage floor where I have had it parked for multiple days without driving. I have not done anything like a ring replacement but the change your oil and try the additive it does help some. Good luck with trying to stop it from using oil like a second fuel source.