Rep Power: 0

I have a 2002 civic d17a I bought the car with blown head. I removed the head to find that one of the valves had holes in it and partially melted away. The guy at the head shop said that he sees this alot in civics he said its an egr problem .
Has anyone heard of this problem, and if so is there a fix to prevent it from happening again. Secondly I changed the plugs today thinking I was going to find oily plugs ( because the car smokes on take-off and because of oil usage about a quart per oil change) so I pulled the plugs and the were redish white not oily. is this normal ? I know they are not suppose to be oily but what about the color ?

 
Rep Power: 517

Spark plug color depends entirely upon the running condition it was in at the time of engine shutoff. If you started it cold and moved it 10 feet then shut it off, the plugs would be dark because cold engine = richer running.

The plug from the cylinder with the burned valve will be darker because the cylinder has low compression, and improper fuel burn. If the cylinder has zero compression, the plug should be wet with raw fuel.

The valve burned because of valve lash, too tight/lack of clearance. Lack of maintenance is the cause. Not EGR.

This is what I associate slow, long term oil burning with, white ash buildup or crustys on the plugs


Rapid oil consumption might wash the plug in oil and it would be wet and fouled so it can't fire.

One quart between oil changes? How many miles is that, exactly? One quart per 1000 miles is just fine, only you have to keep oil in it. It may not be desired, but it is considered to be acceptable.
ALL engines consume oil no matter if you notice it or not. It is part of basic engine design.
You sent the head to a machine shop, right? I'd expect them to replace valve stem seals with the valve job.
If you want to address the rest of the oil consumption, put rings in it while the cylinder head is off. Now is the time.

Adjust the valves properly when the head goes back on the engine.