losing engine oil

[Taxi-R]

hi there,

y or how does an engine lose oil? given that there are no leaks. my car often has an odd smell on the outside when i get out of the car. it's a civic 99.

[bennjamin]

thru combustion. Either worn piston rings , or the PCV system , or the valve stem seals are worn....

Install a oil catch can to prevent some oil getting burnt off...or look at replacing the valve stem seals OR rebuild the bottom end.

moved to the noob forum

[sivic]

pretty sure this has been covered heaps.
basically you're probly burning oil (which is pretty bad for a '99). most likely from either worn piston rings or valve stem seals.
search "burning oil"

EDIT: bah! beaten by seconds

[Slow96GSR]

HAHA you got sloppy seconds!!!

[EK9]

doesn't using the wrong oil cause this too? if the oil is too "thin" it'll burn faster in ya car?

yer, i'm a noob with this one... :p

[Taxi-R]

what sort of money are we talkin abt to fix these 3 causes?
1 - Either worn piston rings
2 - The PCV system
3 - The valve stem seals are worn

btw, y do the above happen? just age or sth else?

[bennjamin]

replace the PCV ~ its something u apparently should do or check every major service. The valve stem seals arent too hard to replace , a good mechanic SHOULD be able to replace them without taking the head off. And finally to replace the rings is a "rebuild" effort really.
Using thicker oil prevents some oil loss in all the above situations (which really is , that clearances have loosened over time due to age/wear)

[Jnr_Mint]

I had a similar problem, is it disapearing oil?? and the smell is the oil dripping on to the exhaust. it could be a cracked head gasket, look for heavy exhaust fumes also. maybe rear main seal?

[g_kn]

bottom or top gasket seal are leaking most probably behind the engine bay where it is not visable :D

[Limbo]

doesn't using the wrong oil cause this too? if the oil is too "thin" it'll burn faster in ya car?

yer, i'm a noob with this one... :p

Not normally. On good condition engines you can still run thin oil. Its only on engines that have problems that you need to be careful which oils you use.

The factory specs are usually a recommendation. If you read the end of the car manual it usually shows the different oils to use depending on the climate temp. of the region.

If your burning oil best thing to start first it try to go up oil ratings slowing and see if it fixes anything. Also a bottle of engine stop leak sometimes heaps (rare but i've seen it happen and for $10 its worth a shot).

Otherwise another method is the lucus oil stabiliser seems to reduce the oil loss. use about 10% with 90% oil.

Generally for a standard 4 cylinder do not use oil over a 60w. I was given a 75w oil and it ($*@)$(&@ up the engine bad. This was on a older model celica.

Also keep an eye on the oil level, letting it get too low will just make the problem worse

[Limbo]

P.S the above it only for normal street engine, none of thoses modded Turbos & Race cars. if you've got those you should know what oil to run ;P

[040501912]

oil catch can reduce oil burn??? how does it works??

[Limbo]

It catches the oil before it reaches the engine and stores it in a can type device, thus the name. You can pour the oil back the the enigne after you catch it. Does not stop your engine blowing the oil, just burning it.