Car is burning oil...132k miles.

Like the title says, my car has started burning oil lately and I'm trying to find the culprit. Last oil change it was about a quart low, this time it was a quart and a half low. I know she's getting old, but that seems really unusual. On top of that, it's been running a little funny since the summer. The idle's a bit high for awhile, and sometimes the acceleration is a bit "jumpy" as opposed to being smooth like it used to. I kind of figured that's just the IACV and had planned on cleaning that out, but could the problems be related? A little while after the problems first started happening my primary O2 sensor went up and I replaced that, but it didn't seem to make a difference anywhere...

Changed the TCT and timing chain yet?

my idle jumps a bit too...only happens as shes getting warm....usually right before my temp gauge reaches operating temp. what oil where you using? my car didnt burn honda but as soon as i switched to mobil 1 it started burning it. i dont care tho i like knowing that she has mobil 1 in her even if i gotta top it off every once in awhile.

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Originally Posted by Ba82Ep3

Changed the TCT and timing chain yet?

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i haven't, do you think that could be a big factor?

As far as the running funny/idle part id say definitely. Unless you granny drive your car (chain should last longer the easier its driven). lol Usually its a slow degradation though... and it doesnt all of the sudden just happen. Odds are its combined with something else that "just happened" that made it more noticeable.

As far as the oil usage some people have none and most have some. Every VTEC engine i have ever owned used almost a quart between oil changes. This new engine i built used 1/4 quart on its first oil change (break in), and about 1/3rd on the rest (conventional). Im on its fourth oil change (goin in today, its first synthetic change) so it will be interesting to see how much it uses.

The k24a1 i had in my EP got about 45k on it and by then it was using a quart every 5k miles (synthetic) and i beat the shit out of that engine (NA and SC'd). Rod bearings were perfect, block bores were perfect, pistons barely look used (skirts/ringlands), but the rings were out of spec and needed to be changed. If i hadnt sold that engine, i would have just re ringed it and put it back in the car (no bore hone or anything needed).

A quart and a half is kinda steep for usage tho. :mfrown: How long did you drive on a bad 02 sensor?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ba82Ep3

As far as the running funny/idle part id say definitely. Unless you granny drive your car (chain should last longer the easier its driven). lol Usually its a slow degradation though... and it doesnt all of the sudden just happen. Odds are its combined with something else that "just happened" that made it more noticeable.

As far as the oil usage some people have none and most have some. Every VTEC engine i have ever owned used almost a quart between oil changes. This new engine i built used 1/4 quart on its first oil change (break in), and about 1/3rd on the rest (conventional). Im on its fourth oil change (goin in today, its first synthetic change) so it will be interesting to see how much it uses.

The k24a1 i had in my EP got about 45k on it and by then it was using a quart every 5k miles (synthetic) and i beat the shit out of that engine (NA and SC'd). Rod bearings were perfect, block bores were perfect, pistons barely look used (skirts/ringlands), but the rings were out of spec and needed to be changed. If i hadnt sold that engine, i would have just re ringed it and put it back in the car (no bore hone or anything needed).

A quart and a half is kinda steep for usage tho. :mfrown: How long did you drive on a bad 02 sensor?

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What about any known leaks? And do you ever notice smoking? As said above, just about all VTEC motors will burn a little oil due to the internal high oil pressure, believe it or not alot of motors do aswell, which is why its recommended to check/change your oil every 3k miles. I go through a quart between every oil change and from what i know i always have.

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Originally Posted by 03Si757

What about any known leaks? And do you ever notice smoking? As said above, just about all VTEC motors will burn a little oil due to the internal high oil pressure, believe it or not alot of motors do aswell, which is why its recommended to check/change your oil every 3k miles. I go through a quart between every oil change and from what i know i always have.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ba82Ep3

As far as the running funny/idle part id say definitely. Unless you granny drive your car (chain should last longer the easier its driven). lol Usually its a slow degradation though... and it doesnt all of the sudden just happen. Odds are its combined with something else that "just happened" that made it more noticeable.

As far as the oil usage some people have none and most have some. Every VTEC engine i have ever owned used almost a quart between oil changes. This new engine i built used 1/4 quart on its first oil change (break in), and about 1/3rd on the rest (conventional). Im on its fourth oil change (goin in today, its first synthetic change) so it will be interesting to see how much it uses.

The k24a1 i had in my EP got about 45k on it and by then it was using a quart every 5k miles (synthetic) and i beat the shit out of that engine (NA and SC'd). Rod bearings were perfect, block bores were perfect, pistons barely look used (skirts/ringlands), but the rings were out of spec and needed to be changed. If i hadnt sold that engine, i would have just re ringed it and put it back in the car (no bore hone or anything needed).

A quart and a half is kinda steep for usage tho. :mfrown: How long did you drive on a bad 02 sensor?

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From what I can see there are no leaks anywhere. That was my first thought, because the guy at Mr. Tire cross threaded my drain plug a few oil changes back and it was leaking like crazy. But they replaced it with a new one and there's no signs of leaks anywhere in my driveway or anywhere noticeable now. I definitely haven't noticed it smoking either. The O2 sensor went bad this summer and I replaced it 2 days later.

Do the timing chain and TCT seem like a more likely culprit than the IACV for the idle/running weird problems though? I was going to clean that out and just hope for the best, but if it's more likely the other 2 I may just save my time and not worry about that. The idle always seems to be high at first, like 2000 for the first few minutes, but if I come to a stop for a few seconds it'll drop to like 800-1000. It never seemed to be like that up until a few months ago.

Check the AAV next to the fuel rail... its the valve that has a small hose that runs to the intake. Check to be sure the hose going to the IM isnt damaged... or the plastic body of the AAV isnt cracked... it could give you an erratic idle...