Car eating or burning oil too rapidly?

Deadly BlaZe · 11-14-2007, 11:57 AM

Ok I've already searched for this issue and every thread that mentioned the car eating or burning oil too quickly also had an issue with smoking blowing out of the muffler (which I do not have).

Now, my car's oil level seems to be dropping too quick. After about 1,200 miles, it went from the full line to the minimum line. I need to mention that the car does not smoke at all and does not blow oil out anywhere under the engine bay. I've also noticed that there is black residue inside the muffler tip if that means anything. I'm aware that it could just be a leak.

TunaTalon · 11-14-2007, 12:18 PM

If that much oil is going through the combustion chambers then your spark plugs will be fouled black and oily.

Pull the plugs and "read" them. http://www.centuryperformance.com/spark2.asp

If that much is leaking then there will be oil stains left where you park.

Break down a cardboard box and park on it. Mark where the tires are to pinpoint leaks.

kenamond · 11-14-2007, 01:02 PM

If you can have someone follow you while you drive, you may find out that you do smoke. Maybe during shifts, maybe all the time, maybe only under load (boosting). Mine has smoked after shifts since the car was new. I consume a quart every 3k miles and have always done so since the car was new.

94_eclipse · 11-14-2007, 02:06 PM

My car looses about the same amount of oil and its the valve seals, its hard to notice the blue smoke if any. It usualy puts out a lil blue as soon as i start it up, but after that it dosnt smoke at all. Your valve seals might be going bad also, just not as bad as mine if u dont see any blue smoke.

GS-T_Newboost · 11-14-2007, 02:58 PM

the seals in my turbo are bad and in bewteen shifts it smokes kinda blue

Deadly BlaZe · 11-14-2007, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 94_eclipse

My car looses about the same amount of oil and its the valve seals, its hard to notice the blue smoke if any. It usualy puts out a lil blue as soon as i start it up, but after that it dosnt smoke at all. Your valve seals might be going bad also, just not as bad as mine if u dont see any blue smoke.

I was told the valve seals may be bad, yet the car does not smoke at all during idle when the motor is cold and when it's hot. I'll try to check the spark plugs this weekend. As far as leaks, I don't recall ever seeing oil in the driveway. I was also told it may be the piston rings? I'm not too familiar with internal engine parts and their purposes, so i'm not sure if that would be possible, but I'll definitely look into it.

Black_Bullet · 11-15-2007, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deadly BlaZe

I was told the valve seals may be bad, yet the car does not smoke at all during idle when the motor is cold and when it's hot. I'll try to check the spark plugs this weekend. As far as leaks, I don't recall ever seeing oil in the driveway. I was also told it may be the piston rings? I'm not too familiar with internal engine parts and their purposes, so i'm not sure if that would be possible, but I'll definitely look into it.

Do a compression and a leak down test and checking plugs first off...
For future reference, black smoke is fuel, grayish or blueish smoke is oil, puffy nimbus cloud white smoke is coolant. Youd smoke bad right after idle and right after startup if your valve seals or guides were bad as it starts to puddle in the exhaust as you idle and thats what makes the smoke apparent.
Now for my 2 cents that may pertain to your situation, I burn about 2 quarts of oil every thousand miles, which equals about 2qrts a month;( and I do a lot of spirited driving at 20-21psi daily also so that doesnt help the matter.) and in which i can deal with this consumption as long as it doesnt get worse but thats still worse than yours. My car doesnt smoke visibily where i can see it but if its dark and I have a friend drive right behind me with his head lights on when i do a pull he says he can see a light mist of grayish smoke trailing behind me when im under boost. This is the only time my car ever smokes, and like i said youd have to be right behind me with head lights on to tell, in day time youd never see the smoke, thats how fine it is. My turbo is great, and so are my valve stem seals.
Im pretty positive my smoking is due to worn oil ring lands allowing oil to slip past into the combustion when i start coming up in the revs. This is likely considering that my stock o.e.m bottom end has over 100k on it and has seen many battles. The compression is great, ( cylinders 4 to 1 ) 160,155,150,149, so if you do a compression test and have good compression dont automatically assume your rings still cant seep past oil.
A leak down test would be your best bet i think.
What seemed to cut down on my oil burning is running thicker oil... I believe thicker oil should be ran anyways in a turbocharged/ high rev/ and,or high mileage motor due to viscosity break down ( especially when theres no oil cooler present and, or your racing on it. )
I went from 10w40 mobil1 full synthetic to 15w50 mobil 1 full synthetic and it cut down on the oil consumption some... The thicker synthetic oil i think makes it harder for it to blow by, and keeps everything lubricated in the engine better especially during heat cycles. I plan to switch to 20w50 full synthetic soon, if your not already doing so Id suggest the same for you as this may prolong the engines life some before rebuild ...

Deadly BlaZe · 11-15-2007, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Black_Bullet

Do a compression and a leak down test and checking plugs first off...
For future reference, black smoke is fuel, grayish or blueish smoke is oil, puffy nimbus cloud white smoke is coolant. Youd smoke bad right after idle and right after startup if your valve seals or guides were bad as it starts to puddle in the exhaust as you idle and thats what makes the smoke apparent.
Now for my 2 cents that may pertain to your situation, I burn about 2 quarts of oil every thousand miles, which equals about 2qrts a month;( and I do a lot of spirited driving at 20-21psi daily also so that doesnt help the matter.) and in which i can deal with this consumption as long as it doesnt get worse but thats still worse than yours. My car doesnt smoke visibily where i can see it but if its dark and I have a friend drive right behind me with his head lights on when i do a pull he says he can see a light mist of grayish smoke trailing behind me when im under boost. This is the only time my car ever smokes, and like i said youd have to be right behind me with head lights on to tell, in day time youd never see the smoke, thats how fine it is. My turbo is great, and so are my valve stem seals.
Im pretty positive my smoking is due to worn oil ring lands allowing oil to slip past into the combustion when i start coming up in the revs. This is likely considering that my stock o.e.m bottom end has over 100k on it and has seen many battles. The compression is great, ( cylinders 4 to 1 ) 160,155,150,149, so if you do a compression test and have good compression dont automatically assume your rings still cant seep past oil.
A leak down test would be your best bet i think.
What seemed to cut down on my oil burning is running thicker oil... I believe thicker oil should be ran anyways in a turbocharged/ high rev/ and,or high mileage motor due to viscosity break down ( especially when theres no oil cooler present and, or your racing on it. )
I went from 10w40 mobil1 full synthetic to 15w50 mobil 1 full synthetic and it cut down on the oil consumption some... The thicker synthetic oil i think makes it harder for it to blow by, and keeps everything lubricated in the engine better especially during heat cycles. I plan to switch to 20w50 full synthetic soon, if your not already doing so Id suggest the same for you as this may prolong the engines life some before rebuild ...

Thanks for the input, I'll keep it in mind.