[CherryPopLude]

Hey there... well, after searching for the perfect 91 prelude SI for my girl, she flew down to Atlanta to pick up a 2nd owner Beautiful, rust free.. all original lude with 161k on it. 400 miles into getting it home to NE ohio, oil light came on. she added 3 qts and made it home. I took it the next day to Valvoline, had an oil change done and looked at everywhere it was leaking.. valve covers, oil pan and then there was this other spray on the hood that looked as though it was turned on a belt. Called a Honda mechanic the next day, he had it for a week, new oil pan gasket, new valve cover gasket, valve adjustment, new spark plugs, new cv boots, engine detail, timing belt and waterpump. Now, it's burning 4 - 5 qts per oil change. 3k religeously. (also added new rims and tires... hot... but that has nothing to do with oil consumption ;o) We have done everything... now what?? What should I do? It's way to nice to junk. Can we get a crate motor?? I don't want to get a motor out of the junk yard and then have this happen again. I did go through like 44 pages of this 494 page forum so I wouldn't repost a thread but seriously, I got lazy. Please help, she was looking for this car as clean as it is.. for like 2 years, I just want to fix it before it's unfixable. Any ideas?

Thanks -

Toby.:confused

 

[Prelude1897]

if you took it to the mechanic to fix this problem, and the problem still hasn't been fixed, then they didn't do their job right, and I'd take it back to him and have them fix it correctly....

 

[jtdesigns]

4 qrts in 3k you should see smoke coming out exhaust if its burning through the valve seals, or past rings.. You didnt say it was smoking like a CTD though. If theres no smoke the oil has going somewhere... park on a big piece of cardboard, every time you park it.. If leaking it'll show.. They have a UV dye you put in your oil and use a black light to search down leaks with. You might could do that. Check the coolant to..

 

[CherryPopLude]

4 qt's... burned.. why????

if you took it to the mechanic to fix this problem, and the problem still hasn't been fixed, then they didn't do their job right, and I'd take it back to him and have them fix it correctly....

He did fix the leaks with the new gaskets, but now, after valve adjustment and timing belt replacement, it's burning. He said he doesn't know what it could be... other than Lude engines are "sh*t" compared to any other honda product... which, I am not happy with that answer. lol. It's gotta be going somewhere.. that is a hell of a lot of oil and she doesn't drive it like a race car.. for God's sakes!. There is a little bit of smoke... nothing too alarming though.

 

[SoundAsleepLude]

Im also losing a lot of oil, But i cant say i dont drive it like a race car.

 

[CBags04]

He did fix the leaks with the new gaskets, but now, after valve adjustment and timing belt replacement, it's burning. He said he doesn't know what it could be... other than Lude engines are "sh*t" compared to any other honda product... which, I am not happy with that answer. lol. It's gotta be going somewhere.. that is a hell of a lot of oil and she doesn't drive it like a race car.. for God's sakes!. There is a little bit of smoke... nothing too alarming though.

sounds like you need to tell the mechanic to fix it like it was supposed to be originally or take it to small claims.

 

[MortsAccord]

rear main seal? Thats about the only one left, also the girdle could be leaking.

 

[Noob_bc]

Prelude using oil

You should know that the 2.1 engines used in the SR/SI Preludes in 1990 & 1991 have a bad reputation for oil burning. The rings wear prematurely on these models. Its get much worse... I had one that burned 1 quart per tank of gas before I fixed it. You'd think you'd see blue smoke coming out the exhaust, but you don't... (trust me!) so it makes it quite difficult to buy one that does NOT burn oil. I've seen many people go through the process of fixed every possible oil leak, to no avail. The only solution is to re ring it, sadly. I'm just in the process of doing this now. It's my second 91 prelude and my second time doing the exact thing. (The first 91 prelude met an untimely end). I had a valve fail which required me to pull the head, and while I am at it I'm replacing the rings. I've checked the oil clearance on the rod bearings and they are still OK, but I'm replacing anyhow because they're cheap. Unfortunately the motor is still in the car so I can't replace the crank bearings or oil pump. In true Honda fashion, these should last many more years. Unfortunate about the defect in this otherwise fine car (the rings wear out because of an experimental cylinder wall liner used only in these years).

 

[Noob_bc]

Prelude using oil

I said the oil pump could not be replaced while the motor is in the car but I think that's not true?

 

[Fuclking Tad]

i actually have the same problem with my 98 lude, it burns oil quick as hell and theres white smoke coming out the back, also my radiator seems to be empty every couple days...

 

[Noob_bc]

You've got a blown head gasket my friend...
Or (but this is not very likely) a cracked cylinder head.

A big job, but you can do it yourself with a digital camera, a torque wrench and a good manual.