[shailoche]

How much oil should a 1993 Honda Del Sol Si D16Z6 consume during normal operation? I checked the oil today and found that I was down by almost an entire quart since my last oil change 4 months ago. Is that considered to be within Honda's consumption/normal usage patterns?

How much oil should the engine use during normal operation? Is 1 quart per 4 months and 5,000 miles normal?

I haven't noticed any oil leakage under my vehicle or from the head or valve cover and so I was surprised to find that I was down by 3/4 or a quart.

Any opinions or preferably facts about oil use would be much appreciated.

 

[91EGGURA]

how often do you check it? right before each change? or regularly?

 

[shailoche]

Regularly. I would say at least once a week. But the oil level was in on the bottom edge of the fill line on the dipstick so, I have just left it alone. I know that some of the older Honda VTEC engines burn small amounts of oil to help keep the pistons cool and to run the VTEC system. So, I have assumed that the reason my oil goes down between changes is due to this burn off. But today I just thought about "how much is too much?" So, what do you think? How much is too much...or should I not be burning any at all?

 

[91EGGURA]

the amount you're describing over the time frame is really not that bad considering the age of the car. i'm lucky that my oil level is what it is between changes but i've replaced every seal imaginable in the damn think and if you have higher miles you're just gonna have burn off. but yours isn't anything too alarming i wouldn't think. more than a quart every 5k is something to look at i think. but less is just something that happens

 

[kommon_sense]

How many miles are on your motor? The car is 17yrs old... I was 17 when I started college... Its going to burn some oil...

 

[shailoche]

The car is a 1993 with 120,000 miles on it. The engine is in great shape and still turns 35-40mpg on a bad day. But I was surprised that I was loosing/using oil at all since there is no smoke out the tailpipe and no drips on the driveway. Oh well, I suppose 3/4quart for every 5k miles isn't too horrible.

 

[kommon_sense]

3/4 qt does seem high if it only has 120k on it. Check out the pcv as a faulty pcv can cause you to burn a little oil. Also, how do you drive the car? Aggressive driving in vtec can cause you to burn a little oil as well.

 

[mattliston]

anything over 1/2 a quart is grounds for checking gaskets. I was losing a similar amount of oil, turned out to be a leaking oil pan gasket that was leaking oil near the timing belt.

 

[91EGGURA]

a quart per 4 months/5k isn't a huge deal. it's not good but it is a sign of something going wrong somewhere if you have no oil leaks especially.

 

[turbo944s2]

My 2003 Civic is burning 3 quarts of oil a week and not smoking or leaking. My friend did a compression test 185,185,185,175 leak down test didnt show anything abnormal. The car has an bs aftermarket warranty, should I take it to the dealer or a place that specializes in Japanese cars?

 

[fartbomber]

My 2003 Civic is burning 3 quarts of oil a week and not smoking or leaking. My friend did a compression test 185,185,185,175 leak down test didnt show anything abnormal. The car has an bs aftermarket warranty, should I take it to the dealer or a place that specializes in Japanese cars?

That's strange. Take a look at your transmission fluid. Is it red or brown?