Car question.

P

PT

Off 'Motherfuckin' Topic Elite
Ok, I've got this little '90 Eclipse, 1.8 Liter 4 Banger, and it's running great but lately I've noticed it's using a fair amount of oil. I drive it about 500-600 miles per week, and it's using about a quart a week now. I've let it run at my house for an hour and there isn't any leaking, it's just burning it, but the exhaust doesn't seem to be getting bad either. Anyone?
 
It can leak without leaking on the ground, at least at first.

My guess mirrors Leslie, valve seals or guides. Look around the valve cover too.
 
To replace the valve stem seals, remove the cams and apply air pressure in the spark plug hole to hold the valves up. Next, remove the valve keepers and retainers to expose the seal. Warning, if done improperly, engine damage may result.
 
PuterTutor said:
Are they hard to replace?
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You'd want to have it done. Pull the head and take it to the machine shop. Note that replacement guides and seals in general are better than OEM. Note also that there are ticks to removing an OHC head, read up on it first. Price it out first, some rebuilt engines can be cheaper than having the head redone.
 
Have someone take a look at your exhaust while the car's running, or have someone run the engine while you look at it. Try it at various RPMs. You'll probably see some colored smoke at some point in there. How many miles does it have? It could be the valve seals or it could be the rings. Did you try any stuff that's supposed to recondition seals to see if it made a difference at all?
 
Whoa. Be real careful with that stuff. Ir works alright. It works by swelling up the seal. It stops the leak, but it makes the seal wear faster. And, as if that wasn't bad enough, if you stop using it, the seal will shrink back and you'll have an even bigger problem than you started with.
 
This is a guy who smokes cigarettes. Why not have his car have a little more in common iwht its owner?
 
I've used some of the gas treatment, but not the oil treatments, I've heard the same as Prof about those, that they are temp fixes at best.

There really isn't any smoke coming out though, although it is hard to tell when it's 20 degrees if it's smoke or just normal exhaust. I've parked it on clean concrete and it isn't leaking either. I'm really getting confused about this. A quart a week it should be smoking more than I am.
 
white smoke is ok. blue smoke is bad. sounds like a head gasket might be going going. at least that is what happened with my first car.
 
Spot said:
white smoke is ok. blue smoke is bad. sounds like a head gasket might be going going. at least that is what happened with my first car.
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Every blown head gasket or cracked head I've had blew white smoke (coolant) although I have seen them blow blue (oil). I think that white is more common with a head gasket (there'll be lots, BTW), but I'm not an expert. I have had bad valve guides (on a 305 Chevy) that used a quart of oil a week, yet only smoked for a few moments on start up. :shrug:

Note that a car with a blown head gasket or cracked head will usually overheat as well.
 
when ours went they never smoked...just started sucking oil like ninety :shrug: it's just a sign that very soon it's GONNA start smoking.
 
White smoke is actually steam. If you blow the head gasket between a coolant passage and the combustion chamber, coolant will be sucked into the combustion chamber and turn to steam.
 
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