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I have a 93 mx-3 with ~130K miles. I have recently starting losing about quart oil week (drving ~300 miles) . There are no "puddles" under the car so I am thinking it could be rings, but car doesnt really smoke constantly.

I read on another post that it could be valve seals and wondered if someone could give me some info on how to narrow it down. I plan on doing a compression test this weekend, but think that wont help narrow the problem down between rings or seals.

I do NOT have the cash to do a swap or get a new engine so I am hoping to be able to fix this one. I don't mind taking the time to pull the head and replace the valves.

Any idea on how much it will cost to get the seals fixed?

Is this what I need to do the job and get this thing to stop losing oil?
Head Gaskets
Head bolts
valves
valve seals


Any info would be appreciated.

Also try an oil catch can, i had one on my k8 and it stopped consuming oil.. I guess the pvc valve wasnt all that great..

Check around your oil pressure sensor on the front of the engine. If the seal is going you could be leaking out of there slightly and it would be hard to catch.

Mazderati wrote:Check around your oil pressure sensor on the front of the engine. If the seal is going you could be leaking out of there slightly and it would be hard to catch.

i had this problem twice within 2 months that the seal broke and i was leakin so definitely check that.

and im not 100% sure but i dont think the head gasket has somethin to do with it cuz if ur head gasket was gone u would be burnin coolant or leakin it or both. it would probly be ur valve seals or piston rings. so do ur compression test and if there is like 1 or 2 cylinders that r really low on compression those r most likely the cylinders that r burnin oil

85% of the v6 mx-3's i have seen around here are smoking. Very very common for these cars to burn oil. I would say it is you rings or valve stem seals or both. Especially with that mileage on the clock. My car doesnt smoke constantly either but she burns a lot of oil. If you redline it i bet you will see it smoke and get that lovely burnt oil smell as well. Best thing to do is swap it out for a klde or klze cause that would be just as cheap as a rebuild. You always run the risk of the new engine being bad so try and buy one locally with a warranty.