Engine Oil keeps Vanishing!

illapino · Post by **illapino** » September 4th, 2006, 6:13 am

I check it in the morning so it is proven.
My engine oil keeps vanishing, i have no clue where.
Someone throttled it once and no oil came out the muffler
so he deduced that i wasn't losing oil.

well it is proven.
i fill it on day 1 with 10W30 all the way to Full.
and by day 4 it is just above Low.
So if I'm losing oil, where the heck is it going?
nothing dripping from the bottom of the car.
my head gaskets need to be replaced, but no fresh oil seeps out of them

any thoughts?
better yet, solutions to stop me from spending $7 on oil every week?

(there is a drastic performance loss noticeable when the oil gets low.
when it's full, my v6 has devilish bottom-end torque, but not so when low.
just for ur info)

Custom_V6_Limited_SE · September 4th, 2006, 10:35 am

Are your valve covers screwed on tight? Usually, if they are too loose, you will notice oil somehow ending up on top of your engine. If the engine bay is completely clean and you can't find any sign of oil anywhere, it could be your rings, but, ask someone else before you think about messing with that. You could swap in a KL-DE/ZE

neumann · Post by **neumann** » September 4th, 2006, 12:47 pm

I am learning about the KL8 as I work through the clutch and Crank position sensor, but I really don't know a lot about the motor. In general terms for this type of oil consumption, I would suspect piston rings. Also rear main seal and PCV.

How much mileage was that 4 days? How much oil was lost? A litre?

The first thing I would maybe try is the PCV since it is cheaper and straightforward. If its the piston rings or worn cylinders, you might as well just swap in a KLZE. I would expect that re-ringing could cost close to the price of a new better motor.

Juans_93_MX3 · Post by **Juans_93_MX3** » September 4th, 2006, 12:56 pm

My car leaks oil but for some reason it never looses oil

illapino · Post by **illapino** » September 4th, 2006, 7:01 pm

in four days? hmm, that must be close to 100kms.. 80kms?
and yes i guess that's 1L of consumption since it's 1L from L to F, right?
Yes, i've been pondering the KLZE swap,
but it seems that lots of you still rebuild those suckers.
are you saying that if i buy a klze, i'd be okay with just replacing the timing belt?
and its rings and gaskets would be fine?

with my k8 right now, here's some estimates i already know:
gaskets: ~$500 each (there's two)
lifters: ~$2500

Juans_93_MX3 · Post by **Juans_93_MX3** » September 4th, 2006, 7:04 pm

While this thread is up
Does anyone know how much Transmission fluid is suppose to be put in a automatic?
Also, how much would a oil pan cost for the engine?

hgallegos915 · Post by **hgallegos915** » September 4th, 2006, 7:10 pm

Or you can buy my kf for 400 dllrs

30is miles.. cant beat that.

illapino · Post by **illapino** » September 4th, 2006, 8:42 pm

illapino wrote: Yes, i've been pondering the KLZE swap,
but it seems that lots of you still rebuild those suckers.
are you saying that if i buy a klze, i'd be okay with just replacing the timing belt?
and its rings and gaskets would be fine?

PATDIESEL · Post by **PATDIESEL** » September 5th, 2006, 12:41 am

First, the oil is going somewhere. So do a few things to find out where it is going then someone can suggest how to fix it.
1. park in a dry, clean spot. If you cannot find a clean spot place some cardboard on the driveway and see if it is leaking. The cardboard or clean spot needs to be a big as your engine bay and you need to park in the same spot for a few days to see if it is leaking. Try parking the car and leaving regularly the first day. The second let it sit and idle for about 15 minutes and then check. If nothing still, try revving it up for a few seconds at a time building revs in steps to about 4000 (2000 for a few seconds, 3000, then 4000). If still nothing try hitting the trottle hard and getting to about 6500 and let off as soon as it reaches 6500. note: revving your car in neutral is not particularly good for the motor. The motor uses the counter balance of the trans shafts to stay steady, thus revving in neutral throws things off a tad and wears the motor. (not enough to make a difference just for this test unless the motor is on its last leg anyway)
2. Check the coolant by draining the old. If it is frothy or anything other than good old used coolant then it might be draining into the coolant passages somewhere (maybe your bad head gasket is letting the oil into the coolant passages) If you are unsure of the coolant contamination b/c it is brown from age, then just refill with water and run it for a day or two, keeping the oil level full. Then drain the water. It will be easy to spot an oil slick in the water. Make sure to refill with the proper water/coolant mix so you don't freeze the motor later this year.
3. check for oil leaks around the timing side, between the motor and trans connection, around the valve cover edges, on top of spark plugs, around the head gaskets. If you see oil clean it off with some brake parts cleaner or other cleaner and see how quickly the oil comes back.
Tell us what you find and we'll better know what the problem is and how to fix it. Don't jump to conclusions just yet. There are plenty of things that could cause big oil leaks that are not hard to fix and are not expensive. Also, keep the oil at full, not over not under. Over filling is just as bad if not worse than it being low.

kiwi_MX3 · Post by **kiwi_MX3** » September 5th, 2006, 5:03 am

PATDIESEL wrote: The motor uses the counter balance of the trans shafts to stay steady, thus revving in neutral throws things off a tad and wears the motor. (not enough to make a difference just for this test unless the motor is on its last leg anyway).

WTF? the motor does'nt use the gearbox in any way shape or form
as a counter balance sytem.

there is nothing stopping you sitting in neutral and leaning on the
limiter, your only pop the motor if its in bad shape,

every year at the nat's they have a engine blow comp where
a couple of engines are setup on a trailer , oil drained out and started
up and reved to the limit, persons who guess the closest time to when
it blows or stops wins prises.

best was a honda ba16, went for 4mins on the limter no oil.

Oh by the way you can strip the lifters apart and clean them.

illapino · Post by **illapino** » September 5th, 2006, 6:42 am

I will get my engine bay steam-cleaned first to see any fresh seeps,
though by the looks of it, i see nothing fresh. just old oil on top.
i'll do your inspections, Pat.

PATDIESEL · Post by **PATDIESEL** » September 5th, 2006, 9:59 am

I know that it is not a counter balance, but for ease of explination I used a simple way to explain that the engine does not like to be freely revved. If you don't believe me then try getting redline revvs with no oil and see how long it takes to blow. A whole ton longer I assure you. Do you honestly think the crank pulley balances the flywheel?

illapino · Post by **illapino** » September 7th, 2006, 1:47 am

Hey.. So I got my engine bay completely spraycleaned yesterday, and now my check engine light comes on sometimes, only for no more than 10 seconds though, then it shuts off.. At first, when I first left the shop right after my engine was cleaned, my car seemed to shudder or struggle when I switched into a new gear. Like from 1 to 2, it would start to struggle (a sensation akin to it drowning in water perhaps) just when 2nd gear "began".. Nothing's malfunctioning now, and that shuddering/struggling/drowning symptom is completely gone, but now the Check Engine light comes on.. Why oh why didn't they cover anything with plastic bags when they washed it? I asked why but they insisted they had done this a hundred times and proceeded to spray water at it with the engine running ..

!!!

any ideas as to what's wrong now?
yes i know it's something electrical ...

Bucking Bronco · Post by **Bucking Bronco** » September 7th, 2006, 10:32 am

Lots of shops leave vehicles running during an engine clean. This way if it does die they just look where they last sprayed versus turning it off cleaning and then trying to start it.

Next would be find a new shop, If a customers car runs proper on the way in it runs proper on the way out. Always take it back right away.

Edit: Reset your codes to see if the problem is still there but I would take it back to the shop if there any good or care about there rep.

PATDIESEL · Post by **PATDIESEL** » September 7th, 2006, 11:03 am

Ditto, it was probably a small amount of water in a sensor or something. It has probably dried out and your car should be fine. There is a code stored in the ECU from when it was having trouble. Check the codes just to know what was wrong, then clear the codes and see if it comes back. It is probably fine though.