ohboiya

iTrader: (3)

Motor oil keeps being poured in2 my sis's car ... it doesn't leak b/c we don't see n e on the ground ... but she keeps having to put more in every 5000 km or so b/c the "OIL" indicator keeps coming on ... what's going on?

Is this dangerous? It's an old 1990 Honda Accord ... is it expensive 2 fix or should we get her a new car?

mzmtg

iTrader: (11)

Could be leaking past the piston rings or around the valve guides into the combustion chamber where it is literally burned away. Both of these situations are very bad.

ohboiya

iTrader: (3)

bad in ...

1. Dangerous bad? If so ... how?
2. Expensive 2 repair kinda bad?
3. or .. both?

MarkP

If the engine is using more then 1 US quart in 1000 miles then you may have worn and leaking piston rings or valve guides/seals, if there is no external leakage. But you indicate adding oil every 5000Km or about 3100 Miles. So it would seem to be within the acceptable consumption range. A wet cylinder compression test would show if the piston rings or valve guides or their seals are bad. It would only be dangerous if she fails to add oil when needed. She would need to get a mechanics estimate based on what needs to be done and that could vary widely.


"Motor oil keeps being poured in2 my sis's car ... it doesn't leak b/c we don't see n e on the ground ... but she keeps having to put more in every 5000 km or so b/c the "OIL" indicator keeps coming on ... what's going on?

Is this dangerous? It's an old 1990 Honda Accord ... is it expensive 2 fix or should we get her a new car?"

Johnny

Japanese cars were notorious for that right through the early 90's. My friend's 2nd gen Max did that, my folks had an 84 Camry that started burning oil at 60,000 miles. It went on to drive 230,000 before the radiator finally exploded causing the motor to overheat. Also needed another quart every 1,000 miles. I've heard Camrys as new as 1995 having blue smoke upon start-up. So don't worry, just keep driving that car, and make sure you keep the oil topped-off. Don't overfill, though. It's not gonna be worth the $$ to replace rings or valve guides, it's just not done anymore. I think the other person said "very bad" from a design perspective, not from a standpoint of practicality. Every 3,000 miles is not bad at all.

brubenstein

Properly maintained Maximas (2nd gens included) don't burn much oil. If oil is added only when the low oil light comes on greatly increased wear/damage is taking place.
If there are no strange mechanical noises: ticking, clunking, banging, etc., it may just be worn valve guide seals. This would be a good thing since they can be replaced without removing the heads, and a much less costly repair than rings.
One question is does it smoke? and when. If it smokes under acceleration then the rings are bad. If it smokes when you lift off the throttle, at highway speeds, then it's the valve guides/seals.

ohboiya

iTrader: (3)

shumax

Hmmm.
My dad had an old Mercury Marquis woth the police packeage and he had to put a Qt. in every 1k from day one all the way up to 40k when he got rid of it. They said that was 'normal.' It never leaked it and never burned it to the point you could see it or smell it?!?!
I have never put a drop in my maxima...knock on wood...and I am at 65k. My sister had a 92 Camry V6 and she had to put a QT. in every 3k but it had 150k on the engine! If you have to put a Qt. in every 3k b.c a light comes on that means you are using at least one qt. maybe 2. Most lights come on when you have less than two qts. left in the engine....I bet you use about 1.5qts. every 3100 miles which isn't bad for a highmile engine!

Keep it and keep your eye open for a new car too.

SHUMAX

brubenstein

If it's not smoking, it's not burning all that much. BTW, is there much oil on the outside of the engine? It could be a leak that only happens when the engine is hot or running. A couple of quarts every 5000 km isn't very bad (probably a qt every 1500 miles). It would be much better for the engine just to change it before the light comes on (every 3000 mi/5000 km), and maybe use a heavier weight oil to cut down on consumption.

ohboiya

iTrader: (3)

it appears that she's adding oil (1 qt) every 2 or 3 days of driving she does ... i was wrong when I originally said every 3100 miles ...

now what do we do?