[Guest]

i recently acquired a '93 SI with about 92000 miles, and im having a somewhat wierd problem with my oil... actually a couple problems. ive searched for a few days both here and on honda-tech, and i havent been able to find anything.

first, it burns oil during vtec. the amount that gets burned varies, but not consistently. for example: in a 5 minute period of running through 1st/2nd gear a a few times, it went from burning oil for the entire duration of vtec to just the upper 500rpm, and then back to all of vtec. it only does it under load, which leads me to beleive its the rings. but why only during vtec? why is it so inconsistent? i replaced the PCV valve and im waiting for a clear day to try and look for burning oil.

second: when i try to check the oil level, i sometimes cant get a reading on the dipstick. it acts like theres water in the oil. all i get is small droplets on the dipstick, and i cannot get a reading of the level as a result. but then after its warmed up, i can for whatever reason get a good reading off the stick. first conclusion would be a blown head gasket, so i drained the oil to check. other than being pretty dirty, there was nothing wrong with it. didnt look milky-brown at all. my coolent doesnt look to bad either.

any help is apreciated.

 

[FMYStreetRacer]

compression test

 

[Lule]

Doesn't the ECU supply more fuel during the VTEC operation? I'd verify that it's really oil and not fuel.

When water is introduced to the oil system, generally two things happen:
Directly after operation, it looks like the inside of a Milky Way bar, just runnier. The oil and water will eventually seperate. If there is water in the crankcase and not whipped into an emulsion, the oil level will actually rise. The oil floats on top of the water.

You wouldn't happen to be getting a knocking noise at idle after warmup, would you?

 

[green_hornet_96]

I really someone figures this out, mine does that something awful...I can't use VTEC on long trips because it'll burn off my oil...once a couple 1-2-3 vtec runs burnt off about half a quart. Weird thing is, the coolant is fine (its been overfull for as long as I can remember) and still has good color...and the oil color doesn't change either. Its like its just burning it away somehow.

 

[DOG]

Stuck valves on the exhaust side or incorrect valve adjustments maybe? Just a guess.

 

[Guest]

im pretty sure its oil. unburnt fuel wouild be more black; this is definitely blue, and there arent any knocking sounds that i can hear after its warmed up.

the semester's almost over, so ill hopefully be able to take a good look at things over winter break. i may just let it be and rebuild the motor when it finally does decide to die... there's only a few months until the autox season starts, and i need to get this thing ready for DSP :wink:

 

[green_hornet_96]

hmm you can see the oil in the exhaust? I can't, it just kinda disappears...I'm sure its not valve adjustment, althought there might be something else wrong since I accidentally bounced off of 8k rpm when i missed a gear 3 years ago.

 

[Guest]

yea, i can see it in the rear view mirror.

the oil burning doesnt worry me as much as the funky dipstick readings. wierd thing is, the engine runs perfectly fine. thats why im probably just going to ignore it for the time being.

 

[green_hornet_96]

All i can see in the rear mirror is the vapor from exhaust, but thats just when its cold out. Mine runs good too, still gets 35-37 mpg when i'm nice to it. I don't know what yours has, but mine has almost 114k miles on it, so i figure oh well, it runs good enough not to worry about it. Saw an escort in the parking lot a couple weeks ago that backfired like crazy when the guy started it up, so i'm not gonna worry too bad unless its easily fixed.

 

[Guest]

Had this problem with my friends EX. Put new PCV valve in, a new solenoid and clean the vtec "ports" on the head, we did that and VOILA, no more smoke. Hope its the same.

 

[S Q A D]

damnnn ... nasty oil problems with VTEC ... ive been lucky so far ... i havent had any major problems with my y7 ... only things that needed to be replaced was my passenger side window, somehow slipped off the traCK and wouldnt roll up or down , and my ignition coil burned out .. and the car wouldnt start .. but never any oil burning problems .

 

[Lule]

OK, I've been pondering this for a while. Let me know if this is too out there.

I suspect intake valve guide seal wear. This is why.

97,000 miles, first off.

The seals wear faster because of VTEC. During such operation, the valve moves farther, thus increasing seal wear.

Also, during the operation, as the valve is open further, the intake runner, including the valve guide area, is subject to more vacuum. The faster the piston moves downward, the greater the vacuum.

In closing, the present owner probably doesn't know the oil change interval, thus extremely dirty oil may have shortened the life of the seals. There also could be valve/valve guide wear because of same.

Feel free to pick this apart. :?

 

[green_hornet_96]

How much work is it to replace these seals? Sounds like an excuse to pull the head off and do some fun stuff to it

It would explain a lot of things, although I religously change the oil on my car. Every thousand miles or so, currently (it sits too much).

 

[Guest]

sounds like it needs a valve job and proper vavle adjustment afterwards...but who knows.

 

[DOG]

Stuck valves on the exhaust side or incorrect valve adjustments maybe? Just a guess.

Did you check this?

 

[green_hornet_96]

I just set the tolerances on the lifters, if that's what you mean. It didn't fix the problem. I just don't want to tear the head apart at the moment, its gotta get me home in four days.

 

[Lule]

The head can be left on during the seal change. It's not that difficult but time consuming. For someone who hasn't done it before, I'd say 5 to 6 hours, start to finish.
There are some special tools needed though: Valve spring compresser, the type that screws down directly above the valve assembly. Make sure it can handle the small springs in a Honda. Magnet-on-a-stick, great for removing the locks. Air compressor, when used with the hose from an compression tester, holds the valves in place. You can use the rope-in-the-hole trick, but you know you really want one, so here's your excuse to get one.
Cover the oil return galleries. You know why.
Enjoy!