1999 Saturn SW2 oil usage

roncam47390 · Posted at Fri Sep 04, 2009 7:03 am

Engine Performance problem
1999 Saturn SW2 4 cyl Two Wheel Drive Automatic 150000 miles

Almost overnight my saturn is throwing oil-presumably out the pcv valve connection--throwing 1 or 2 qts out approx every 200 hundred mi--under hood and all engine parts are soaked with oil-pcv has been replaced-vacume in exhaust is good--what could my problem be?

saturntech9 · Posted at Fri Oct 09, 2009 7:51 am

sounds like u have too much engine pressure comming up thru ur valve cover.try putting a pressure gauge in ur dipstick hole only thing i can think of that would be throwing oil like that.u could also pull off ur cam cover and look at the inside and see if there is any damage let me know what u find.
louie

roncam47390 · Posted at Fri Oct 09, 2009 11:00 am

Thank you Louie, I will chedk it out and advise you of my findings--Ron

roncam47390 · Posted at Sun Nov 15, 2009 5:40 am

louie my saturan is actually 1995 not a 1999, have had 3 good mechanics look at it, and no answers other than overhaul the engine, is there an air breather on this engine that could be pluged? engine runs great, even when its throwing oil, I am at my witts end, am now considering running keresine through system for a thourough clean out,not sure just how long I can do this without damaging the engine. Ron

saturntech9 · Posted at Sun Nov 15, 2009 8:53 am

Hey Ron unfornately if u plug the breather u will continue to build pressure in ur engine untill something blows that's why it's called a breather that vents ur excessive internal blow by off so nothing blows up.sorry about that sounds like u need to look into getting ur engine ur engine overhauled as far as the kersone thing I wouldn't explore that idea u would do more harm then good.hope this helps.also donations and feedback greatly appreaciated.
Louie

roncam47390 · Posted at Sat Nov 21, 2009 7:05 am

Louie, thanks again, and for following my problem--i was afraid that an overhaul could still leame me with my problem, That will be my last resort, I didn't mean I would plug the air intake (breather) Thats what I think might be plugged, but I don't understand where it is, to allow me to make sure its clear----Ron

saturntech9 · Posted at Sat Nov 21, 2009 8:07 am

I have two questions for the first question is in ur first post of ur question u said ur vaccuum in ur exhaust is good what did u mean by that the only thing u test ur exhuast for is back pressure.I asking u to have ur engine tested for blow by which u should have alot of it's where u put the hose for it in ur dipstick tube where u check the oil that would give us more info on ur problem.so could u check that and let me know what u find there.
Louie

mhpautos · Posted at Sat Nov 21, 2009 3:58 pm

Hi there,

I think that you need to take a step back and evaluate what you have done to date, firstly as saturntech has stated, there must be a build up of crank case pressure to cause this problem, this cam happen with a blocked PCV, excessive oil in the sump and often engine blow by, this is when engine compression leaks past the piston rings and starts to over pressurize the sump, causing oil saturated air to be forced out the engine seals, and breathers, often you will find that the air filter is covered in oil to some degree, what you first need to do is check the PCV and have a leak down test done as this will be a good indication as to the condition of the lower end,
you can archive the same test results with a wet & dry comp test, this will show any extreme variance in piston ring sealing capability.

mark (mhpautos)

roncam47390 · Posted at Wed Nov 25, 2009 2:21 pm

Mark Thank you for the info--I did get a preasure test done on the oil dipstick tube,as Louie ask for and it came up with no preasure. Just got back from 700 mi trip replaced 6 qts on trip--no noticable smoke out the exhaust. Friend of mine has a 95 saturn having the same problem- we are both drive away drivers, using are Saturns as tow cars. Our cars with hood up and engine running shows no indication of any problems. Thanks again for the info I will see what I can get done with it. Ron

roncam47390 · Posted at Mon Dec 07, 2009 7:54 am

Hey Guys--with all of your comments I have come to the possible conclusion, since I am not using oil,but throwing it. I think possibly that I might have so much sludge build up in engine (which might be shfting on me) causing my problem to be eratic, that I might need to try purging my oil system--do you know who or where I might be able to get this done. A preasure purge and vacume out type procedure. will appreate your toughts. Ron