1999 Civic losing oil

1999 HONDA CIVIC

BLAVER

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I have a '99 Honda Civic with 195,000 km on it. I am losing almost a quart of oil every 400 km, but I can find no leaks, there are no puddles under the car and there is no smoke or smell of burning oil from the exhaust. I use 5W30 synthetic, and it has been suggested to me that I use Lucas Oil Stabilizer to help with the problem. What do you think the issue may be?

Jul 6, 2007 at 8:42 AM

BRUCE HUNT

CAR REPAIR CONTRIBUTOR
3,754 POSTS

Take some time and try these things. They are free? Whoopee! Put some cardboard under the car to check for a leak. Take the plugs out of the vehicle and describe what they all look like.

Another great thing is to try a leak down test.

My suspicion is that you have compression and a compression test would probably support that. However, the loss of the oil and no detectable leaks only points to one area - bad oil rings. There is a smoke but the car is burning the oil pretty well. I would venture that the plugs are a little black and slightly oily on the end and the exhaust is running black. Look at the tailpipe and feel the inside. Is it black and slightly oily?

Jul 9, 2007 at 9:13 AM

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