Large Oil Consumption but no leak

BECKY P

MEMBER
1995 CHEVROLET S-10

I have a 95' Chevy S10 4 cyl. 2.2 automatic. The original engine literally blew up into flames and the truck was given to me. I found another engine and replaced it. The truck only had 65,000 miles on it when I got it. I'm not sure how many miles are on the engine currently in it. Anyways, I've been driving it for a year now and it's always had an oil consumption but it seems to only be getting worse. It's not leaking anywhere on the ground so I'm pretty sure it's burning it. There is a strong smell and sometimes when it shifts it smokes from the exhaust. What I can do to fix this without having to go spend a ton of money to a mechanic? Thanks!

Monday, September 19th, 2011 AT 7:01 AM

2 Replies

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
34,331 POSTS

You might consider adding a bottle of dye to the oil. After driving it long enough to use a little oil, you search with a black light. The dye will show up as a bright yellow stain that you might be able to follow back to the source. If the dye shows up at the tail pipe, you have worn piston rings or valve guide seals. From your observations, worn valve guide seals would be my first suspect.

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Monday, September 19th, 2011 AT 8:28 AM

MHPAUTOS

MECHANIC
31,937 POSTS

You will see any external oil leak, if you are using a fair amount an external leak will be very visible, the only other option is out the exhaust, do comp test or a leak down test to determine the extent of the problem, start here.

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Monday, September 19th, 2011 AT 8:32 AM