Seanlhy

Hi all,

I just got my 03 S2K yesterday and it seems to be consuming oil really quickly. After purchasing the car I checked the oil and it was about half way below the Low line which scared the crap outta me. Got some 10W30 and topped off about 1 quart and it brought it up to the center (dipstick). After ~300 miles of highway driving, I check the oil and it’s below the Low line again, so I empty another quart into it which brought it up ~2 crosses above the middle. Today, after minimal driving I checked the oil and it's 2 crosses above the Low line. I highly doubt this is normal. I’ve checked under the car and there are no leaks. I’m going to do an oil change with Amsoil soon to see if that does anything, if it doesn’t I might bring it to a shop to have it looked at. I've called a shop and they said that there might be some internal damage to the valve seals. It's heartbreaking because I thought I found a perfectly maintained S2000 (one owner, 210 compression on all four cylinders, decent paint and interior, etc.). Please advise! Thank you!

servantz

Valve adjustment

Seanlhy

I talked to a shop and they said a valve adjustment wouldn't do anything to stop the oil consumption. I don't know if they're right about that though. Where should I take it to get a valve adjustment?

Zer0ne

Have you checked for any signs of a leak?

Seanlhy

I've looked around the engine bay and I couldn't find any oil. None under the car either.

Jub

Valve adjustment will not help with oil consumption or worn valve seals. Valve adjustments can be used as preventative maintenance to prevent valve issues, mainly valve seats. It will not help if you already have sealing issues.. A leakdown test will let you know if the cylinder is purging compression, with the most likely culprit being the valve seals or head gasket.

Seanlhy

Is it labor intensive to replace the valve seals or head gasket? I'm assuming it is and I'll be left with a huge hole in my pocket. Will those problems lead to engine damage with continued operation of the engine?

Deckoz

Well you certainly don't need to remove the head gasket for Valve seals

Watch a video on replacing retainers and keepers, that is basically the process, except you pull the spring so you can pop the valve seals off and replace, then finish by putting the retainers and keepers back.

Its a couple hour job if you move slow.

Also you should post pictures of the engine bay, is it clean? Are you sure it's not leaking?

As well you know about the dipstick? Read the driver side not the passenger side. Wipe it off, dip it at least three times and take the average from the driver side mark

Jub

FWIW, a head gasket would usually show up in a compression test, especially if losing that much oil. Do you have a garage? Is this a dd? Can you do your own work? If that's a No, yes, no, disregard what I say below and get a trusted shop to do a leakdown.

A bad head gasket will lead to overheating which will lead to engine damage quickly. It is unlikely in these cars but can happen. It's also unlikely that oil would be flowing into the cooling system but it can happen. If you're losing that amount of oil due to a head gasket, you'd probably see some oil floating when you open the radiator cap.

I don't think valve seals in and of themselves are completely detrimental but I'd rather someone else chime in on that one. For sure, if you run the engine low on oil because of the valve seals, bad things will happen.

When I get a new car, I am super paranoid about everything. If you can't easily do a leakdown test on your own, maybe change the oil and monitor for 500 miles to see. If you drain the oil and start fresh, at least you'll know you started with 5 quarts of fresh oil. Monitor directly how much you're adding in each time. 1 qt. per 1000 miles is not uncommon on AP1s, unfortunately. Mine didn't burn anywhere near that between 90k-110k miles but apparently it's not abnormal for healthy cars. If you're burning that or more, then I think you're best off getting a leakdown test and going from there.

clio

Bear in mind that your car is 17 years old. Even if it has been well maintained and with little use components will deteriorate over time. In some cases too little use can also accelerate wear.
Also these cars do eat some oil.
Check your PCV valve. A really easy item to cross off.
If your valve stem seals do need replacing then use the opportunity to also replace valve cover gasket/spark plugs + spark plug seals. These are not big ticket items.
Also make sure the individual working on your car has a good reputation with them.