MOEBUCKETS2K

Hey guys,

New owner of a 2003 AP1 here. Purchased at 106k and now the car is at about 108k on the odometer. When I first bought the car, I took it over to a certified honda mechanic/fellow S2K owner in the SoCal area to give me a compression, leakdown test, and valve adjustment. My car had great compression numbers across the board from 225-233 psi and only a 4-5% cylinder leakage across the board as well. However, I have noticed that my car is burning quite a bit of oil. When I first got the car it had Mobil 1 and a non oem filter. It burned a bunch ( a rate of 1.5 quarts in 600 miles) I have since switched over to Motul 5W-30 full synthetic with the coveted OEM filter and have even upgraded to an AP2 valve cover. It has improved a bit, but I am STILL burning about a quart in about 800 miles.

The weird thing is that in the first 450 miles or so after the oil change, it only burned one 'x' on the dipstick (about 1/5th of a quart), however in the last 350 miles, it has burned all the way down to the 'L' mark on the dipstick.. What could be causing it to use that much oil so quickly? I drive the car normally for the most part maybe hitting vtec 3-5 times a week.

Could it be the volatility of the Motul 5w-30? Is it not much of a good oil? A buddy of mine has a shop and stocks quite a bit of Motul 5w-40 so I was thinking of trying the thicker oil next. If that doesn't help, I am going to try Amsoil 10W-30 as I have heard great things about it with our motors. I'd like to keep trying oils before I do valve stem seals. Most threads point to that or piston ring issues, but with good test results I am not so sure if my piston rings are bad.. but i am no mechanic or scientist.

What should I do? Thanks everyone!

B serious

It could be oil control rings. I think that using any decent synthetic oil over time will free them up a bit.

Or just get the valve stem seals over with.

You're going to get a whole bunch of motor oil answers. But...its just oil. Try different brands until you find one that burns off slower. I've been using Castrol 0W40 for a while. Seems good. Tastes ok. Idk probs could use salt.

windhund116

Yeah, sounds like oil rings bypass. Has anyone had luck with temporary oil additives to help free-up stuck oil rings, in these engines? I remember guys used to drain a quart of oil out of the engine and replace it with a quart of Dexron ATF. Then, run the stuff in the car for like 250 miles. Then, do a complete oil/oil filter change and replace with a slightly higher viscosity oil, like 10W-40. The detergent in the Dexron sometimes would free-up stuck oil rings.

Might be worth a try.

Slowcrash_101

No point in using amsoil that stuff is expensive and if you're burning a quart every 800 miles that's $15 extra you have to add every 3 fuel tanks. For that you can get 5 quarts of synthetic blend.

Run through a 5qt jug then just do an oil change. Aka 4,000 miles.

If you have a good healthy engine, that's a prime candidate for Amsoil. If you are burning oil you're getting more blowby and likely cannot can do long oil change intervals.

starchland

Similar experience. Likely worn oil control rings and stem seals. Just keep an eye on the oil level and she will run.

Jah2000

M1 burns oil.
Ap1 burn oil as its' inherent sleeve design/faults and cannot be fixed with parts (unless you get an Ap2 block).

Castrol Edge helped my Ap1 significantly. I only burn 1qt about every 2k miles now.

Slowcrash_101

Castrol and the TCT get along for some reason.

MOEBUCKETS2K

I was hoping Amsoil might not be as volatile and burn more slowly than Motul or the common synthetics you can find at Autozone or Walmart. Is there a general consensus as to which might be best in this case? I know a few of you have already pointed out castrol.

Slowcrash_101

From my experience Castrol was the lowest oil consumption on my 191k mile motor. Everything else burned a quart in 600 miles, Castrol edge 10w-30 would last 900 miles per quart. The replacement engine is on Quakerstate 5w30 full synthetic. Burns about a quart in 5200 miles. Or a hash mark on the dipstick every other tank of gas.

zeroptzero

If you can get your consumption to hover around 1 quart per 1000 miles consider that normal and just live with it. There are products to help improve seal performance, lower consumption, and keep oil rings free moving. Low cost and worth the experiment, if they don't work you aren't out much dinero.

Make sure your pcv system and valve are working as designed. Run an oil like Castrol like Slowcrash noted, consider a 5w-40 if you like. Liqui-Moly Motor Oil Saver helps with seals and rings, Auto-RX helps in the same way, Riselone makes a product as well. I like to run an upper cylinder lubricant like Lucas in the fuel , which lubes the intake valves as they extend into the intake ports. Small things that can help to get consumption down to a more reasonable level, not cure-alls.