Vtec oil burning - Honda Prelude Forum

Buk Hoo Kee · 01-14-2009, 07:30 PM

I took a few long trips this past holidays and had to buy oil constantly. I already knew my H22A1 burns oil at high rpm's, mostly once vtec kicks in at 5k for me so I try to keep it below that on long trips. I was hovering around 4k rpms which is about 70mph and after a full tank of gas and about 300 miles later, I check my oil levels and they are almost empty. The engine runs smooth and I never have problems or issues of overheating but I'm wondering if this oil consumption is normal cause synthetic oil is pricey. Would changing the piston rings solve this? I already had the head gasket replaced to try to eliminate this problem but still the same. There doesn't appear to be any oil leaks so I am assuming it's all from oil burning. Anyone else have an oil thirsty engine like mine? I hope to get this issue resolved before the turbo comes in.

G_Loc · 01-14-2009, 08:02 PM

Are you seeing blue smoke out of your exhaust? How many miles on the engine?

Buk Hoo Kee · 01-14-2009, 08:14 PM

I used to have blue smoke coming out the exhaust once I hit vtec, my buddy behind me told me. That's when I had the gaskets replaced. Also a while back someone told me black smoke out of the exhaust when I was gearing down. It has 300847 kms all original. How long before I need a swap? Would installing a turbo on a high mileage engine like this still be reliable even with a good tune. I should get a compression test done.

minilogoguy18 · 01-14-2009, 11:23 PM

my opinion, theres no such thing as a reliable turbo car, forced induction is always gonna wear down a motor, even one fully built for it. i would definitely stay away from it if your engine is already high mileage, especially since your narrow alluminum rods cannot handle air being forced against the pistons in the cylinders. the main thing to replace when oil is being burnt is the rings in the cylinders, thats where it leaks. all engines by nature though are gonna burn some oil mainly because you pull blow by sludge through the intake and burn lil bits and while revving to the point of vtec your gonna burn more. some people put breather filters to stop the blow by but that can take some power away, so catch tank is the way to go, they arent expensive.

SteveO000000001 · 01-21-2009, 02:10 PM

Do a compression/leak down test and this will answer your questions

Buk Hoo Kee · 01-31-2009, 08:22 PM

Okay so I was changing the spark plugs last weekend and noticed oil in the plug cylinders which I know is not good. I didn't notice this last time I changed the plugs cause the engine was cold from the night before during the time I worked on it. This time however, I let the engine cool after driving and then changed the plugs. Black soot comes out my tail pipe also. I decided to change the valve cover gaskets which includes those spark plug cylinder gaskets. Sure enough when I removed the valve cover, those gaskets looked melted and flattened. I replaced all the gaskets and topped up the fluids so we'll see if the oil levels remain constant but I think I may have solved the problem with this simple maintenance. I also have an oil catch can coming soon.

Also, my friend and I were debating about the oil dip stick and what the two holes in it represent in order to read the oil levels accurately. I was told that the top hole means the oil is full and where it should be after an oil change. The bottom hole closest to the tip is the lower end of the oil gauge meaning that the oil is low and should not go below that point so you should add more oil. I was also told that the top hole represents the oil level when the engine is hot and that's where the oil level should be when the engine is warmed up. The lower hole is for when the engine is cold and when checked during cold, that's where the oil level should be. Can someone verify any of this, thanks.

konartis · 02-02-2009, 01:44 AM

you should really read the manual. It explains the what the dots mean. If its below the bottom hole fill her up with a quart of oil