Pesky oil loss

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2002 Protegé5
Ive been losing a quart of oil maybe every thousand miles. Ive re-sealed my oil pan which showed signs of leaking, replaced the valve cover gasket and put RTV sin the corners specified by the service manual, but it still loses oil. Where else should I be looking? My previous P5 had more miles on the engine with zero oil leak issues whatsoever.
 
Check your drain plug, I know it sounds stupid but I've tried every plug and washer combo out there and my oil plug still weeps a good amount of oil. It might be a combination of a leaky plug and seized rings like mine. Try a seafoam flush and that should help a bit
 
I recommend that you do or have done a compression check. When blowby becomes a problem is directly related to the maintenance history of the vehicle. When I sold our 2002 Protg, it had 13X,000 miles on it and it didn't burn any oil. I'm certain it can pass 250,000 miles without oil-burning issues if the new owner treats it the way I did.
 
+2 on the Seafoam.


After joining this site, I heard about Seafoam and seizing oil rings.

After two flushes of Seafoam I started putting 1/2 a can In With The New Oil and leaving it in until the next oil change. And I change the oil every 3,000 miles. (cheapest oil I can find at Walmart)

You may very well be able to reverse the situation because it sounds like the oil passages in your pistons still have some flow through them so you may be able to dissolve and wash out the gunk.

Some guys were using expensive synthetic oil and leaving it in for 10,000 miles and they ended up burning oil.

I don't burn (or leak) a drop of oil. I'm at 150,000 miles.
 
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This guy[emoji121][emoji121] the seafoam really does help, I've used it in many different vehicles from old rusty junkers to a 2017 corolla. I've noticed it isn't a permanent fix, but if you do a 1/4 can every oil change like pcb said you shouldn't have the super Smokey start up and your oil levels should even off unless you actually do have a leak.
 
So I have the Smokey start up for sure, but there IS also a mess of oil in the engine bay lmao. Dunno where the PO got the JDM engine, but I*m starting to get tempted to yank it out
 
So I have the Smokey start up for sure, but there IS also a mess of oil in the engine bay lmao. Dunno where the PO got the JDM engine, but Im starting to get tempted to yank it out
 
So I tried Liqui-Moly 2037 Engine flush, as well as a couple capfuls of ATF down the spark plug holes (warm engine day after flush). Holy s*** the car starts more easily, sounds quieter, runs smoother, and most importantly, doesn*t smoke much at all, whatever is left is probably just leftover oil in the exhaust.
 
Huh ATF down the plug holes, I've never heard of that. Do you have some insight behind this? I'm just curious and thinking of trying it, thanks.
 
Huh ATF down the plug holes, I've never heard of that. Do you have some insight behind this? I'm just curious and thinking of trying it, thanks.

One of my buddies is a pro mechanic, and recommended I do it to clean out carbon deposits and get anything in the compression rings that the engine flush may not have. Also good to attack the rings from both top and bottom in this scenario I suppose. Either way, it mad an improvement in power according to my ass dyno.
 
My oil pan has been leaking for about a month now and Im not sure if Im trashing the car yet or repairing. For some reason, despite the pan draining, the dipstick still shows oil level just above the low level on the stick...so theres enough oil to keep the engine running. Does the dipstick get its level from another area other than the oil pan? I just assumed the dipstick got its level of oil from the pan, but maybe theres another reservoir.

Can I just top up the engine and keep an eye on it for the next 2 weeks while I think about what to do, or am I in danger of starving the engine?
 
My oil pan has been leaking for about a month now and I*m not sure if I*m trashing the car yet or repairing. For some reason, despite the pan draining, the dipstick still shows oil level just above the low level on the stick...so there*s enough oil to keep the engine running. Does the dipstick get its level from another area other than the oil pan? I just assumed the dipstick got its level of oil from the pan, but maybe there*s another reservoir.

Can I just top up the engine and keep an eye on it for the next 2 weeks while I think about what to do, or am I in danger of starving the engine?

As long as you keep oil in the motor, it will be fine. Just check it frequently, depending on how fast you're losing it.

When motors run OUT of oil is when bad things happen. It doesn't matter if they're burning or leaking, as long as they have oil no real damage will occur.


Just to note though, if it is burning/smoking, the longer you let it go the more likely you are to foul exhaust valves, cats, etc out to where they're no longer repairable. Not all of the oil gets burned, much goes into the exhuast where it just sorta accumulates.
 
My oil pan has been leaking for about a month now and I*m not sure if I*m trashing the car yet or repairing. For some reason, despite the pan draining, the dipstick still shows oil level just above the low level on the stick...so there*s enough oil to keep the engine running. Does the dipstick get its level from another area other than the oil pan? I just assumed the dipstick got its level of oil from the pan, but maybe there*s another reservoir.

oil dipstick goes directly into the oil pan for measurements. you will see it when you take the oil pan off.
 
In other news, as for my own oil burn issue, seems like the Fuel injectors were the culprit. Engine flush DID make the car stop smoking at startup, but the burn persisted a long time after. Turns out my injectors were sticking open, and the excess fuel would thin out the oil, making it easy for oil to get by the rings.
 
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