Civic EG

So i have a stock cx, and when i start the car i get a nice puff of white smoke out of the exhaust. im assuming im buring oil and have to add a little over half a quart when ever i fill up from empty. i was wondering if there is anything cheap/easy i can do to stop it from burning oil. i just need this engine to make it through the rest of college(2 1/2-3 years), then im getting a b18c5

angelicgundam90 wrote:So i have a stock cx, and when i start the car i get a nice puff of white smoke out of the exhaust. im assuming im buring oil and have to add a little over half a quart when ever i fill up from empty. i was wondering if there is anything cheap/easy i can do to stop it from burning oil. i just need this engine to make it through the rest of college(2 1/2-3 years), then im getting a b18c5

The situation only gets worse.. go to your local auto parts and see what they have for oil burning stop, which should calm it down just a little but not for 2.5-3 years.. maybe a few weeks..

more then likely the piston rings are just about ready to be replaced...

^^agreed. It is a downward spiral from here my friend. Just dont beat on it and you may be able to squeeze some extra time out. Def not 2-3 years though.

dang those where the answers i really didnt want to hear. are piston rings hard to replace on my own? could i do it in a weekend? im assuming i should go ahead and replace the head gasket while i have everything apart. that doesnt seem too bad from what i've seen.

well i did a little bit of research and found that i could be leaking from 3 different places. piston rings, upper plug seals, or lower plug seals. i couldnt find anything anywhere that said how to check if it is one of those. anyone have any ideas how to check those? thanks for the help so far guys.

RWMIII wrote:^^agreed. It is a downward spiral from here my friend. Just dont beat on it and you may be able to squeeze some extra time out. Def not 2-3 years though.

or your can beat it until it blows and gets a bigger badder motor???? Just a thought

Squirt a little oil in your spark plug hole and see if your compression test improves up to standard pressure. If it does, then it is your rings that need to be replaced.
Not a huge job, I have done it using an old steel band type oil filter wrench as a ring compressor.

If your compression does not improve with the oil squirt, then you have valve/valve guide or head gasket issues. Replacing the head and head gasket will fix that.

If you have access to all of the correct tools and have atleast novice mechanic experience it could be done in a weekend. I suggest having the block honed to ensure the new rings seat and seal well. How long that would take depends on the machine shop you use. Unless you would do it yourself.

angelicgundam90 wrote:well i did a little bit of research and found that i could be leaking from 3 different places. piston rings, upper plug seals, or lower plug seals. i couldnt find anything anywhere that said how to check if it is one of those. anyone have any ideas how to check those? thanks for the help so far guys.

If these are what I think they are then you'd know because you'd have a shit ton of oil in your spar plug holes, it'd be all over your spark plug wire contacts when you pull them out and there'd be a small puddle inside the hole. That's whats happening in my cx at least.

@wicked: i did a tune up a while ago and when i went to change the plugs and wires i had that issue but for some reason i forgot to look into that. so im leaning more towards that being the issue. i also put a piece of cardboard under my car and found that im leaking from my oil pan plug. i let my brother-in-law change the oil last time and i really hope he didnt strip the plug hole in my oil pan

it also might be the valve seals. easy fix if u got proper tools