2001 Prelude uses a lot of oil

Hello all, I've done a google search and have read similar stories.
Can someone point me in a definative direction though? My 2001
prelude seems to consume large quantities of oil. About 2 quarts a
month. (1000 miles?) I do drive the crap out of it, but should it be
drinking this much oil? It isn't 'burning' it per se (no smoke) and I
don't have any leaks. What gives? I've read about people talking
about the 'short block' being replaced... What is this? Any help
would be appreciated.

-Rob

 

Not only you drove the crap out of your Prelude, also you kicked crap out of
the piston rings. For the described set up worn piston rings are the only
cause for the oil "vaporization" ;-) If someone would ever mention valve
seals as your problem, disregard it. Ask someone to tailgate you. Once you
shift to the higher gear (at the very first 2-3 seconds) or accelerate VERY
briskly there must be a grayish-blueish smoke coming out off the muffler.
Rings for sure. You can also check compression in the cylinders to pinpoint
which piston is bad. If compression goes beyond the specs add like
tablespoon of oil in the cylinder, rotate crank twice, then measure
compression. If it increased - rings are shut. If it is kinda the same -
valves dont seal, but it is a different story then.
More about compression test:
http://www.c-speedracing.com/howto/comptest/comptest.php

yeah, it requires to mess with your short block (e.g. engine block) to
replace the rings. Cylinder head has to go off, exhaust, intake manifolds,
AC, PS. LOTS of disassembly. It is kinda 60-70% of the major engine overhaul
that needs to be done in your case.

Advise: sell it.

One set of rings is about $30-50. You need 4 sets. Once you take out the
pistons and get a chance to look at the cylinder walls you might discover
scoring (sand, dirt, etc got into the engine). Then you would have to get
oversized pistons (4*$40-60), rebore the cylinders ($200-300 at NAPA). Once
you are there you might want to replace timing belt, tensioner pulley, water
pump and ALL THAT.

Sorry for the bad news. Lets see what the other guys have to say.

 

You could have a stuck PCV valve.

 

My 01 uses a quart about every 3,500k miles or so. I understand this is
pretty typical. USed more when new but has levelled out at current mileage
31k. I have had some Prelude drivers tell me they run their engines to
8,000 rpm or so -- have you done the same. If so, I can understand the
problem. A rebuild (assuming you are out of warranty) will be pretty
expensive.

 

I do drive a lot in the vtec range, sometimes I guess I do top out in
the RPMs, but 2 quarts a month? Still seems excessive. I haven't
seen any blue smoke out the tail pipe, but then again, my window are
tinted and I can hardly see anything behind be. The car is still
under warranty for about another 6000 miles. I guess maybe I should
bring it in to at least start documenting it and have them check it
out. Anybody else have anything to say so that I can sound half-way
knowledgable when I bring it into the dealer and they try and tell me
that it it totally normal to add a quart of oil every two gas
fill-ups??? Thanks,

-Rob

 

Lucky: Get it into the dealer fast to document the problem. I would guess
that you did not use any oil when new -- or quite a bit less perhaps along
my experience.

I bought an additional warranty for mine -- to 75k miles in case.

 

You indicate that consumption is a quart every 500-600 miles. This is
excessive by any definition. On a car this new, it is outrageous.
High rpms will increase oil a little but as long as you don't
regularly take it past redline or otherwise abuse it, the oil
consumption shouldn't be more than a quart every 2000 miles at this
stage in the car's life (IMO). Many people drive these cars hard and
few are serious oil burners. The engine should easily last three
clutches.

There isn't as much blue smoke as there used to be because the
catalyst is removing it (and being damaged in the process.) If you
are burning this much, I bet people behind you notice.

I understand that the maximum oil consumption allowable according to
Honda is 1qt/1000 miles. If you can show it exceeds that (they will
probably do a test) you should have no problem. Get your maintenance
documentation together and hustle over there. If your consumption is
a little less, it can't hurt to document that it was bad before the
warranty expired.

If they do a test, it will probably start with an oil change. Make
sure they aren't using heavier oil than what Honda recommends. (Try
to get them to use the lightest recommended weight.) If the first
test is borderline, insist they continue testing until it fails or the
warranty expires.

It also helps to have the right attitude. You want to work with them
to solve the problem. Be a polite nuisance if you don't get immediate
satisfaction. All the while you are documenting the problem and the
steps to correct it. You can always scream and threaten to sue them
later.

Good luck.

 

ask somebody else to tailgate you. It is kinda dumb if you are trying to see
your tail pipe sitting in front of the steering wheel.

rings, rings, rings...

 

I've got an 01 too. From what I've read at other boards, they say
that it is "normal" to use up a quart/litre between oil changes - or
even possibly more as in your case. I drive my car conservatively and
hardly hit Vtec - or for that matter I hardly go over 5000RPM and am
always around 3000 to 4500RPM. Between oil changes (say 5000KM), I
would estimate I have to add a litre of oil. Even at a litre per
5000KM, I would say it is on the excessive side of things compared
with other cars I've owned - the other cars barely used any oil -and I
do mean barely.

Some of the "reasons" that I've read about the oil usage in
Preludes(and I can't verify if any are facts):

1. Oil is sprayed to cool <some piece of equipment> and therefore, the
oil is *burned* up.

2. Use of Vtec increases oil consumption.

3. The fibre reinforced engine block is causing the oil to seap
through the rings.

4. Apparently some owners do see 0% usage - they have a diffent set
of rings on their cars (Honda switched manufacturers).

5. It's the PCV valve.

6. If you run synthetic, you'll notice it more. With conventional
oil, it is not as noticable (by the way, I am using conventional oil
in my 01)

7. It's a race engine - it's suppose to use that much oil.

8. The engine wasn't broken in properly (I drove it for the first
1500KM varying the RPMs and made it a point NOT to go into VTEC mode -
I believe I hit Vtec once or twice when I hit 5000KM on the engine...
I barely hit VTEC in my driving style.)

I have no idea... a co-worker of mine has a 97 prelude and his also
uses oil. Another co-worker has a 2001 Integra GSR which has VTEC and
he hardly uses any oil and this guy hits Vtec quite often. It's
normal for a car to use oil, but I would have to say that the Preludes
tends to be on the thirsty side. Most prelude owners just tend to
live with the fact they have to top up the oil every so often.

 

I noticed one of the replies suggested that using synthetic oil could
exacerbate the issue. I was using synthetic up until the last top ups
where I used regular. It was starting to get expensive topping up 2-4
quarts a month with sythetic. Maybe if I switch to regular oil the
problem will become less noticeable... Any case, I'm bringing it into
Honda.

-Rob

 

My parents had an oil consumtion problem with their Civic while it was still
under warranty.
They start with an oil change (of course they check for leaks first) and
then monitor your oils consumpion for 3 or 6 moths. So you have to go to
Honda regularly and they'll top it and write down how much it needed.
Your consumption has to be higher than 1liter/1500km (so about a quart/1000
miles).
Make sure that you see which oil they put in (right weight).
Of course they will not do anything about it unless you're still under the
warranty.

 

I am not in any way a specialist in the oils, however, I know that molecules
in the synthetic oils are smaller than in mineral. It means that where
mineral oil gets stuck, synthetic will leak.

 

----------------------
Rob,
I think the two best answers are: 1- Stuck PCV valve, 2- Bad break-in
period, and in that order.

'Curly'

----------------------

 

I don't believe that stuck PCV would cause such a disastrous oil
consumption.

 

Supposedly there are "sprayers" that cool the pistons on the downstroke.

The 2.2 Prelude is older technology -- believe it came out about 10 years
ago at 190 hp. That may be the difference between the GSR.

 

My GS-R came out ten years ago. I bought it used six years ago. Now
has 115K on it. I drive it pretty hard when I can. Change the oil
twice a year (5 - 6K on Mobil 1). On its third clutch - seem to last
about 50K before the springs get beaten out of their keeps. It burns
maybe a quart every 2K. Not unacceptable to me given the above facts.