97 Accord with 260K "uses" oil on long highway drives

I have noticed that my Accord has been using oil on long freeway
drives (400 miles +)
I seem to be low 1/2-1quart after a long freeway drive.
I may also be losing oil on normal driving (but its probably less).
I don't see any leaks when the car is parked. Not sure if its being
burned or whats happening to it.
Has anyone else experienced this on their Honda engine?
Do those oil treatments help? Which ones would you recommend

 

burning off.

this is common on higher mileage hondas. it was suggested to me recently
that high detergent oils can help remove carbon deposits on piston rings
and help them seal better. i can't say this is true because i haven't
done the research, but i have to say, that since i started using mobil 1 a
couple of years back, my oil consumption has decreased from 2 quarts per
5k miles down to <1/2. it's not an immediate effect, but you could give
it a try.

don't use oil additives - spend the extra money buying a quality oil in
the first place.

 

burning off.

this is common on higher mileage hondas. it was suggested to me recently
that high detergent oils can help remove carbon deposits on piston rings
and help them seal better. i can't say this is true because i haven't
done the research, but i have to say, that since i started using mobil 1 a
couple of years back, my oil consumption has decreased from 2 quarts per
5k miles down to <1/2. it's not an immediate effect, but you could give
it a try.

don't use oil additives - spend the extra money buying a quality oil in
the first place.

 

By all means, buy STP. But only because Andy Granatelli was one of
the great characters in motor racing. The product itself is snake
oil.

 

By all means, buy STP. But only because Andy Granatelli was one of
the great characters in motor racing. The product itself is snake
oil.

 

"Screw the car--I want to know what that lawn chair Andy's sitting in is
made of!"

 

"Screw the car--I want to know what that lawn chair Andy's sitting in is
made of!"

 

It's probably going into the combustion chamber. This usually happens
when you have:

1. Worn piston rings

2. Worn valve stem seals

If the cylinder walls/rings are worn then a High Mileage oil may help.
Synthetics like Mobil-1, and especially their High Mileage versions,
are said to burn off less because of the higher viscosity:

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Oils/Mobil_1_High_Mileage_10W-30.aspx

 

It's probably going into the combustion chamber. This usually happens
when you have:

1. Worn piston rings

2. Worn valve stem seals

If the cylinder walls/rings are worn then a High Mileage oil may help.
Synthetics like Mobil-1, and especially their High Mileage versions,
are said to burn off less because of the higher viscosity:

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Oils/Mobil_1_High_Mileage_10W-30.aspx

 

Angel hair???

 

Angel hair???

 

Angel hair???[/QUOTE]

Plainly you haven't been a long-time reader of Car and Driver.

 

Angel hair???[/QUOTE]

Plainly you haven't been a long-time reader of Car and Driver.

 

My thought is that it is gradually consuming oil (at that mileage it is no
mystery) and that the drop during freeway use is a combination of burning
oil and of evaporating water that has gradually accumulated in the oil in
city driving - unless the oil was recently changed. Not really much you can
do about it except to make sure you use only API certified oil; some that
are not API certified (like Amsoil) have excess ZDDP, which may not be a big
problem with low oil consumption but will quickly poison your catalytic
converter if you burn much oil. Same applies to STP - unless they have
changed formulation recently it could kill your catalytic converter. For
more on that see http://www.lnengineering.com/oil.html

Mike

 

My thought is that it is gradually consuming oil (at that mileage it is no
mystery) and that the drop during freeway use is a combination of burning
oil and of evaporating water that has gradually accumulated in the oil in
city driving - unless the oil was recently changed. Not really much you can
do about it except to make sure you use only API certified oil; some that
are not API certified (like Amsoil) have excess ZDDP, which may not be a big
problem with low oil consumption but will quickly poison your catalytic
converter if you burn much oil. Same applies to STP - unless they have
changed formulation recently it could kill your catalytic converter. For
more on that see http://www.lnengineering.com/oil.html

Mike

 

Check your spark plugs. Do they have crusty white deposits on them? Then
you're burning oil. If you're burning oil then you have worn rings.

You won't see smoke until usage is about 200mi/qt or so; the cat will burn
it off before it gets out.

 

Check your spark plugs. Do they have crusty white deposits on them? Then
you're burning oil. If you're burning oil then you have worn rings.

You won't see smoke until usage is about 200mi/qt or so; the cat will burn
it off before it gets out.