98 Accound burning oil

That sort of problem will coat the underside with oil. Automatic rust
proofing

I recently had a kink in a crankcase vent hose blow out a valve cover
gasket and I ended up with oil droplets sprayed on the back bumper. Had
to fix that in a hurry, environmental mess in addition to the car.

 

Surprising the paint is bad on something that "new", and amusing to me
anyway that '98 still sounds so new. As far as paint goes, you get what
you pay for, don't be tempted by those $300 paint jobs you see
advertised, I've seen the result of them and it'd look better left alone.

 

Sounds new to me too. I drive them till the wheels fall off. I'm driving a
1987 Ford van. My son is driving our 1989 Accord and my wife is driving our
1992 Seville. Just can't stand to make payments, I guess.

 

Yeah payments are something I've never had and never want. It's not that
I can't afford them, it's just a matter of why? There's so many more
useful things to spend disposable income on.

 

First words back from mechanic.

1. Looks like he hit something/sometime underneath and oil pan has big
dent in it and it is leaking oil from that. (I didn't see that when it
was parked in my driveway, but he could be right.)

2. Rear passenger wheel bearing needs replacing.

3. When all of this poor idle/stalling and check engine light happened
he was low on oil, and it stayed on after we refilled it.

4. Mechanic would like to do a tune-up, replace wires, plugs
...what/anything else? The code says fuel problem. We talked about the
PVC and the possibility that the throttle body could be filthy with
oil and he said it was quite greasy and he would clean that up and see
what happens.

5. Also needs front brakes.

6. Found a laid off body shop guy that will paint it for $1K is that
about right?

I'll report out as the saga goes down. All-in-all it looks like I'll
get this thing pimped out for under $2K.

Question, I notice that the aluminum wheels on this car are filthy red
color (I assume from brake dust) allthe way around? Is that common, I
haven' tried cleaning them up.. not sure they will clean up. I've seen
wheels where there is a leak in a brake line and how they get the
wheels filthy, this is almost like that. Ideas?

Thanks for all the great info so far! Usenet, the gold mine the masses
don't know about!

 

$600 for new OEM. Less for aftermarket, but that would last much shorter.

VERY VERY BAD!!!!!

Have your grease monkey check out the /actual/ oil pressure with a proper
gauge plumbed into the oil pressure port. If the pressure is truly low,
sell the car or replace the engine (~$2,500).

That covers about a dozen specific issues. You need to give the ACTUAL
ALPHANUMERIC DTC (ERROR CODE) (and not whatever text description the
monkey's reader gave him). You're looking for something like P017x, where
the X is a number.

"Possibility"? It takes all of a minute to pull the pipe off and see. Is
the gas pedal a bit sticky in the morning? Oil in the throttle body is
neglect and/or tons of blowby.

Plugged PCV would have no effect except to pump oil into the throttle body
thru the breather pipe. Pressure builds up in the crankcase ONLY after the
situation goes critical and the breather pipe gets plugged as well. And at
that point your engine is already on its deathbed.

What? Pads? Calipers? Lines? Fluid? What? Lotsa parts down there.

Sure. With bad prep and peeling paint in two years. Good luck.

Not likely.

Yep. That's rust from cheapo "long life" aftermarket brake pads with lots
of steel wool in them. Might come off, but probably not all the way. Rust
stains very badly.

 

That worries me, how low on oil did it get? I had someone mention once
that the "low oil" light had been on for a few days, not realizing that
the light was not low oil, but low (or no!) oil pressure. Needless to
say that was the end of that motor. Doesn't take long with low or no oil
pressure for some serious damage to be done, and that can easily lead to
poor running. I would do a leakdown test to assess the condition of the
cylinders and valves prior to dumping any real money into it. If it does
turn out the motor is shot, a junkyard motor is a viable option, the car
is old enough and common enough for there to be plenty of them out there.

 

$600 for a new oil pan? or rear wheel bearing, or combination of both?

He's a certified Ford mechanic with excellent skills around most cars,
just isn't geared up yet for all cars. He probably read the OBD-II DTC
codes, but didn't have the chart that's in the PDF.

The car was down a bit more than 2 quarts, although when I added that
2 qts it was past half way up between the hash marks on the dip stick.
The oil pressure light never came on when he was driving, although
when he stalled, the Check Engine light came on. Will ask to check oil
pressure.

Will get the code, I went to the FAQ and pulled the PDF for all the
codes.

I think he meant just pads, he didn't mention calipers.

So I should be thinking double that for the paint? I'll talk to him
more about that. Also get another or maybe 2 quotes from decent body
shops.

Well, itwas a preliminary report.

Didn't know that about aftermarket pads..

 

Last time I had a car painted was about 7 years ago. Quality base coat +
clear coat, decent prep, some minor bodywork, it was about $2K at the
time and that was having it done in Canada when the exchange rate was
good. Cost depends heavily on how much prep is required as well as the
type of paint you use.

 

The low oil light never came on, but I added 2 quarts to get it up to
the hash marks on the stick. I checked to make sure light came on when
I turned on the key, and it does, but I was worried that perhaps the
actual sensor didn't work, even if the lamp worked.

 

Have a lab analyze the oil. For 20+ bucks you can KNOW if the engine
suffered unusual wear and tear. Be sure to include a description of the
situation along with the oil sample.

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/index.html

 

That's just the rear bearing (if OEM).

You originally said the oil light stayed on even after refilling, which
is different from this later statement. I'm now confused.

At LEAST a couple of grand for a GOOD paint job with PROPER prep.

And it will help tremendously if you pull off as much
trim/molding/bumpers/lights/etc yourself as you can before you bring the
car in. You want a first-class job? Pay for it, and help them help you.

Sorry, but aftermarket usually really isn't very good. There's a good
reason why it's cheaper than OEM Honda.

 

I have a 97 CRV 119K. 4 banger. Doesn't leak or burn any oil or
other fluids, runs great, averaging 23mpg. All I ever do is regular
maintenance, my dad originally did all oil changes and everything, I
just let the dealer do it (Honda of course) I love Honda. I had a 92
Dodge Caravan and it burned and spit oil and leaked all over. This
is why I buy Honda not GM, or any domestic vehicle for that matter.
And I'll tell people that to that get maid that I drive Honda!

 

I have a '95 Civic EX that doesn't burn oil, with just under 150k on
it. The previous owner had to have the transmission replaced (and
happily, did the clutch and CV boots as well) and it has minor glitches,
but it's still remarkably reliable.

Um, please don't...?

 

NO, the OIL light never came on. The check engine light came on and
the car started to stall when coming to stops, idling at about 750rpm.
The oil was down more than two quarts but the oil light never came
on.. (although when you turn the key to ACC it does light, so as I
said, maybe the sensor for oil doesn't work?)

The mechanic checked the code and it was a 1259. He hears something
knocking in the lower end. He checked his Alldata manuals and it all
points to not good things. He's suggesting I consider dumping the car.

It's got 130K miles. Totally failed paint, needs brakes and a rear
wheel bearing. I did do a timing belt and water pump at 100K.

I'm thinking it might be time to bite the bullett on this one.

 

I bet the sensor is fine. The car will run quite low on oil
and still not turn on the low oil light. Anecdote: A
mechanic installed my valve cover gasket incorrectly in
2002, and oil leaked everywhere for the next few weeks. When
I finally noticed it and checked the oil level, I do not
think I could see any oil on the dipstick. I never got a low
oil pressure light. I cleaned it all up; correctly installed
a new gasket; added the right amount of oil. Car drives
great today.

Plenty of reports at www.honda-tech.com say this is a direct
result of the low oil level. I suspect you are working with
a mechanic who simply is not hip on Hondas.

That new oil pan is going to cost you another $200 or so, I
figure.

I think you should find an import mechanic and get a second
opinion on the wheel bearing, alleged knocking, and code
1259.

OTOH, all this diagnosis with a leaking oil pan is risky.

 

Yeah, you're absolutely right. I misread the original post.

Isn't 750 correct for warm idle in Drive?

The oil light should come on when the key is turned to ON (II), not ACC
(I). If it comes on at "II", then the oil pressure sensor is working
correctly. The light will come on during engine operation when oil
pressure drops below (IIRC) 6 psi.

VTEC system malfunction. I have no experience with VTEC, but I'm told
that neglected oil changes play havoc with the VTEC system.

Bad engine bearings, probably. That low oil may have done more damage
than you might think. Low oil level can cause momentary starvation,
which eventually leads to scored main bearings.

Possibly.