2003 Protege ES 2.0L 180K Miles: Burning Oil?

[zenbudda]

I've kept decent care of my Protege over years. I've kept up with the scheduled maintenance and replaced the oil regularly. Now my car seems to be burning oil. "I say" it's burning oil because I don't see it leaking anywhere and the oil light comes on at least once a month (sometimes more). There were some days when I would start the car in the morning, white smoke would come out of the muffler for about 5-10 seconds, then it would stop (it was not cold on these days). Now, I don't see smoke anymore, but it's still burning oil. Who knows maybe the sensor is bad? The car has never overheated, and even when the oil light comes on, the temp seems fine. I usually put a quart of high mileage oil in the car when the light comes on.

I drive 120miles a day for work (round trip) and want to see if I can keep this car for at least 1 more year (if not 2). I enjoy not having a car payment, and I'm not of the opinion that I should just ditch this car to buy a new one just because it's old. So, some of the local mechanics said it could be a few things: head gasket, o-rings, valve gasket. From what I can tell, valve gasket leak seems to be the most likely (i've never used fuel treatments).

So, having said all of this, what do you guys/gals think the problem might be? Is it time to replace the engine? or is the problem on the surface enough to fix without removing the engine? Anyone in the Houston area up for a job?

 

[Areverb]

I thought mine was burning oil after I bought it, but it was the oil drain plug gasket that was done. I changed the oil and gasket last november-ish, no problems yet, *crosses fingers
It looked like nobody ever replaced the gasket(I believe its supposed to be changed every oil change, ha), I think it was plastic or hard rubber, can't remember except that it literally fell apart when I touched it. I got an aluminum gasket from auto parts to replace it, but I think you can use plastic..
Hope it helps, and welcome to the forums!

 

[talltim]

My 2001 ES has about 180k miles and same issue. Motor seems to have good vacuum and compression but the car uses oil. I dont see any smoke either when starting the car(valves) or at full throttle (rings). I have and oil separator to catch what the PCV sucks up but still there is some oil I cant account for. I dont see any leaks but I will see about changing the gasket on the oil plug. It seems to use oil faster when Im doing short trips. My commute is over 90 miles; I intend to milk every mile from this car. Gas mileage is about 31 mainly highway. From the symptom I am leading toward doing a valve job when I change the timing belt

 

[lolwut]

Look at your spark plugs. If the car has been burning oil for a significant amount of time, youll probably be able to tell by looking at them. When the lights comes on while youre driving, what do you do? Oil pressure is caused by the oil being forced through the small holes and areas in the engine, not the oil pump itself. Think of it as putting your thumb partially over the end of the hose. The pressure isnt from the hose, its from your thumb forcing it through a small area. Just thought Id explain that in case it helps narrow your list of possible things causing the problem. Dont condemn anything before you have evidence, and start small. Good luck.

 

[zenbudda]

Thanks everyone for the replies!

1. spark plugs. i need a tune up soon and spark plugs/wiring is on that list. lolwut, what will the spark plugs look like if the car is burning oil?
2. oil pressure. it sounds like what your saying is that i might need to also look into resolving an oil pressure problem as well. i thought the "oil light" indicated "low oil", not low pressure. if it's low pressure, then would an engine flush resolve the "oil pressure" problem?
3. valve job. i just recently started noticing some knocking too (very feint) in the mornings. what's involved in a valve job? will it require the engine to come out? the reason I'm asking is not so I can do it myself (I cannot). it's more for budget preparation.
4. oil drain plug gasket. if this thing was damaged/rotted-out, wouldn't oil be leaking when it's parked? i will ask the shop i go to to look into it next time.

 

[lolwut]

Im not 100% sure. Just pull them out and take pictures to post so others who do know could tell you. Make sure you put them back in correct order.

Low oil pressure is caused by low oil (not enough to be forced through the holes of the engine. Therefor not enough to keep the engine lubricated), and the meaning of the light is a common misconception. It comes on when oil pressure drops to dangerous levels. When the oil light would come on while you were driving, what would you do?

 

[Areverb]

Yes, you should see the oil leak on concrete, however I usually park on grass, so I never noticed. IMO, for such a cheap part it's best to change it next oil change(or sooner if you don't mind draining the oil and putting it back in).

 

[concept]

The first thing you should do when the oil light illuminates is check your oil level (with engine off and after a few minutes to allow the oil to drain back into the pan). Don't immediately add a quart. If the light is malfunctioning or the oil pump is weak, your oil level will be fine and you'd be overfilling your engine.

If your engine is indeed burning oil, you'd see blue smoke coming out the exhaust. If the valve seals are bad, the smoke will be visible after your car had been idling (at a stop light, for example) and immediately after you step on the gas pedal. Have someone follow you to verify.

 

[zenbudda]

Thanks for the info. Local mechanic is suggesting $5000 (parts/labor) to replace the engine (with an additional $500 variance on minor parts/labor). He also said that I could technically just keep driving the car as long as it drives fine, as long as I put oil back in to get the light to go off. I thought it was odd that mechanic shops do not have a way to determine how much oil comes out of the engine when they replace the oil.

I know white smoke comes out when I start it in the morning. but I'm not sure about when I'm driving or taking off. I will have to ask my wife about that.

 

[lolwut]

Lets not condemn the engine yet. Like Concept said, have your wife drive behind you to see if any smoke comes out, and as I stated earlier, check your spark plugs, and post pictures so we can give you more help. They can give you a lot of information as to whats going on in the cylinders. It seems like youre jumping to a 5 thousand dollar conclusion without any real justification or evidence.

Edit: Start checking your oil every time before you start the car. IF there is something going on with burning or leaking oil, you want to stay on top of it until you find out whats causing it.

 

[talltim]

Sound like the valve seals are bad in any case. You can have the head redone if you want. If money is shorty and it is just transportation use a 10-30 or 10-40 weight oil and check the level every weekend.

 

[zenbudda]

Thanks again for the input. I will definitely take these things into consideration when making my final decision. It was a little cold this morning so it was difficult to tell how much of the smoke was condensation from the weather or oil. I might try to get a quote on replacing the valve seals (although I hear that's not an easy job).