Losing Oil, possibly burning it?

[wannabe]

Hey everyone, I think I may have posted some of this problem before, but here it is again.

This summer/fall I started noticing my oil light coming on when making hard left turns. I checked the oil and noticed it was low, so I did an oil change and did some checking around. I searched on here and didnt really find any information. But I did notice a couple things at the time that i fixed. The oil cap was slightly loose and it looked like some oil had leaked out from there, and the washer on the oil plug was missing. So I made sure i put in exactly 3.7 qts of oil, tightened the cap down real good and replaced the washer. Since then about every 2000 miles i notice the oil light coming on again. I dont see any oil spots on the garage floor, so I don't think its leaking. But I'm not really sure what else to check. I have 75,000 miles so I am well out of warranty so I would like to be able to at least diagnose the problem myself, and then take it in if need be.

any suggestions?

 

[DiscreetSpeed]

Oil pump starting to fail maybe....do you smell any oil burning?
Any noises? strange new ones that youve never heard i mean.

 

[justanotheradikt]

im getting the same thing...when i was working on my exhaust i noticed right next to the oil pan (on the other side of the exhaust pipe) where two things meet (trans i think but not sure...didnt really look at it that hard) i had a small area that looked like some oil on it...wasnt bad though. there is something that sticks down about an inch or so that had a drop on it. all around that it looked like oil was there but burnt up. ive never seen oil in my parking space either....i think it slowly leaks out there and burns itself off b/c that area is really hot.
are you using syn oil?

 

[wannabe]

Oil pump starting to fail maybe....do you smell any oil burning?
Any noises? strange new ones that youve never heard i mean.

well i cant really answer the noises question because i have just recently fixed about a dozen exhaust noises. i havent really noticed a smell either, but that doesnt mean it doesnt exist.

what are symptoms of the oil pump failing that i could look for, like specific sounds/smells

 

[wannabe]

im getting the same thing...when i was working on my exhaust i noticed right next to the oil pan (on the other side of the exhaust pipe) where two things meet (trans i think but not sure...didnt really look at it that hard) i had a small area that looked like some oil on it...wasnt bad though. there is something that sticks down about an inch or so that had a drop on it. all around that it looked like oil was there but burnt up. ive never seen oil in my parking space either....i think it slowly leaks out there and burns itself off b/c that area is really hot.
are you using syn oil?

yes i am using synthetic. mobil 1.

i'll have to look there.

 

[justanotheradikt]

ill try to take a pic tonight when im at the g/f's house...im also using synthetic....some say that reg oil plugs up the very small holes and when you go to synthetic they appear....i think thats what my problem is. i never noticed losing oil until i went to synthetic. im debating if i want to go back to reg oil

 

[wannabe]

i've been running syn since like 10,000 miles...changed it about every 4k with no problems what so ever....

 

[JCell]

yeah, i burn oil every now and then, when i was in NC, after drivin the car for 15+ hours, enough smoke would come out that you couldn't see my car in front of you

 

[justanotheradikt]

i've been running syn since like 10,000 miles...changed it about every 4k with no problems what so ever....

ive also been running it for about 10k...changed every 3k though

 

[JCell]

i change my oil every 2k miles

Jcell for teh win!!!

 

[justanotheradikt]

no, thats just useless!!! oh and jcell i might need you to ship me that grill? or meet halfway...looks like i wont be here for as long as i thought

 

[wannabe]

yeah, i burn oil every now and then, when i was in NC, after drivin the car for 15+ hours, enough smoke would come out that you couldn't see my car in front of you

jeebus...i dont have that problem thank god...i dont see any smoke behind me ever, but then again the most i would drive is maybe 4 hours at one time...i'm gonna try to have someone follow me

 

[JCell]

it's mostly when i downshist that the smoke come out


BTW, i work at an oil change place, so i get it fo free!!!

 

[wannabe]

it's mostly when i downshist that the smoke come out


BTW, i work at an oil change place, so i get it fo free!!!

i think you should tear apart your engine so you can find a cause...so that i dont have to with mine

 

[1sty]

Well, my 2003 LX for some reason lost all most all of its oil, the light never came on, there are no visiable leaks and the engine blew apart a cylinder. I will be tearing the block apart shortly to try and find some point of failure.

 

[Protege52003]

I have been using mobil 1 since 5k and have almost 53K on my car now. i change every 5-8K'ish. i check my oil a couple times a month and before and after long trips and i get low once in a while (1/4-1/3 qt). it seems to happen as the oil gets on the older side......

as long as you keep the oil full and have no major leaks you should have no trouble. maybe you could switch back to dino-oil and see if that makes a diffenrence......

-R

 

[DiscreetSpeed]

well i cant really answer the noises question because i have just recently fixed about a dozen exhaust noises. i havent really noticed a smell either, but that doesnt mean it doesnt exist.

what are symptoms of the oil pump failing that i could look for, like specific sounds/smells

It would be obvious if were out or close to it...there would be clanking noises from lack of lubrication to the bottom end.

 

[Protege5 Driver]

my p5 burns the oil common defect of that engine

 

[wannabe]

if its a common defect how come i didnt notice it until i hit 70,000 miles??

 

[Protege52003]

if its a common defect how come i didnt notice it until i hit 70,000 miles??

it had to develop the problem? do you check.change your own oil?