96 Saturn EATS oil

Probably slipping past the rings and/or valve guide seals. You'd be suprised how much she'll burn before she spews blue. Pull the plugs and see which one are oily.

Doc

Here is bulletin that is supposed to help. Mine uses a little oil, but I have been using Restore which keeps from adding between changes. MR

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Engine - Excessive Oil Consumption

BULLETIN NO.: 94-T-59A

ISSUE DATE: February, 2003

CATEGORY TYPE: Engine-16

CATEGORY: General

CORPORATION NO.: 03-06-01-001R

SUBJECT: Oil Consumption Concern (Diagnosis/Service Procedure)

Due to the addition of a new internal engine cleaning procedure, this bulletin has been revised and supersedes bulletin 94-T-59, which should be discarded.

MODELS AFFECTED:

All 1991 - 1997 Saturn S-Series Vehicles

CONDITION:

Some customers may comment that the engine is using 1 quart (0.951 liter) or more of oil every 3000 mi. (4827 km).

CAUSE:

Engine oil consumption greater than 1 quart (0.951 liter) in 3000 mi. (4827 km) may be caused by stuck/sticking oil control and/or compression rings. Engine deposits may build up on and around the oil control ring(s), compression ring(s) and piston ring land(s) causing the ring(s) to stick and become less effective.

CORRECTION:

Perform internal engine cleaning procedure or engine repair procedure depending on amount of oil consumption.

IF engine uses 1 quart (0.951 liter) of oil in:

1500 mi. - 3000 mi. (2414 km - 4827 km), perform Procedure-1: Internal Engine Cleaning

1499 mi. (2414 km) or less, perform Procedure-2: Engine Repair

While Saturn still considers oil consumption of 1 quart (0.951 liter) in

2000 mi. (3218 km) to be an acceptable level, the engine cleaning procedure contained in this bulletin may improve oil consumption performance to an even more acceptable level.

============================================================================ ===========

Bottom line:

If your engine consumes less than one quart every 1,500 miles, you should buy a bottle of GM Piston and Ring Cleaner (part nr 12378549) and put

3 ounces of it into each of the four cylinders. Make sure that the piston is half way up on all four cylinders (engine at 90 degrees before or after top dead center).

Then, blow it out the plug holes by cranking the engine with rags over it. Do an oil change and replace the oil with Mobil 1 (yup, the TSB says to use Mobil 1) for one 3,000 mile oil change.

It looks like it's official - the oil consumption is due to ring sticking.

"

Almost forgot; on the Saturn newsgroup, some have reported that Marvel Mystery Oil has been used to soak the pistons instead of the GM cleaner and works good for freeing up the stuck rings. MR