'00 Odyssey Losing Oil, Very Dirty

I need some help on a perplexing issue with our 2000 Odyssey.

After many trouble-free miles, it has begun losing oil in dramatic fashion. We've added a 1/2 quart twice in the last 3 days of light driving alone.

Here's the mystery:

Absolutely no oil on garage floor. Not a drop. The coolant levels are perfect. The engine is not overheating or running warm. Engine acceleration and power are normal.

Besides losing oil, the only other possible symptom is that the oil on the dipstick is very dirty.

Any suggestions or ideas? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Reply to
bpm4736-honda
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Has the oil ever been changed? If so, how many miles ago?

Reply to
E Meyer

The times I've seen reports of sudden increases in oil consumption when it was finally resolved, it was a broken compression ring in one cylinder. I think it toook teardown to find that; it didn't show up on a compression test. The catalytic converter burned up the smoke, but oil additives are hard on the catalyst, too. A look at the spark plugs, looking for evidence of oil on one insulator, would be a good way to go.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Pardee

My uncle had a 98 ody bought it used... they replaced the engine at the dealership due to a porous block. But I doubt that would manifest itself as quickly as yours.

t

Michael Pardee wrote:

Reply to
loewent via CarKB.com

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Check your PCV valve also. It can suck the oil out of your engine and burn it invisibly. More likely what M Pardee said, though.

'Curly'

Reply to
motsco_

While I can't say for certain, I believe the bad cylinder on the $200 Civic is a broken ring and it surely does show on a compressions test. And that thing is smokin' bad 'nuff to kill mosquitoes especially when letting off the gas going downhill.

JT

Reply to
Grumpy AuContraire

Poor ventilation can certainly increase oil consumption. I remember a certain F*rd LTD that normally consumed a quart per day increased to emptying the crankcase in fifteen miles...

Oh... The good ol' days!

JT

Reply to
Grumpy AuContraire

depends which ring. oil control rings don't add much to compression, but they sure do let the oil in if they're dead. a top ring makes a big difference to compression and not so much to oil.

Reply to
jim beam

i agree.

Reply to
jim beam

My car has graduated to the next stage. Previously, it simply was a lot of blowby. So much so, the previous owner use a garden hose fitting to allow the excess to blow out below but there was not a lot of smoke coming out of the tail pipe. Now, it mostly just smokes badly but on occasion, the blowby will return during certain acceleration speeds in the lower gears.

At any rate, it will be fixed one way or the other in the next few weeks.

I'm torn between an in-car overhaul or just building up an engine and swapping it out. If I do the swap out, I'll also put in a five speed as the current box is only a four speed.

None of this would have been required if the previous owner did not "rebuild the engine" because it lost power... The problem simply was a plugged cat converter..

But then, it would never have sold for a measly $200...

JT

Reply to
Grumpy AuContraire

i'd /definitely/ go 5-speed. my civic '90 4-speed revved so high, i'd have to keep checking to see if i'd left it in 3rd.

hey, i got that '90 civic /free/ because it wouldn't start and the owner was sick of getting hosed by her local garage on repairs. all it needed was a set of new plugs.

Reply to
jim beam

snip

I'm inclined to agree plus the fact I don't really know what I'll find on a 160K + engine that has already been "tampered" with by the previous owner..

Yep, you gotta be in the right place at the right time and have some basic knowledge/insight plus females and old folks are "ripe" territory for abuse by repair shops.

JT

(Who is old but doesn't stand for much in the way of abuse...)

Reply to
Grumpy AuContraire

So, are you going to let your alternator oil go unchanged forever? You should really get the muffler bearings serviced at the same time.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Pardee

I sorta got suspicious when they told me the four way slug nuts were worn out...

JT

Reply to
Grumpy AuContraire

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