I am a new user here and I have a question concerning the loss of enging oil in my 98 neon. It has 160,000 miles on it and is burning oil. It has gotten so bad that we have to fill it up with oil weekly. It smokes real bad when we first start it for about 5 minuetes then it clears up, and the only time it starts to smoke again is if there is a load on the engine, such as going up a steep hill, we also have to change the spark plugs every 3 months. Anyway, my question is what do you guys think the problem is, I am clueless about the neon engines so any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

hmm...it could possibly be a blown head gasket, as I've heard that a head gasket problem can cause a multitude of things to happen, but I wouldn't go looking into that without the input of the more experienced members here. Just a thought...

 

could be piston rings, head gasket, or a mutitude of things including spark plug tube seals.

 

Well if uve got a puddle under your car could be an engine oil seal ring. If uve got a blown head gasket should expel a white color from the exhaust and if you put your hand around the tailpipe and smell it should smell a little like antifreeze also should have white spotting on spark plugs...it should run ruff ....and if u check the oil it should be grimy sludge like with antifreeze in it. Also look around your valve cover for some antifreeze Also if you look into your coolant resevoire while the car is running it should be bubbling over heating would be a sign as well.

 

hmm...then I'd say go with nitroneon and highrevr on this one...if it's burning oil, piston rings, spark plug tube seals, etc sound a little more reasonable than a head gasket, but I think I read in SCC that a blown HG doesn't always have antifreeze in the engine...I think one of theirs just burned oil. Can you give any more information, lurchy? Do your spark plugs have any oil on them?

 

yes, all four of the plugs have oil on them, I have to change them about every 3 months because the engine misfires from so much oil being on them. Also, there is no water in the oil and the smoke coming out the exhaust is blue. It runs great though, just like it did when it was new until those plugs need changing. Hope this extra information helps. Thanks.

 

im gonna guess piston rings.

 

hmm...slow's been right before, but all 4 rings? or does it only take one?

 

obviously oil is getting into the cylinders. all four of them. while a bad hg *could* be the problem... my first thought is rings. sure can have em bad on all 4 cyls.. heck, a friend of mine had all 6 go bad on him in a 2.8 V6 once.

im not sure about it being the spark plug tubes or not. it *could* be.. but that sure seems like a lotta oil getting into the cylinders if its smoking that bad on startup and under load...

pretty much no matter what, you have to start by lookin at the head. first by removing the valve cover and checking out the plug tube seals and tubes themselves (the tubes have been known to leak at the base of the tube where it meets the head) .. and then by doing a compression check and leakdown test to test the compression.

bad valve guide seals can also cause this too.. but from what ive personally gone through, it shouldnt be *that* much smoke. mine only puffed a little when i would leave from a stop... and i had NO valve guide seals in the head at all! :shock:

 

Well could very well be blowby but you would never know until you get the piston outta the cylinder. They will be broken or scorched and or pitted.