2001 Accord valve stem seals

[ledslinger]

My wife's Accord has 210K miles on it, and it leaks and burns over a quart or two every oil change. It obviously still has good ring seal, as evidenced by terrific gas mileage on a recent trip. I drafted on the highway and got just under 43 mpg. The current oil change was with 5W 20 Ultra with a top up with a quart of Ultra, one of 0W 30 platinum, and a quart of conventional soon before it gets changed. It really seemed to go through synth 20W, I have used mainly 5W 30 synth for at least the last 5 years.

The rear main seal was replaced under warranty at before 30K and it was leaking again before 60K. The clutch is original, if I have to replace it I will do a rear main at the same time. But it is a minor leak so is OK for now.

How long do valve stem seals last on this gen of Accord 4cyl motors? Should I be thinking about replacing them? How big of a job is it? I'm a mechanic BTW.

 

[CharBaby]

Well, with over 200K miles, IDK!
Is it a 4cyl? Do the job yourself.
Do you know for sure it's the valve seals and it's really not blowing past the rings? That sounds like alot of makeup oil for just valve seals. Could be a combo of things(burning/leaking).

How many months/miles are your oil/filter changes(OCI's)???

I have had Accords and never used synthetic oil and put on many more miles than you have without burning/leaking badly. Had one Accord w/over 300K miles on regular dino oil and it ran fine.

First thing I might do is change to dino oil.
Second thing is, maybe go up in wgt.
Third thing is maybe try a high mileage oil like MaxLife.

There you have it! MaxLife 5W30 or 10W30. Give it several months to a year to really work. It's a syn/blend and a really good oil.

 

[goodtimes]

By 2001 they may have corrected the problem. On my 82 or 83 forgot which, it was a problem. Big clouds of blue smoke at takeoff, and after decelerating then accelerating, big blue clouds. I guess that is a test for bad valve stem sealing. Not good advertising for Honda. Had about 70k at the time. I made a spark plug adapter for a compressor to hold the valves up, then went in and did the seals using a valve spring compressor tool. Removed rocker arm assembly and had to readjust valves of course. Problem was solved completely, and not that hard of a job really. Yours may be different of course maybe just a switch to SAE 10w30 would help.

 

[G.Frost]

You might try a 'high mileage' oil to condition the seals. Or use a good dose of Redline oil for the same. It cured my '88 Accord of the tell-tale cloud of blue smoke on cold startup. Has been working for about 8 years and still on the original valve seals.

 

[CharBaby]

I too had an '88 Accord 2.0 carb and put on 340,000 miles. The best car I have ever owned to date from a reliability factor. Never any oil burning that I was aware of. I used any oil in it!

 

[Scott_Tucker]

Just because your compression rings are in good condition doesn't mean your oil control rings aren't messed up. They don't seal compression. Compression rings don't control oil. Sounds like a lot of oil for valve stem seals. I would try a marvel mystery oil soak (or sea-foam, etc.) and see it that helps free up the oil control rings.

 

[FZ1]

Go back to 5-30 synthetic,put a 4x8 sheet of plywood under it,and limit your "drafting" to Nascar races.

 

[ledslinger]

Thanks for the info. I was mainly trying to see what is the conventional wisdom on Accord stem seal replacement, if it is a target area or not. The car doesn't smoke ever out the exhaust. I was thinking of a run of 1OW 3O Maxlife during the summer, and may go back to XW 3O synth. I bought the car new, and it has had short OCIs with quality oils since new. The engine looks very clean through the oil fill hole, and when I did the valve adjust at 1OOK only two valves were of by only one thousanth, so engine wear should be low.

 

[antonmnster]

I'd think the collision damage would cost more than the savings from "drafting"

 

[YZF_Eric]

swtich to 5w30 Maxlife and call it a day.

 

[mechtech2]

A qt or two is a huge range!
And why not let us know what miles it takes for that to happen??

The seal replacement techniques are normal and common.
Are you a car mechanic? Doesn't sound like it.

 

[ledslinger]

Mechtech, consumption varies with weight. As noted it went through the 2O weight syn quickly. I'm a marine mechanic, previously an automotive machinist and auto electrician, sporadically work on cars. Even if I worked on cars full time, do you think I would know the nuances of all years and makes. What doesn't sound like I'm a mechanic. I've got about 35 years of experience.