thanks for all the suggestions. The car seems to be driving fine aside from occasionally feeling like its losing power and the gas mileage is still good. So is a compression test a good idea? Should I check the PCV valve too? Are these easy fixes or should I just think about a new motor. Thanks again everyone.
Cavalier Burning Oil
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Check the PCV valve, then check for a leaky/fouled injector washing the cylinder walls of oil (Common with oil burning Cavaliers).
Could also be a stuck ring, or bad valve seals.
Do you get a cloud of smoke on start-up? This is a good indication that the valve seal(s) are bad.
Could also be a stuck ring, or bad valve seals.
Do you get a cloud of smoke on start-up? This is a good indication that the valve seal(s) are bad.
The Ecotec engine does not have a PCV valve. It has an orifice in the valve cover. I've never heard of this clogging up, though I suppose you could clean it with carb cleaner.
My girlfriend has a 2003 sunfire with the same engine. There is a little rubber hose right on the top of the engine that attaches to a plastic fitting.
Her plastic fitting was cracked, and oil vapors were leaking from that spot. It would "burn" about 1/2 of a quart of oil per 3000 miles.
I wasn't able to source the part from chevy, so I used a little high temp silicone to plug the crack and it hasn't leaked since.
Whats odd is my 2003 saturn does not have this rubber hose anywhere on the engine, and does not burn a drop of oil.
Her plastic fitting was cracked, and oil vapors were leaking from that spot. It would "burn" about 1/2 of a quart of oil per 3000 miles.
I wasn't able to source the part from chevy, so I used a little high temp silicone to plug the crack and it hasn't leaked since.
Whats odd is my 2003 saturn does not have this rubber hose anywhere on the engine, and does not burn a drop of oil.
Ecotec engines in general are very reliable and very 'tight' enginesd that are not prone to oil-burning at all. The fact that you are having this much oil usage indicates major, major mechanical issues, and I wouldn't be suprized if the engine failed soon.
Sorry to say, but minor tinkering won't fix this.
Sorry to say, but minor tinkering won't fix this.
thanks for all the advice. I opened up the large plastic compartment that goes from the air filter to the motor and that was full of oil. Is that a specific indication of anything? In response to a previous question by StevieC, there is no smoke upon startup. Thanks again
Their should be no oil there. Find the source of it, plugged PCV line/breather hose may'be?
Originally Posted By: Scott_Tucker
Originally Posted By: tomcat27
I'd tend to agree (based on the blue smoke) that you either have bad valve stem seals or worn rings. a compression test and/or leakdown test will validate.
A compression or leakdown test won't tell you anything about the valve seals or the oil control rings. However, his engine is consuming massive amounts of oil so I'd suspect it's not running as well as he is leading on.
read the link on leak down test, it tells you a lot
http://www.442.com/oldsfaq/ofbas.htm#BAS CylinderLeakDownTest
Originally Posted By: tomcat27
I'd tend to agree (based on the blue smoke) that you either have bad valve stem seals or worn rings. a compression test and/or leakdown test will validate.
A compression or leakdown test won't tell you anything about the valve seals or the oil control rings. However, his engine is consuming massive amounts of oil so I'd suspect it's not running as well as he is leading on.
read the link on leak down test, it tells you a lot
http://www.442.com/oldsfaq/ofbas.htm#BAS CylinderLeakDownTest
Originally Posted By: nifty6
Originally Posted By: Scott_Tucker
Originally Posted By: tomcat27
I'd tend to agree (based on the blue smoke) that you either have bad valve stem seals or worn rings. a compression test and/or leakdown test will validate.
A compression or leakdown test won't tell you anything about the valve seals or the oil control rings. However, his engine is consuming massive amounts of oil so I'd suspect it's not running as well as he is leading on.
read the link on leak down test, it tells you a lot
http://www.442.com/oldsfaq/ofbas.htm#BAS CylinderLeakDownTest
It tells you nothing about the oil control rings, just the compression rings so it is of no use for an oil consumption problem. The valve stem seals aren't even inside the cylinder nor do they seal compression so they too won't show up on a leakdown or compression test.
A leakdown test is good for an engine that is running rough due to low compression however.
Originally Posted By: Scott_Tucker
Originally Posted By: tomcat27
I'd tend to agree (based on the blue smoke) that you either have bad valve stem seals or worn rings. a compression test and/or leakdown test will validate.
A compression or leakdown test won't tell you anything about the valve seals or the oil control rings. However, his engine is consuming massive amounts of oil so I'd suspect it's not running as well as he is leading on.
read the link on leak down test, it tells you a lot
http://www.442.com/oldsfaq/ofbas.htm#BAS CylinderLeakDownTest
It tells you nothing about the oil control rings, just the compression rings so it is of no use for an oil consumption problem. The valve stem seals aren't even inside the cylinder nor do they seal compression so they too won't show up on a leakdown or compression test.
A leakdown test is good for an engine that is running rough due to low compression however.
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