Hi Scotty ! Thanks for all your excellent advice. You've helped me out with a carquestion before, and - as the only mechanic I've been in touch with, you hit the nail right on the head. Can I ask you another question ? I've got a Honda Accord Tourer 2011 2.0, I believe its similar to the Acura TSX in the USA. Here in Europe, it was sold as an Accord. I bought it used, with about 100000Km on it. Its now 140000, never had any problems with it, except for the fact that is burns oil like no tomorrow. About 1 quart per tank of gas. Its been so from day 1 I drove the car. Was a big surprice to me. There is no smoke visible from the exhaust though, I guess those cat's are pretty effective. Anyway; lately I moved to another house, and had to transport all my stuff. I rented the biggest trailer I could get my hands on, and filled it with things. Then out on the highway, with the foot flat on the floor. That trailer was heavy, let me tell you... 😉 Anyway, I drove back and forth like this, moving stuff, for almost 2 weeks, used almost a tank of gas every day. The funny thing is, that with this heavy load, the oil burning completely stopped ! After I finished moving, the oil burning is back as before. Anything I can do to make it quit that oilburning ? My mechanic suggested that I bought the trailer... Take care, and thanks again !
Have you changed the PCV valve?
I dont know if this product is available in Europe, or if the test was successful ?
I think it is a good idea to try that. If the rings are stuck, it may help the situation, but if they are worn, only rebuilding the engine is the solution.
will my catalytytic be able to keep standing up for this kind of strain ?
In the long run, no.
Thanks for your reply.
yeah, the PCV was the first thing I tried. Couldn't see (or hear) anything wrong with the old valve, but changed it anyway. Didn't change anything.
The history of the car, starting from brand new, and until now, is that this car seems to have been taken very well care of. Frequent oil-changes according to the servicebook. My own theory is, that the oilrings haven't alot of spring-like tension in this engine-design, to ensure low friction, and better gas per mile-ratio. On the downside, it seems that these loose oilrings have a tendency to stick to the piston, making the engine burn oil. Alot of oil ! 🙂 I dont know enough about engines to really know is this theory sounds right or not. I imagine that a worn-out engine would increase oilconsumption when working harder, such as pulling a very heavy trailer on the freeway. Yet, the exact opposite happened. I've tried driving (without heavy load) in lower gear, making the engine spin somewhat faster - for a whole tank of gas. No change, about 1 quart of oil is still gone when refilling the gastank afterwards. The oil I use (and have been using the whole time) is an Elf 5w30, I guess this should be an okay oil for this engine ? I've tried to get the Mobil1 5w30 extended performance oil instead, but for some reason it seems to be impossible to get hold of in europe ? Ordering liquids from the US via international shipping also seems to be a no-go...
I seem to remember Scotty trying out some cleaner not too long ago, some new product that I believe were designed for problems like sticky oilrings... I dont know if this product is available in Europe, or if the test was successful ?
I'm surprised that the car doesn't seem to emit any smoke from the exhaust, with that much oil burned. Some people say, that if it doesn't smoke, its nothing to worry about. I am a little worried though, will my catalytytic be able to keep standing up for this kind of strain ?
Thanks again ! 🙂
Here's a theory. The extra load placed on the engine while towing the trailer forced the piston rings to seal better than when not under that much load. How to cure this, I do not know. You might want to try the Italian Tune Up to see if it helps.
Yeah, I think you're right - somehow the extra workload made the oilrings seal perfectly. Unfortunately, the effect was gone as quickly as it came, once I didn't tow the heavy trailer anymore.
I've already tried "the italian tune-up method", but higher revs by itself doesn't help. I've testet this frequently and for quite long periods of time (driving in lower gear than usual). No effect on the oil-burning issue at all.
Driving with the accelerator flat on the floor seems to have positive effect on the oilburning-issue, but that way of driving really is too dangerous in the long run {black}:formalsmile: especially without a heavy load to slow the accord down a bit...
When I go back to a more moderate way of driving, the oil-burning problem also reappears.
Does anyone know about a cleaner, that effectively could clean those oilrings without me having to take the whole engine apart ?