Whoa! Found out my 1998 Honda Accord EX , 4cyl, is leaking oil. Tailpipe clean, bottom of car spotless. Losing 1+ quarts every 500 miles. performance seems OK for now. Only 86,000 miles on it. Seems to be leaking within engine- as no other places obvious. Was told by mechanic that I'll most likely have to replace engine. Have tried to read up on it- ?possibly PVC replacement first? Maybe piston rings or valves not working right? Am a female with no experience with this- what to do first? If engine did have to be replaced, what would average cost be for engine plus labor? I'm a little lost here. When car almost ran out of oil (what first clued me in, but looking back, I was told 3 years ago, after an oil change that oil was exceptionally low- and assumed that last oil change was done "wrong".) At that time, engine light went on, but code was nonspecific. Unsure how to proceed from here.

 

Don't go buying a new engine just yet. The oil has to be going somewhere. If it is not leaking out, it must be burning it. Is there ever any smoke coming from the tail pipe?
The PCV valve is a simple maintenance item. A new one can be purchesed at an autozone or advance auto parts for $3. It is an L-shaped piece of plastic located above the "T" in the word "VTEC" on your engine's valve cover. It can be replaced by using a pair of pliers to loosen the clamp on the hose. Then pop out the old PCV valve, and replace with a new one. Put the clamp back on the hose and you are done. here's a pic of my engine compartment.


Do you see that little piece of plastic abode the "T" in VTEC with a hose coming out of it?

The PCV valve replacement may not solve the problem - but for $3 it is definitely worth a shot.
A replacement engine (you would need to find a low mileage engine from a salvage yard - a brand new engine would be rediculous to buy) would cost upwards of $1,000 after you figure in the labor. You could probably find a used engine for $150 or so, but the labor will be high.

 

Look for sludgy crud in the coolant. Don't just look in the overflow reservoir, but open the radiator cap. (ONLY when it's cold.)

Oil leaking into the coolant could be a blown headgasket, which is a lot less than a blown engine.

 

for the record if you go to honda and say i need a new engine, you are looking at $3,000 plus.

no offense but it seems like your mechanic doesnt know all that much if he just wants tojump right to putting in a new engine.

I would say bring it somewhere else/a honda dealership(hope that isnt the place that said put a new engine in)

 

I agree with both of the above two statements.
I kind of doubt a faulty PCV valve would cause THAT much oil to disappear, but I have heard some crazy things.
Look for oil in the coolant also as Jimblake said.
If you replace the PCV valve and you cannot see any oil in the coolant, I suggest taking it to a Honda Certified shop or a dealership for diagnosis. Your current mechanic sounds to me like he just wants to make a lot of money off of you.