Oil Loss Question
 

Hello,

I was doing oil change on my Honda Accord EX, V6 '03, and notice the oil drain from the pan less than 1/2 amount I pour in last oil change. I checked the oil pan surround and everything look dry, as no sign of oil leak. Can you tell me is there a cause to the amount of oil loss in the engine? Where else can I inspect for oil leak beside checking for oil drip?

Thanks,

L
Honda Accord EX
V6, 2003

how many miles between changes? do you not check the oil regularly?

Thanks for the response. I'm doing 8k-9k between change. I notice there a level drop at the dipstick at some point, but I thought it could be the oil not fully fill after engine ran.

question: how do we know that only half the oil came out? are you measuring it? what is drained can be deceiving. i would check it every 2k-3k miles, or once a month between changes. just good practice.

I check the amount by drain the oil complete into pan and pour into one of the 5qt empty container that I used for previous oil change. The level in the container half amount I used.

Just a curious, why I'm losing that much oil from previous oil change?

HALF of it gone? So you "lost" 2 quarts or so? On the dipstick, it's only 1 quart from the high to the low marks. So if you lose 2 quarts then you don't see any oil on the dipstick? If that's true you should have seen that on the dipstick a long time ago and added oil to bring it up within the acceptable range.

More likely, it seems like it didn't all drain out? Maybe the car wasn't very level when you drained it?

oil change w/filter is 4.5 qts., so using up a couple qts. of oil in 8k or 9k miles is not excessive...best to always check it.

I think so, compare to the oil level in the container. The odd part is, I still see the dipstick still collecting oil after reinsert. I did pour some new oil in and able to see it coming out clean. Usually, if I still have remain oil, I would see it coming out light brown right?

If you are going to go 8-9k miles, between oil changes, I would check the dipstick a few times in between. If the oil is still reaching the dipstick, I don't think you are losing 2 quarts. I have an 03 V6 myself, but I don't go farther than 5k miles between changes. I don't notice any drop at all between oil changes. What type of oil do you use? How many total miles on the engine?

I normally used either Valvoline or Quaker. My engine currently at 170k miles

Maybe I missed it; immediately prior to changing your oil did you see any indicated oil level on your dipstick?

Just going from what I've heard, I think your extended oil change intervals, and using conventional oil, could be at least partly responsible for your oil rings sticking to the pistons, and the loss of oil. I would say to try a synthetic oil, but that might actually increase the loss at this point. Are you using 5w-20?

I'm using 5w-20 oil all the time. Do you think could there be a scratch along the cylinder wall? that collecting oil at certain stroke?

You didn't answer his question (or mine for that matter). Are you using conventional oil or synthetic? And did you check the dip stick immediately prior to changing the oil?

oh. I'm mostly using conventional oil. Yes, I did check the dipstick immediately before and after changing the oil. The amount collected on the dipstick only at few before changing. After change, it look normal.

What does that mean?

I've heard of some engines with scored cylinder walls, but stuck oil rings seems to be more common. Don't know what you could do to find out for sure. Compression test? Leak-down test? There is a camera that can enter the cylinder through the spark plug hole, and take pictures of the inside the cylinder walls.

At this point I'm thinking leak down tests and bore scope tests are way premature; as I understand it the OP's engine is only consuming a quart of oil every three to four thousand miles; pretty normal from my perspective.

I'm seeing it at half between max and min level

i think i see your confusion, you are interpreting the quantity between the max and min levels incorrectly. it is only one quart, not the entire crankcase capacity. ....say yes????