Losing Oil

danyochimSC1 · 09-28-2005, 04:16 PM

I have a 2002 SC1. I bought the car brand new. About 6 months ago I started to notice that I was losing oil between oil changes. Sometimes I can't even see oil on the dipstick when I check it, yet the oil light has never come on!! Sometimes I'm down about 2 litres of oil after only 4 weeks of getting the oil changed. I can tell when it's getting low on oil because I start to hear ticking from the top of the engine for only a few seconds right after starting the engine. The dealership started an "oil consumption test" about 6 months ago, but I have a few more "low oil" visits before they say they can diagnose it. It's not blowing blue smoke, and I also can't see any visable oil leaks on the engine or the driveway where I park. Any ideas what could be causing this ??

PurdueGuy · 09-28-2005, 06:07 PM

The Saturn S-series is rather infamous about burning small amounts of oil. The dealership will probably never do anything about it, because they have a rather high level of oil consumption that they classify as "normal". Your best bet is to check your oil whenever you get gas, and add as needed. Don't wait for the low oil light to come on. If you want to try to reduce the oil consumption, you can try doing a piston soak (search for "piston soak" or "MMO soak", etc). The consumption is usually because of stuck rings that allow a little blow-by. The piston soak will sometimes help loosen the rings up a bit.

blackeagle · 09-28-2005, 07:10 PM

You say you bought the car brand new?! It is very unusual to be using that much oil in a car so new. How many miles are on it? How often did you change the oil and what brand and weight do you use. As Purdueguy said, check it every fill-up or more often if it warrants.

lpredline6986 · 09-29-2005, 01:06 AM

I have a 2002 SC2 and I burn oil but it isn't like I hafe to add any. All cars burn oil. But in your case did you ever think of GUNKING your engine b4 an oil change. This helps seal up the seals of your enigne that are worn. I had a 1996 SL2 that burned oil like crazy. But like ppl are saying Saturns are know for burning oil.

P.S. Or you can overhaul your engine and put new seals to your engine

Coldsolderjoint · 09-29-2005, 07:07 AM

i have an 01 sc1, bought it with 22k on it.

i burn approximatley 1/2 quart between changes.. and it happens more rapidly in the last 1000 miles.

first thing id recomend is going to the saturn parts department, and picking up an OEM PCV valve (about $5 US.). and replacing yours that you have in there now.

ssicarman (a saturn tech god on this board). recomends that you only use an OEM PCV and that you clean it out real good with carb cleaner at every oil change.

stewartlittle · 10-11-2005, 05:36 PM

Thats good,my sw2 uses 1 qt. per 1000 miles.
It got 140,000 on it.

riphamilton32 · 08-31-2008, 04:10 PM

I recently just bought a 94 SL1 with 128,000 miles on it for $700 seemed to be a good deal seeing how i already have a 94 SC1 with 210,000 miles on it and bought it with about 160,000 on it but the SL1 is blowing smoke like crazy at about 2000 rpms and it making a terrible sound from either the motor or exhaust (catalytic converter Maybe??) I was just wondering if anyone had an idea of what it would be, I would greatly appreciate it.

RC1488 · 08-31-2008, 05:01 PM

The answer to each of the above posts is to do a MMO soak on all four cylinders. The reason for the lose of oil is because of stuck oil rings. This was an engine design flaw by GM, yet it was never corrected. However a few MMO (murder mystery oil) soaks have had GREAT results in lossing the rings and decreasing the amount of oil burned.

To the poster above with the SL1, i suggest doing this. This should help reduce the oil getting into the chambers and coming out the exhuast. As to your noise issue...well more detail is needed. A horrible sound can be anything.

riphamilton32 · 08-31-2008, 05:16 PM

MMO Soak? What exactly is that and how is it done? I think the terrible noise is a bad catalytic converter the noise seems to get louder when you accelerate but if u ease into the gas really slow it tends not to make a terrible sound. Could a bad catalytic converter also be reason to the blowing of smoke??

RC1488 · 08-31-2008, 10:35 PM

You need to describe the noise. Is it a rattling noise? Does it sound as if there is no muffler and its just loud? In neutral is the noise effected by RPM?

I dont think the blue smoke would be from the CAT. Again i believe its more from stuck oil rings.

Using MMO, you put 2-3cc's in each cylinder over night. The next day crank the engine over with the spark plugs out to eliminate any access MMO that did not drain down the cylinder walls. Replace the plugs and start the engine. The engine exhuast will be smoky for a little as the access MMO is burned, however you should see a decrease in oil per mile. A few of these treatments may be needed however.