oil burning on a sc2?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Simplstupd
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Simplstupd

or do I just keep adding oil? thanks carmine

I would, and stick with the 5W30
 
o.k. I'm new to this site and I'm sure you get this one allot.

my wife's 1997 sc2 was burning about 1 quart of oil when it was new when I
did the first oil change at 3000 miles. the guys at the Saturn service
department said it is suppose to burn some oil. now the car has 135,000
miles on it and it is burning about a quart every 500 miles and I gave up on
doing oil changes just add oil and change the filter every so often. I am
running 5w 30 oil and I am wondering if I should switch to a heavier oil. I
live in new york and it is common to get nights in the single digits for
temperatures. or do I just keep adding oil? thanks carmine
 
The 1.9L engines are rather known for oil consumption. One thing that seems
to cause it is carbon buildup around the piston rings, causing them to
become stuck. Doing a soak of the combustion chambers with something like
Marvel Mystery Oil or GM Top Engine Cleaner has had some good results for
some people - there's some info here:

http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/showthread.php3?s=&threadid=23676
 
1 quart in 2000 miles is spec for my 97 - the cheapest answer is to keep
adding oil and try not to let the dipstick go lower than the halfway mark...
 
That's the same for my '99 SC2. If I could pull it behind the RV, I'd keep
my '95 Celica with 165k miles; it only uses 1/8qt every 5,000.
 
I switched to 10w-30 on my SC2, which didn't seem to make
a lot of difference in oil consumption. Believe it or not,
changing the brand of oil did. I figured since the car was burning
so much oil, might as well use the cheap stuff. So I started buying
the Wal-Mart "Super Tech" brand in gallon jugs. The car burns
less of this brand than any other.
 
Years ago, folks would often use non-detergent oil instead of
detergent in older cars, both on the theory that it preserved the
varnish on bearings, and on the theory that it reduced oil
consumption. Of course, you can hardly get ND oil any more.
 
Anyone try a little ATF down the spark plug holes?

I learned this little trick from owning a Mazda RX-7 with a rotary engine.
In those engines, when they would sit for a long period of time, it was
possible for the apex seals (somewhat equivalent to piston rings in a piston
motor) to become stuck to carbon deposits on the insides of the rotor
housings. When you would try to start up the car with stuck seals, the seals
would break and then you would loose compression and you would have to tear
your motor apart. Pouring a little ATF (automatic tranny fluid) into the
spark plug holes and letting it sit overnight would help to soften up the
carbon deposits and free any stuck seals. It would smoke like crazy when you
did start it up!

I'm guessing the ATF trick would work with the stuck ring problem on the
Saturns... the RX-7 guys suggested MMO and some of the other already
mentioned fluids to get the job done with the rotary engine. Perhaps I will
try it myself, as my 1992 SC burns about 2 to 3 litres of oil every 5000 km!

Tom Vaughan
2001 Yellow SC2
1992 Blue SC
 
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