I bought this over a month ago and it has been increasing its oil consumption--over a quart per fillup now. The catalytic converter had to be replaced; oil consumption jumped. Now I have a black smudge on the bumper.
Compression is good. We can see a leak, but it is minor and cannot account for the vast amounts of oil it is comsuming.
2006-08-07 10:45:07 · 15 answers · asked by Maryfrances 5 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
I own a repair shop,,and have seen a few of these cars do this and it is a sign that it has been ran hot,,at one time or another,its a sad thing too because these were good little cars,,regardless of what you hear,,and what people on here say,,pay no attention to some of the answers you see,,just kids ,,probably the head has problems on the car,,and some of the oil is going through the valve stem seals,,and the rest is going by the piston rings,,in short the motor has been damaged,,and before you got it,,you will either have to have this motor repaired,,or find a good used one,,either way,,it does create a problem for you,,because you needed a car,,not something to work on,,check with some of the local repair shops and see what they say about it,,also check with a local junk yard,,and just see if they have any used motors in good shape,,other than that,,you don't have many options here,,good luck with it,,i would like to know how this turns out.
2006-08-07 11:06:29 · answer #1 · answered by dodge man 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Looks like you discovered the reason it was for sale. If the compression is good and the it's not belching smoke then it's probably not burning the oil. It does have a leak though. Could be the rear main seal. Do this: Clean the engine really good with a degreaser so it's sparkling everywhere then go for a drive. Crawl under it with a good light and check for fresh oil. You should be able to spot the leak that way. Also, never assume that a "small" leak is not the culprit. You don't know what it's doing when the engine heats up and you go driving.
I had to edit this to respond to the friggin' moron who said it's because you own an American car.
1. It's a machine. All machines wear out.
2. The Geo/Chevy Prism is a copy of the Toyota Corolla.
3. Lot's of "Japanese" cars are actually made in America.
2006-08-07 10:52:05 · answer #2 · answered by Cybeq 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the reason it is useing oil can be due to a number of reasons including, worn piston rings, bad valve guide seals, leaking main seals, so on.
get a large piece of card board {clean} and park your car on it after you make sure it is full of oil. do this when you park it for overnite.
in the morning before you move the car look to see if there is an oil spot on the cardboard. if there is, note in relation to the engine where the spot is, to the front or the rear of the engine. this will possibly help determine if it is a front or rear main seal leaking.
does the car smoke when you first start it or every time you start it? if it smokes mostly when you first start it it probably is valve guide seals. you said that it has good compression so it probably isnt rings. however I didnt perform the compression tests, so I cant vouch for the results of the tests you ran. the main thing isnt whether the cylinders hve compression its rather wheather they hold compression. so do the tests this will help determine if oil is leaking out
2006-08-07 11:05:05 · answer #3 · answered by jlinder_1 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it's funny how some think that since it has a Chevy badge, it must be an American piece of crap. In the case of the Chevy Prizm, it's a rebadged Toyota Corolla, with a Toyota engine as Cybeg mentioned. If it had a Toyota badge on it, the responses would be different, and the foreign car fanboys wouldn't be calling it a piece of crap. So essentially, those that have called it junk are hypocrites.
2006-08-07 11:04:53 · answer #4 · answered by signal11 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Chevy Prizm IS a Toyota Corolla with a Chevy badge. actually, they are both equipped in Fremont, CA on the same line. despite the indisputable fact that, you need to nonetheless look at the vehicle intimately. only "say" it really is incredibly a Toyota would not inform you what's the precedence of that categorical vehicle.
2016-11-23 14:50:07 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
All GMs do that, didn't they tell you? Pretty soon it will require more oil than gas. These cars are basically junk and GM knows it when they sell them, actually even before they are sold, precisely even before that on the drawing board.
2006-08-07 10:59:56 · answer #6 · answered by Mr. PDQ 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
sounds like you valve guide seals or your rings are shot,, oil is leaking on to your pistons and burning up your oil,, you have to have your heads done or keep putting the oil to her
2006-08-07 10:57:26 · answer #7 · answered by BICCA 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your piston rings are probably shot. Blue exhaust smoke? You're killing the environment.
2006-08-07 10:49:11 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it has a lot of miles on it, it probably needs a motor
2006-08-07 10:48:43 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
it sounds like your valve seals are shot. it is not an overly costly job.... you an get it done for around $250 or less i bet.
2006-08-07 10:51:07 · answer #10 · answered by BCOL CCCP 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋