3rd Generation Specific (1993-2002) 1993-2002 Discussion including performance modifications and Technical Support Sections.
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where's the oil going?

Old Jul 2, 2003 | 12:28 AM
  #1  
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ttb
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No Cup Holder Racing
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From: Bay Area
where's the oil going?

i know there's not enough info to get good diagnosis but just curious what are the possible causes of oil disappearing on me....i barely drive the car, there's no big oil leaks on the driveway, yet the oil gets low every 2 weeks or so.
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Old Jul 2, 2003 | 01:46 AM
  #2  
DrunkenBowler's Avatar
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From: STL Area
Without the oil leak, i don't know what the problem is, however, a rotary engine does burn oil as part of its combustion process. You could have a bad seal or something along those lines.
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Old Jul 2, 2003 | 01:52 AM
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From: Where there's only two seasons, hot and wet! I love Okinawa
hmmm...possible oil seal failure. Pull the spark plugs out and see if you have oil on them.
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Old Jul 2, 2003 | 03:15 AM
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uh oh....how many miles are on the motor? How many miles each time you check?
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Old Jul 2, 2003 | 12:04 PM
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Om Namah Shivaya
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Do you notice a puff of smoke coming out the exhaust between shifts when you are boosting??? Could be your turbo oil seals are bad and you are burning oil..

Is there ANY oil dampness on the bottom of the car at all?? Around the oil pan or subframe??? If there are no obvious leaks around the turbo oil lines or the notorious-for-leaking oil pan, you might try looking in a less obvious area such as the OMP or the oil injectors themselves.

FYI - I had oil dampness around my oil pan/subframe but could not for the life of me spot an oil leak anywhere. turbo lines were fine as well.

When I did my vaccum hose job and had the UIM & rats nest off, I saw a HUGE pool of oil on the rotor housing around the rear oil injector.

Turns out the oil injector was VERY loose - not even hand-tight. So oil was allowed to seep out and eventually run down around the LIM and down onto the subframe, making it look like the oil pan was the culperate......


Anyway, I retorqued both oil injectors and no more oil dampness on the underside to date!!
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Old Jul 2, 2003 | 12:13 PM
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turbo seals wouldnt burn that much oil plus he said he doenst drive it much

I had the same problem with a local builders motor. I was losing about a quart of oil every 1000 miles but there were NO leaks at all. I told him and asked what is causing this and he didn't even look at the car and said I don't know. 2 weeks later the engine blew a seal no warranty

I hope its not the same for you but it sounds like it. You may need a rebuild soon.
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Old Jul 2, 2003 | 12:14 PM
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From: Ventura CA USA
My FD uses about 1qt/350m most of which is blowing out the turbo Compressor side at getting blown/sucked up the intake tract - The bottom of my IC collects most of it untill I get heavy into boost at which point I blast out a LARGE cloud of Oil smoke - A Turbo Rebuild is in my near future!

Last edited by maxpesce; Jul 2, 2003 at 12:18 PM.
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Old Jul 2, 2003 | 12:23 PM
  #8  
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Ex fd *****
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From: Ventura CA USA
Originally posted by Snook
...I was losing about a quart of oil every 1000 miles but there were NO leaks at all....
A Rotary is SUPPOSED to use a qt in 1000-1500 miles - If it dosen't your OMP is not working correctly.
LACK of Oil from the OMP will destroy Apex & Corner seals almost as fast as Detonation. Thats why the ECU goes into limp mode as soon as it thinks something wrong w/ the OMP.
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Old Jul 2, 2003 | 12:41 PM
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Tony Stewart Killer.
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From: London

I have no proof to back my statement but where did you get your info about the oil usage. I may be wrong about how much my car was burning I just remember every time I went to drive ti I was out of oil. Probably every 300 miles I lost a quart.

Last edited by Snook; Jul 2, 2003 at 12:44 PM.
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Old Jul 2, 2003 | 01:26 PM
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You could have a leaking rear engine seal. That's an inexpensive part that takes about 6-8 hours to replace. I hope that's not your problem.
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