Oil missing

[Florida240sx]

Just turboed my Ka and never burned any oil. Went otu last weekend for some spirited driving and on my way home oil light would flicker.comes to find out I was 2 qts low on oil. 180k ka24de with IAP kit running 7lbsNo oil leaks.I haven't done a compression check yet. I had my stock exhaust hooked up for about a week.Ended up melting my stock cat due to so much heat.After switching to open DP my temperatures have greatly decreased. Possible from the heat it ruined my turbo seals or was burning the oil off?I put a paper towel behind exhaust.But car is ruining rich.Doesn't seem to be burning oil.........Any ideas?

[slipnfall]

Best bet would be to get underneith and degrease the crap out of everything you can reach. (just avoid soaking mating surfaces). Seriously. Also include around the valve cover. At high operating temps, leaking oil can, for lack of better words, 'atomize', and it can be very hard to find. Clean the front-underside of the transmission also. The first seal to go will likely be the front main crankshaft seal: clean the bottom side of the timing cover off.

The only hope of finding a slow leak underneith is if you can distinguish it from 10year old road grime. Even if you don't clean it all that well, just get under there and make mental note of the surfaces.

Keep your oil topped off religiously, and check back in a week or so. Don't be afraid to get dirty.

HTH, let us know what you find. At 180k, I'm suprised your oil consumtion/seals held up this long. Don't feel bad, I'm trying to find out where my oil is going too.

[Florida240sx]

Keep your oil topped off religiously, and check back in a week or so. Don't be afraid to get dirty.

I had oil stains on me for 3 days after working on my car. I don't think my rear seal is leaking.It was jsut replaced not too long ago.Also wouldn't there still be oil lekaing down from under my car?Because there is not one drop of oil under my car no matter where I go or how hard I drive it.

[slipnfall]

You replaced the front(front of car), or rear seal? You said rear, but I just want to confirm.

Yeah I'm in a similar boat as you: I go through about a quart every 2-3+ weeks, yet never has there been a drop under my car(I even park on cement at work). This is after a 30min commute, so the engine/oil is plenty warm. I have a feeling that it is my valve cover. This is my first time using a full synthetic(Mobil 1 0W40), but I get the impression that oil leaks may be harder to spot than pure dyno oil(not as dark). I didn't use RTV on the front/rear v.cover plugs when I had it off last.

Do you have your splash shield(s) installed?

[slipnfall]

BTW have you checked your intake mani and hot pipe for any presence of oil inside?

[paemt6220]

This is my first time using a full synthetic(Mobil 1 0W40)

Its hot in NM right?? I could be wrong, but I would think that 0 weight oil would be like water in that heat. Are you sure you aren't leaking when the motor is cool? if your car is turbo'd and it's hot, 15W-50 would be the best oil choice. IF NA, probably 10W-40. A heavier weight is definently needed in hot weather.

Chad

[slipnfall]

This was the suggestion oil from one of the mod's(possibly Fred or NismoFreak). They said it was a good oil to use year-round, and we do have mild winters here. I am NA btw. The 0W only signifies the cold startup properties correct? ::edit:: Also it's important to note that I am not losing any more oil than I was with Valvoline 10W30. This was a problem before even switching to syn ::edit::

[slipnfall]

It was PalmerWMD, who rec'd this weight for year-round NA. I also found an article at: http://www.240sx.org/faq/articles/oil.htm making mention of this weight. The 0W will get the engine lubricated very fast, which fits my driving/startup&go style. Also the 40W is very stable at high temps. <shrug> Anyways, back to your problem Florida!