I have 171,000 miles on my 91 civic hatch my car smokes sometimes/burns oil which I continually add. I'm sure by the next time state required emissions test it most likely won't pass cuz of this. Some people told me I might be able to do just rings or valves/top half not entire engine rebuild or replace. Is there any major know problems with doing this instead of total rebuild if I am looking to save some money here? rest of engine may be in ok with exception of rings/valves is this even possible? thanks in advance for any advise.

 

Swap It!!!!

 

I just rerung my engine. Don't have any problems yet. And the smoking has ceased.

 

I wouldnt just go and swap it, but first i would do a compression test, that should tell you if its rings or not

 

Well, a compression test should be done only after the valves are adjusted. Valves on my Civic (which i got from my brother who got it from our father) were not adjusted since we got the car, and first compression test showed VERY LOW measurements (8.2bars on one cylinder). After valves were adjusted they all jumped to 11bars.

Point of story: compression test can tell you how worn your piston rings are only if you adjust your valves before the test.

 

The compression test only tells you about the condition of the valves and top piston ring. For the leaky oil control rings, you need to get a leakdown test to determine if that is your problem.

 

So per this post and shmoos below I'm thinking (since I already within last 6,000 miles had valves adjusted) if I get a leak down and compression test I should be able to determine what needs replaced. And if its rings or valves then if I just do just those my engine may last me a considerable amount of time longer without a complete rebuild or swap or major work like that, does this seem right? Also since I have absolutely no ability to work on my car or do tests how much can I expect to pay average to get both these tests done at a shop?

Please reply, and thanks for all your posts.

 

Well, if your engine is burning oil, it can also be caused by worn valve guides. Take a look at the picture i attached.

But i don't see a reason why you couldn't just rering your pistons and do some work on the head.

Well, I'm from Croatia, and I paid 20$ for compression test here, so i don't think you should pay more.

 

You can pinpoint whether it is your valve seals or rings just by when the engine burns oil. Mine used to burn it under WOT and boost. That was caused by bad rings. The valve seals would be bad if you burn oil under vacuum like when you let off the throttle. Find that out and you will know what you need to do.

I didn't waste my money on a leakdown test because I knew that the rings were shot. I replaced them and haven't seen a speck of oil on my back bumper or encountered being 2-3 quarts low.

 

I appreciate all the posts of help and info.
I'm very, very basic in my knowledge car repair and diagnoses. I know the basics like I see my car smoking sometimes and friends who follow me sometimes while I drive have said that my car will smoke some then stop. The smoke is bluish black and I have to add oil often so I check it often and add when needed. I'm not sure what you mean by, I can tell by "how" it smokes. I don't know what WOT, boost, vacuum and throttle are honestly. I know it smokes sometimes when I'm accelerating or sometimes when I shift a huge puff of smoke will blow. What should I have a mechanic do? a compression test or what to know for sure what needs replaced? Generally after doing valve guides/valves or rings does the engine still do ok for a long time or is there a way of knowing if the whole engine isn't gonna last much longer even if these are done before doing them?
Thanks again guys!