2000 Nissan Altima Burns oil bad

I was wondering if anybody can help me out I have a 2000 Nissan Altima and it burns oil extremely bad when I did the last oil change there was a semi large o-ring stuck in my oil screen and by the color of it it looks to be something for fuel I think wherever that O-ring went is where the oil in the fuel is mixing but I don’t know where if anybody can help me it would be greatly appreciated because I would much rather replace that ring then replace the whole engine

What engine do you have? Is oil leaking anywhere?

Oil filters usually have an o-ring, perhaps that is what you saw. If it was not seated properly you could have been leaking oil. Make sure you remove the old o-ring when changing the filter. If the old one stays stuck, the new one will double up and not seat well.

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That seems pretty unlikely. Why do you think the oil and fuel are mixing? When oil mixes w/something b/c of an engine problem it is usually the coolant.

the reason I think that is because there was a slight oil leak from the pan gasket but when I did the oil change I replace the gasket that’s when I found that little o-ring and ever since then at hasn’t leaked oil anywhere that I know of it’s completely dry but yet I still have to put 2 to 3 quarts of oil every few days so that’s why I believe it’s burning oil and not leaking it

2.4 L 4-cylinder and no it was leaking from the pan gasket but I did a full oil change and change the gasket to and now it’s completely dry but I still have to put 2 or 3 quarts of oil every few days that’s why I believe it’s burning it somewhere

Leaking valve stem seals could let oil into the combustion chambers - especially noticeable upon startup after a rest. Lots of leakage past piston rings could do it. Both send burning oil out the exhaust. Blue smoke there?

Have you inspected the spark plugs? Might indicate which cylinder(s) have a problem. Look also at both ends of the crankshaft for signs of a big leak.

If you’re adding that much oil that often without observing a leak your car should be belching blue smoke. Have a good mechanic confirm that it’s not leaking. My guess is he’ll find that it is. Then you can have the problem fixed.

Was this “semi large o-ring” hard or soft? When I first read this post, I had assumed you removed the oil pan, and found something large and hard stuck on the oil pickup screen. Hopefully, it is not a piece of a piston ring.

Quite often an oil hurning engine will not smoke because the smoke cakes up on the converter where it turns to a hard carbon. As the engine continues to run the soot so to speak will (some of it anyway) will be expelled from the exhaust as soot, not smoke.

If it’s not leaking then it’s burning it past the valve stem seals as mentioned or the piston rings; or both. The car is 20 years old so it’s due. Might check the PCV valve. Maybe you will get lucky.

The OP is averaging a quart a day. If his car is actually burning that much oil it’s in really bad shape. My money’s still on an undetected leak.

I will definitely check that out thank you

I will look into it thanks

If it was a large oil ring, say 2.5 to 3" in diameter, that would be from your oil filter. Look around your oil filter for a leak. The oil pressure sending unit is also located near the oil filter so check that as well.