My '91 Geo Metro burns a LOT of oil. I have discussed this with several people, who have posed a few different solutions. Here they are: 1) Use a heavier oil. I traditionally used 10w-30 for better gas mileage and better starts in cold Wisconsin weather, but some have said that switching to 20…

What is “a LOT of oil?” How many miles per quart? This matters. How many miles on your Metro? This also matters. I do not recommend “heavier oil.” If the engine is burning oil, the engine seals have nothing to do with it. Burning oil means the piston rings are worn. Seals prevent leaks at …

The engine in the Geo Metro is not entirely made of aluminum. I should know because I had one apart for a year and the cylinder walls rusted. If you have a bad crankshaft seal, your car would be leaving oil puddles in your garage. Bad valve stem seals can also cause high oil consumption.

I agree with you mcparadise. The only point on which I would like to comment is the one about additives. Purchased separately, additives are a waste of money. However, Amadameus might try an oil with a different additive package already in it, like a “high mileage” oil. It couldn’t hurt to try. …

I’d switch to high milege oil and find some additive that says reduces oil leak. There is nothing in a can or bottle that will “rebuild your engine”, but there are additives that have chemicals that will “swell up” seals, thus slowing down the leaking. Understand this is not a good ‘fix’, but if yo…

Thanks very much for the helpful advice! Here’s the information I have: The engine has 102K miles on it, and if my records are correct then it burns almost three quarts per gas tank, and each tank goes about 225 miles. (This is significant, because I’m paying $18 for a tank of gas and almost $10 in…

I wouldn’t use a heavier oil. All this does is starve the engine of proper lubrication at start-up causing more engine wear. You might try this product http://www.restoreusa.com/Engine_Restorer.html I’ve used this in engines that burned oil because of worn piston rings. And if it didn’t totally st…

Your engine has serious internal issues. Likely worn rings and leaking oil into the cylinders via the valve guides. I don’t believe a bad PCV valve or screwed up vacuum lines could burn oil this fast. I suspect you don’t want to spend the money on a rebuild of this motor or even a change it out f…

I have to agree with those that suggest that this 18 year old engine is just plain worn out. While oil rings and compression rings are different parts, I suspect that a compression test would confirm that it’s just plain old tired. You could try some oil system flushing additive. Follow the instruc…

Oil burning is going to be due to rings, valve seals, or both. Valve seals (no test for that) is a doable repair. Piston rings (compression or leakdown test may help verify this) means an engine overhaul. The mileage on the vehicle is low and in theory should not be going through oil that fast. M…

Geo Metro burns oil - solutions

Maintenance/Repairs

B.L.E September 9, 2009, 4:24pm 9

You are the second owner. Are you sure it doesn’t have 202K or even 302K miles on it? The '91 models only had a 100,000 mile odometer. I put 280,000 miles on my old '91 before retiring it and it still wasn’t burning that much oil.

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Geo Metro burns oil - solutions

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