Brought my beater in because car is lossing oil roughly 5 quarts every 700 miles and no puddle anywhere.
There’s leaks around the cap and on the engine cover. Also on some of the parts as i assume it’s probably leaked 50+ quarts.
I did change PCV valve and that didn’t do anything. There is a massive blow by from the engine. And the tailpipe is a little black but if it’s burning a lot of oil it should be worse.
I thought potentially the valve cover was really bad but to much oil for there to be that of a massive leak according to the mechanic.
IF there are no visible leaks, the engine must be burning the oil and it is fouling up the catalytic converter. It’s also possible that once the engine is running and up to highway speed the oil is forced out and left on the road. You need to tell us if any part of the engine are wet with oil.
In that case, if the engine is actually burning that much oil, your engine is on its last legs. .With a 19 year old car, any expensive repairs are a waste of money and I would just drive it until it dies.
Sorry to hear of your misfortune. I have the 2002 and many of them do burn oil, and as badly as yours is described. It can be fixed by a skilled + brave DIYer but since you describe it as your “beater” car, I would not make the effort.