What is Oil Burning?
2 Answers
Oil burning refers to the situation where engine oil enters the combustion chamber of the engine and participates in combustion along with the air-fuel mixture. Here are the relevant details: 1. Consequences of oil burning: If a vehicle exhibits oil burning, it can lead to rapid damage of the oxygen sensor, increased carbon deposits in the combustion chamber, unstable idling, reduced acceleration power, increased fuel consumption, excessive exhaust emissions, and other adverse effects. 2. Factors causing oil burning: Aging and failure of the valve stem seals can allow oil to enter the combustion chamber through the gap between the valve stem and the guide hole under the influence of intake manifold vacuum, resulting in combustion.
Engine oil burning means you notice your engine is consuming oil while driving, causing the oil level to continuously drop, and blue smoke may come out of the exhaust pipe. This issue is quite annoying. I used to drive an old car to work and encountered this problem. At first, I thought it was a minor issue, but the oil level dropped too quickly, requiring frequent top-ups, increasing fuel consumption, and polluting the environment. Checking the dipstick is the simplest method—measure it every month. If the oil level drops frequently, you should suspect oil burning. If not repaired in time, the engine may suffer increased wear or even break down. Later, I went to a repair shop and found it was caused by worn piston rings, allowing oil to leak into the combustion chamber and burn. Replacing the parts fixed the issue. Don’t slack on regular maintenance—using high-quality oil can prevent this. In short, oil burning is no small matter—it affects driving and costs money. Address it early to avoid bigger problems.
