First post, please don't tear me up too much, constructive criticism is welcome. As a warning, I'm a senior mechanical engineering student so I'm not an idiot but I specialize in carbon fiber bicycle parts, not engines so I have a general understanding but I don't live under my hood and the hardest thing I've ever done is change the clutch and CV joints in a friend's Ford Probe. Anyhow, my "new" (and first) car is a 1991 RS Camaro. The last owner (I am the third) did several things to it including removing the cat and having a shop in Indianapolis put in a new engine with a rebuilt 700R4 transmission with a shift kit (allof this roughly 2000 miles before I purchassed it). The engine is a Chevy 350 small block bored 0.060" over. I'm not sure what was in it before but I assume it was still a v8 based on the owner. The intake is Edelbrock and the cam is supposedly Crane, I don't know how to find the models on either of those. The carb in a Holley Street Avenger 670cfm carb with an electronic choke. Some stuff after the tranny has been changed as well but I think that's irrelevant. Other than running hot (220-230 with the fans on) on hot days (I just discovered that my air dam is missing), I just noticed that my oil is low. It was changed just before I purchassed it and was in the middle of "full" on the dipstick. 1000 to 1500 miles later I checked my oil, cold, on a level surface, and had to add 1.5 quarts to get it above the "add 1 quart" line, I proceeded to add the extra half quart. 2 quarts of oil in 1500 miles seems a bit fast to me. I see and smell no smoke coming out of the tailpipes, both at start and while running. It has been in a parking space for just over 2 weeks and there is not a drop of any fluid under the car (I moved it mid afternoon to check). I found a couple of drops of oil on the underbody but I could not trace them and it's fairly clean under there. I have checked both my auto transmission fluid (still red) (an the dipstick) and my radiator fluid (still green) (in the resevoir and in the radiator by removing the cap). So far I havn't been able to figure out where my oil is dissapearing to. Any ideas, suggestions, or help would be appreciated.

-DTS

 

Pull your spark plugs and give them a good look. YOu may be burning it and just not noticing, if its a slight burn it can be easy to miss, but distinguishable on the plugs. If the plugs are clean, you are back to an external leak. A possibilty may be to use some UV dye and a UV light. THe kits are relatively expensive (around 80 bucks) but a worthwhile investment, even for a DIY'er.

 

try running the car and getting it up to temp... then shut it off and restart in about 10-15 minutes and smell the exhaust quickly i bet you will smell burnt oil... mine will do that some times... but checking the plugs are a sure way to tell