I am new to this forum so hello to all, and thanks for any help.

Here is the thing. My 96 Neon is consuming or losing oil in some way. I have no spots of oil in my driveway. I first noticed this a couple of months ago when having my oil changed - the tech told me that the oil was very low. I should have followed up, but did not. That was 1,500 miles ago. I just put 1.5 quarts in to get the oil back to the "safe" mark. I had my wife start the car and I watched for any telltale white smoke... there was none to be seen. 3 or 4 years ago the Head gasket blew ( <40,000 Miles ). The dealer repaired it and absorbed the cost. Currently the car has 105,000 miles and is used for < 20 miles daily commute (highway crawl) that sometimes takes well over an hour. Gas milage has not dropped noticably (still get 300 miles +/- on a single tank).

I'm am very curious as to possible sources for the "missing" oil. I plan to take the car in to the shop tomorrow, but would like to have some idea of what could be the problem. The timing belt is due so will get that taken care of. I know I will be running into some $$$, so I want to get an idea of what to expect.

Thanks

My guess would be the spark plug tube seals. I have had problems keeping the seals plyable enough to seal around the tubes. The oil leaks in and burns but you dont see this because of wire plugs. Try replacing those if u havent.

When the engine is cool, try popping the radiator cap off and looking at the coolant. You may find some in your cooling system which is fairly common. This will tell you if the headgasket has failed again, or worse!! Spark plug tubes may also be another source ?? Both are common.

oil in the coolant is a tell-tale blown Head Gasket sign... however, I don't think that is your problem here (it wouldnt hurt to check it none the less tho).

When you do your spark plugs next, check to see if there is a decent amount of oil on the spark plugs. If so, then the spark plug tube seals and valve cover gasket maybe the culprit and simply need replacing. This task is not difficult at all and can be done in 20-30 minutes.

As far as the timing belt goes... if your paying for a mechanic to change your timing belt, you might as well replace your water pump with a new one at the same time as you will save on labor charges that way.

Hope it helps... L8R,

Thanks for the replies.
I got the timing belt and water pump replaced, tires rotated, brakes adjusted for right at 400$ Great Shop.

Anyhow, the mechanic said it was the head gasket again. There was some wetness from oil on the back of the engine. He said it was not too serious yet and I wasn't seeing it in my driveway because it would leak while driving and just blow back. He recommended I just keep a close check on the oil level and keep feeding it until it gets worse. He also said that the "improved" (MLS) head gaskets usually only get another 60,000 miles before blowing - so this was pretty typical for first gen Neons.

How old is your PCV valve? An old, stuck valve will suck oil like that's its job.