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08/09 Accord L4 "Oil Burner" Piston & Piston Ring R&R

12K views 29 replies 13 participants last post by  Charbot 
#1 · (Edited)
Has anyone on this forum with an 8th Gen L4 "oil burner", that is

(A) Outside of the Honda warranty period, AND
(B) Not been able to remedy the problem via the MMO/GM Top Engine Cleaner cylinder soak method,

ever replaced the pistons/piston rings (DIY) to address the oil consumption problem?

If yes, I would be interested in any advice/comments/tips you could share with respect to this rather labor intensive DIY repair job.

Thanks in advance!

Peter
 
#5 ·
Right now the car has 153k miles on it.

Over the Xmas break, I replaced the pcv and did several cylinder soak treatments with the GM top engine cleaner solution. Prior to the treatment, 2 of the 4 cylinders were "dry", but after several treatments I was able to get all 4 cylinders to produce a nice "wet spot" on the towel over the spark plug holes.

Since then, it looks like the oil consumption is now approx. 1qt/2k miles, so is not nearly bad enough to warrant the piston+ring R&R job.

I am just thinking long term and trying to decide if tackling the piston and ring R&R DIY will be worth the cost & time. Just the cost of the parts (OEM) is north of $700 so it is a pretty expensive "fix".

The vehicle is driven by my 18yr old son, although I am the one who owns & maintains it. (My ride is an '07 6-6 sedan). If the current oil burn numbers hold, it looks like it will last long enough for him to complete college, get a job, and buy a replacement vehicle himself...I hope!
 
#7 ·
The vehicle is driven by my 18yr old son, although I am the one who owns & maintains it. (My ride is an '07 6-6 sedan). If the current oil burn numbers hold, it looks like it will last long enough for him to complete college, get a job, and buy a replacement vehicle himself...I hope!
Pete, when my brother handed off his 5th Gen to a daughter, he taped a post it note to the oil dipstick that said "TEXT ME WHEN YOU SEE THIS- DAD". He would do that from time to time (every other month) just to make sure she was checking oil level.

What is funny is that she swiped his Lexus, BMW, and Miata keys and did the same "TEXT YOUR FAVORITE DAUGHTER WHEN YOU SEE THIS". So of course my brother texted his other daughter....

They also do that for the spare tire to make each other check tire pressure. My brother is a pilot- so redundant checks are the norm.

Next time you replace the engine oil, I would add 1 qt of MMO, to the engine oil. I would do that for the life of the car. Every oil change add 1 quart of MMO. The problem is your piston oil control ring. It has a small hole in it that gets plugged up with carbon. When the oil control ring scrapes against the cylinder wall, it passes the oil through that hole back to oil pan. When the hole gets plugged up with carbon, it burns it.

I would remove the plugs and do a MMO over night soak. It may take a couple of over night MMO soakings. When you are done with the over night MMO soakings, replace the engine oil with one quart of MMO in it.

Good luck.
Dimitri
Excellent suggestion on the Marvel Mystery Oil (MMO) added to the crankcase in substitution for a quart of oil. Member @KW2004Accord has suggested this for years. I do believe OP is on the right track with using a more aggressive chemical for the actual piston soak- in his case, GM Top Engine cleaner. Nothing against MMO, but I wrote a thread about this piston soak stuff for my 7th Gen....

I solved oil burning in my Accord 4 cylinder

https://www.driveaccord.net/forums/...-solved-oil-burning-my-accord-4-cylinder.html
 
#6 ·
Next time you replace the engine oil, I would add 1 qt of MMO, to the engine oil. I would do that for the life of the car. Every oil change add 1 quart of MMO. The problem is your piston oil control ring. It has a small hole in it that gets plugged up with carbon. When the oil control ring scrapes against the cylinder wall, it passes the oil through that hole back to oil pan. When the hole gets plugged up with carbon, it burns it.

I would remove the plugs and do a MMO over night soak. It may take a couple of over night MMO soakings. When you are done with the over night MMO soakings, replace the engine oil with one quart of MMO in it.

Good luck.
Dimitri
 
#8 · (Edited)
Rick,

I read your "Accord 4 Cyl oil burning" post in the 7th Gen forum when you first posted it, and that is what prompted me to try the GM top engine cleaner solution on the 8th Gen L4.. Many thanks for sharing!!

My son is at college 1000miles away from me/home and I had him check the oil for me over the weekend. Since we did the cylinder soak and oil change, he has put 3.5k miles on it and the oil level is about 1/4 above the low oil mark on the dipstick. So it is looking like the oil burn is now 1qt/4k miles. MUCH better!
We will add 1qt of MMO to the oil when the level reaches the low mark, and continue monitoring.

My youngest son just got his license the past Fri, and is driving a '97 Accord 5sp /w 235k miles on it. That little car has been in the family from day 1, and is running beautifully. I am definitely going to try the "message on the dip dipstick trick" and see what happens :)

Peter
 
#9 ·
So, getting back to the original question/intent of this post, i.e.

"Has anyone on this forum with an 8th Gen L4 "oil burner" ever replaced the pistons/piston rings (DIY) to address the oil consumption problem?"

It appears that that answer is "NO", based on the lack of responses to this question so far....
 
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#10 ·
I got a quote from Honda dealer of like 3,000$ + To do this. They said this 08-09 I4 was a very poor design for Honda Engines.
I was way over in the mileage of the warranty (08 LX-P) 144,000Mi.
I traded her in and feel sorry for whomever purchased it.
 
#12 ·
Yes, The GM Top Engine Cleaner seems to have done the trick for me.

But my question still stands, has anyone on this forum ever done the (DIY) piston and ring R&R?
 
#16 ·
AccordCoupe08, if you are going to go to the effort of pulling the plugs and adding a solvent/cleaner into the cylinders, I would recommend (1) read the thread link provided in post #7 above, and (2) use the GM top cylinder cleaner fluid (that was used in the thread link) instead of MMO.

Your odds of success will be greatest if you use the GM fluid.

Peter
 
#18 ·
I would use marvel mystery fluid instead. GM Top Engine Cleaner is not designed for this, to be poured in to the spark plugs holes. It should only be used as directed. MMO, was designed to be poured in to the spark plug holes. Just my thoughts...

Dimitri
 
#23 ·
To close out this thread, I have attached the Honda TSB that documents the procedure for replacing the pistons & rings (to address the oil burn issue) for anyone that plans to pursue this repair option.

One more thing:

There is a software update for the ECU (Service Bulletin 11-049, Product Update: Software Update to Improve Fuel Injector and VTC Timing) that is directly related to this oil burn issue with the '08/'09 Accords.

I took my '09 Accord in for this update last Fri. The good news is that this ECU update is labeled as a "campaign recall" so is FREE of CHARGE.

So, if you have an oil burner, make sure you get this ECU update (in addition to all the other repair options that have been discussed in this, and multiple other, threads).

Peter
 

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#24 ·
One more thing:

There is a software update for the ECU (Service Bulletin 11-049, Product Update: Software Update to Improve Fuel Injector and VTC Timing) that is directly related to this oil burn issue with the '08/'09 Accords.

I took my '09 Accord in for this update last Fri. The good news is that this ECU update is labeled as a "campaign recall" so is FREE of CHARGE.

So, if you have an oil burner, make sure you get this ECU update (in addition to all the other repair options that have been discussed in this, and multiple other, threads).

Peter
Does ECU upgrade apply to I4 2008-2012 Accords?
 
#25 ·
The TSB for the piston and piston ring replacement, that I posted above, is applicable to the 08-11 L4 Accords. And in that TSB, it requires that the vehicle ECU be updated with the new software per TSB 11-049. So, based on that, I would say that the ECU upgrade is applicable to the 08-11 L4 Accords.

Honda will enter your VIN and confirm if the TSB is applicable to your car. They should be able to do the check for free.

Peter
 
#26 ·
I have a 2008 Honda Pilot, which the engine light just came on. I had a valve adjustment and there are several TSB regarding the problem as well as a class action lawsuit. The issue is with cylindar 4 and apparently an oil ring (per the shop that did the work & a Honda tech). Wondering what recourse I have as this is a known problem with Honda. The dealership that I went to was HORRIBLE when I asked about it.
 
#27 ·
The class action lawsuit did not cover the 2008 Pilot only 2009-13. I doubt there is much you can do at this point.

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#28 ·
I actually have since found information that there is a separate TSB for 2006-2008. I have been told to file a case # with Honda headquarters, also going to contact the consumer protection shows that air these types of things. If it is a known issue, it should be fixed. I have been very happy with my Honda, but, this is a deal breaker for any future purchases.
 
#29 ·
A TSB is not a recall, if it is done during the warranty it would be no charge. If the TSB is done out of warranty the customer pays for the repair. You may get some Goodwill and they offer some discount on the repairs, I would not count on it for a 12 year old vehicle.

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