oil, need opinion Options

[6gcnoob]

ive been burning my oil not entirly sure what it can be. just rebuilt my bottom end so rings are new and have prolly put 2000 on it since i put it in. i only see smoke on start up and upper rpms say 4,500 or so. some of my friends say my rings could have not set right, and i read if it were rings it would be more constant smoke? my head has never been touched, but has new seals. i have been running lean so i guess its possible that the seals could have worn. im not sure. ive done compression tests and got around 200 on all 4. i want to get a new head, but it is quite pricey to just take a chance with. any one got any suggestions as to what i can do?

[Bitter]

valve guides could be worn out, how many miles on the head?

[6gcnoob]

not entiretly sure. was a swaped in motor. i prolly say bout 80k on it though. but before i rebuilt my bottom i never burned oil, had the occasional start up smoke.

[6gcnoob]

so what you think, replace head? or is it possible its the rings?

[Bitter]

worn valve guides can be tricky to diagnose, but they would seem to match your symptoms. if you add a little oil to each cylinder does the compression reading increase dramatically?

[6G96GT]

Things is, in order to swap your head out (if you pay a mechanic), it's going to be pricey whether you swap in a new one or rebuild your own. They have to tear it down in order to take it off. I had my valve seals replaced 2 months ago and I went ahead and had it rebuilt. Just like new! On a side note, I also blew smoke at start up 'only' and never while driving. I wonder if the rings didn't seat correctly as well. Maybe try a leak down test first?

[6gcnoob]

how do rings not seat correctly. would i be able to put my old rings back on?

[Nartanian]

Since your compression numbers are good that pretty much narrows it to something within the head. I am pretty much going through the same thing you are on a 7afe.

[6gcnoob]

yeah that is what i was thinking. but also they say if you add oil and its higher it can be the rings. if there was oil already in the cylinders then of course they will be high, but im not sure entirely. i really hope its just my head, but its a little over 300 to get it, so its a pretty pricey chance to take.

[6gcnoob]

also i keep forgeting to mention. i took my throttle body off the other day and stuck my fingers in the intake, swipped, and my fingers had a oil film on them. theres oil all in my intake, no good.

[blu94gt]

how do rings not seat correctly. would i be able to put my old rings back on?

It's more about the rings seating into the cylinder walls, which is most of what the break-in period is about. You definitely wouldn't want to use your old rings.

[6gcnoob]

so is there any way to find out which it can be

[Jamchell]

also i keep forgeting to mention. i took my throttle body off the other day and stuck my fingers in the intake, swipped, and my fingers had a oil film on them. theres oil all in my intake, no good.

Hmm, is it a good deal of oil? This could be the oil you are burning if the PCV system is malfunctioning. This can be from a few different causes including the rings not seating properly leaving too much end gap where the rings are split. I once had a Subaru that burned a quart every 250 miles due to blow-by.


If you remove the hose and run the engine for a bit you may see oil dripping, if so it's a fairly safe bet you have an issue with the PCV system. Make sure to close off the hole on the intake so you don't pull crap into your engine though.

This post has been edited by Jamchell: Aug 30, 2009 - 12:35 AM

[Bitter]

quick blow-by test is to remove the oil filler cap when the engine is running. it should pull a slight vacuum or be static (no air pumping in or out) and should not be blowing out alot. remember that it takes 1000-2000 miles for the rings to get well seated and worn into the bores.

[6gcnoob]

so it is most likely my rings?

UPDATE(unsolved mysteries ): unscrewed oil filler cap, sprays oil out,

(oil cap on)for the hell of it rev the motor & now have tons of smoke


This post has been edited by 6gcnoob: Aug 30, 2009 - 3:25 PM

[Bitter]

sounds like a blow by issue then. you could be blowing past the rings but you'd have lower compression readings i'd think. i don't know if you can blow past valve guides, never really heard of that.

are you sure the PCV is working? is your oil overfilled?

This post has been edited by Bitter: Aug 30, 2009 - 3:56 PM

[6gcnoob]

pretty sure im where i should be., and my pcv valve is fairly new. maybe i got too high of oil pressure? and thats causing the blow by? when i did the rebuild i took out the balance shafts, (camry motor). and i plugged the oil hole that supplies oil to them which is what i read to do. but i did read it didnt do much of difference in pressure.

even if it is a simple problem like that, doesnt that mean i caused damage?

[6gcnoob]

dipstick reads a quart low. pcv valve works.

[6gcnoob]

so i took my valve cover off, and im hand cranking the motor over. on the compression stroke i can hear air hissing, not exactly sure where its from though.

what i did was pretty much set up for compression test but with valve cover off and hand crank, so i did one cyl. at a time.

after i rebuilt it and it was on the engine stand i hand cranked it for timing check purposes and i heard it hiss then, so that was with the new rings not even worn in. maybe i found out my problem?

[Bitter]

you'll always get a hiss when turning the engine by hand, its air escaping past the valves. they don't seal air tight you know.