420A Oil Consumption

[gottalovenewage]

Problem(s):

Between oil changes my 420A loses about 3 quarts of oil. You can see that theres a slight oil leak on the backside of the motor, ive got a drop in compression on Cylinder #2, and you can see it burning a little bit of oil. When I did the compression test it came back with 190 accross the board except Cylinder #2 was at 175. Is there an oil-jacket close enough to cylinder #2, that if i blew the headgasket out there it would result in: loss in compression, oil leak, and the burning of a little bit of oil?

 

[VelocitàPaola]

That's quite a bit of oil you're losing...

I recommend a leak down test to pinpoint exactly where your losing oil.
http://www.dsmgrrrl.com/FAQs/leakdown.htm

A blown headgasket would provide signs consistent with everything your experiencing; however, I still recommend a leakdown test to possibly save yourself a little bit of time later.

 

[gottalovenewage]

Your telling me. i was pissed when i found out, previous owner didnt notify me.


thanks for the link

 

[VelocitàPaola]

Your telling me. i was pissed when i found out, previous owner didnt notify me.

Oh, this is a newly acquired car? That's unfortunate. Try to notify the previous owner about this. If they won't offer you any compensation, then I suppose you're stuck. Sorry...

Let's just hope it's the head gasket; if the rings are going bad, you'll be in for alot more work than you probably want to be.

 

[gottalovenewage]

Its bad enough just trying to keep it going, replacing parts as they go out, and trying to do upgrades at the same time.

 

[VelocitàPaola]

Its bad enough just trying to keep it going, replacing parts as they go out, and trying to do upgrades at the same time.

I know the feeling; but eventually, you run out of parts to replace...

 

[TalonESIT]

haha what a positive way to look at problems! imana keep this one in mind^^

 

[wret]

Why is it we know our cars so intimately but we are complete dummies when buying a new one?

I helped my daughter buy a 97 GS with a beautifully clean engine. Apparently it had been cleaned to disguise the constant oil leak. It was just a minor annoyance for months, then turned into a full blown head gasket.

It was a nice little project, we bought all the parts (including timing belt and water pump) and repaired it together. Afterward, it ran perfectly for many days. Right up to the point when she totaled it.

 

[WMD]

I had the same exact oil leak. It was comming from the headgasket. It was leaking down the back of the engine and onto the exhaust pipe causing a light amount of smoke. At first I was hoping it was somthing else but came the harsh reality it was the HG. Well needless to say my damn auto tenshiner broke and my timing belt jumped , killed two birdes with one stone; fixed the oil leak and got a mild valve job.

Just take off the head and replace the gasket.

 

[gottalovenewage]

I was just going to do a patch job to fix it (before i found out it was this serious), but my motor has 162,*** miles on it, the auto tranny is starting to slip (did i mention i just replaced the shift solenoid assem.), and i really wanna go turbo soon so.......... I think im just gonna rebuild the motor and tranny all at once, then go turbo. Any suggestions on who to go with for the engine kit?



almost forgot: i have to replace my entire front suspension, rear struts, get an all around alignment, fix the fuel leak, and fix the idleing problem first. You all wanna what the sad/funny thing is - I bought this car from my boss, and we work at AutoZone!!!!

 

[VelocitàPaola]

If you're going to be rebuilding for performance (which I'm assuming you are, since you want to go turbo), I'd go with Howell. They stock most of the rebuild parts you'll need, plus they also sell kits with pistons, rods, bearings, gaskets, etc..

http://www.howellautomotive.com/

 

[GSGoinFast]

Why is it we know our cars so intimately but we are complete dummies when buying a new one?

I helped my daughter buy a 97 GS with a beautifully clean engine. Apparently it had been cleaned to disguise the constant oil leak. It was just a minor annoyance for months, then turned into a full blown head gasket.

It was a nice little project, we bought all the parts (including timing belt and water pump) and repaired it together. Afterward, it ran perfectly for many days. Right up to the point when she totaled it.

Well thats a very depressing story

As for your rebiuld, If you are interested in performance and are going to have the tranny out anyway, I would look into a manual swap. NV-T350's are are fairly cheap and you will like the gain in performance. Just a suggestion. As for the rebuild kit, yea, I would go with howell, although they have been known to take a long tim on occasion.

 

[gottalovenewage]

Yeah i was reading on their site that it could take up to 8 weeks for some parts. But if their the best, then you really cant beat it. Ive been looking into the manual swap, i really do miss my 1st gen 5-speed, but i do have a question - whats their HP/TQ rating? I know the stock turbo trannies can only hold 400HP for so long, so id assume the NV's would hold close to the same (350-375), right?

 

[VelocitàPaola]

The 420As have surprisingly stocky trannies. Chris just mentioned that they're good for at least 500hp in another thread, per Hahn Racecraft's testing. The clutch can begin to be a problem after 200-250hp, though.

 

[gottalovenewage]

well i knew on dodges domestic vehicles their manual trannies would hold a surprising bit of power, but i didnt know their imports could hold that much! Well i guess i should start looking for an NV.

 

[VelocitàPaola]

What imports? All DSMs were born in Normal, Illinois - that's about as domestic as you can get...

 

[gottalovenewage]

In all honesty, and personal views and opinions are more than welcome here. Given the choice, would you stick with the 420A-T or go with a factory turboed 4G63T?

 

[gottalovenewage]

i knew someone was going to say that. you should hear all the rednecks out here when i tell them that my "### car" as they so nicely call it, is more american than their diesels! man that gets 'em going, .

 

[VelocitàPaola]

In all honesty, and personal views and opinions are more than welcome here. Given the choice, would you stick with the 420A-T or go with a factory turboed 4G63T?

Honestly, if you're going to rebuild, I would stick with the 420A. Obviously, my opinion is biased a little, but I think the 420As are truly great engines; they're more modern (by almost 25 years), they have better flowing heads (designed by Lotus), and they're capable of making quite a bit of power.

I would only consider a 4G63 if it were AWD... even then I'd have to think long and hard about ditching my 420A.

 

[gottalovenewage]

Well i guess you all have pretty much convinced me that im heading in the right direction.

 

[Spoolin4Ever]

I have to wonder if you are actually burning more oil then you are leaking? I mean if you have some bad rings on a piston..?

Either way, it sounds like you will be up for a rebuild I suppose.

 

[gottalovenewage]

well ive gone through 2 coil packs, a set of wires, 4 sets of plugs, a pcv valve, and im about to have to replace the back o2 sensor. i bought it in december, so more than likely im burning half of it off. but if i check the oil, let it set for a week or two, i can go out and check it and its low. i finally went and bought two MSD GM 2-Tower coil packs, custom made some Accel wires, and got some Denso plugs and gapped them .010 over the recommended gap. so far i havent had that many problems with the ignition system not working. but ill tell you all about the problem ive had since January - the two check engine codes that always come up are those for the back o2 sensor and for the ignition on Cylinder 2 and 3. when the check engine comes on for the ignition, my car wont start without some starting fluid. when the back o2 sensor code comes up, the car idles at 300RPM. so its burning enough to do all that man i love used cars.

 

[4UH8ERS]

If you're going to be rebuilding for performance (which I'm assuming you are, since you want to go turbo), I'd go with Howell. They stock most of the rebuild parts you'll need, plus they also sell kits with pistons, rods, bearings, gaskets, etc..

http://www.howellautomotive.com/

yes, I personally went with howell with no regrets. If you buy one of there performance oriented kits such as the long rod kit which i chose:

http://www.howellautomotive.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=377

then your going to have to wait awhile becuase they order the pistons from je and the rods to be made when you order. there just too pricey of parts to keep stocked up.
i personally went with a .20 bore and polished the crank to standard and used standard bearings. and if you decide to stay stock they got the stock bottom end rebuild kit for only 320.00 and you can handle boost up to 9psi np on a rebuild with stock internals. good luck let us know what you decide on.

p.s if you get 8.6 compression pistons like i did. until you put a turbo on it. it's no fun trust me and the lower compression also makes me burn a little oil slowly. anyway im piecing me a turbo kit together as we speak. too bad the dang dentist keeps taking all my money!!!

 

[XMasta19]

hmm...sorry it took me so long to post, haven't been on in almost a day

Have you had the valve cover gasket replaced, or are there any signs of leaks around there? Also...the 420a is notorious for leaking in the rear driver corner of the block, due to one of the headbolts being a bit too long and bottoming out upon torque. This could very well be the problem you're having, and you should do yourself a favor and check it out. Your compression just doesn't seem very low to me to be warranting an unnecessary rebuild at this time...that is if you're not yet wanting to of course. If you're gonna pull the head off and change the gasket and possibly more, I would definitely recommend going with the ARP head studs for the ease of mind.

Let us know what you find out

 

[gottalovenewage]

my boss changed the valve cover gasket before i bought it, but said that when he removed it someone before him used silicone on the rubber gasket WTF !!! I think im either going to do a rebuild on my motor (stock for now to get it going) or get another 420A in better condition, and lower miles. it depends on if i can find another good motor or not, but i know im definatly going to rebuild my auto until i can go manual. either way after i get my new motor and tranny installed im goin turbo. ive got this really bad turbo hunger that just wont go away.