6bolt swap nightmare NEED HELP!!

[lunarhybrid]

Just recently(2 weeks ago) I had a 6 bolt engine(stock block w/ 2nd gen pistons and 1st gen rods) stock crank, 1gen head(ported etc), big 16g, greddy UICP & BOV, anyways I have had the usual problems with the MDP sensor, vacuum lines, and a few other small problems, well I was ok with this and was running great, till I noticed oil collecting on my valve cover so I took off the spark plug cover and there was a pool of oil that had collected, I popped off all of the spark plug wires and #1 was flooded with oil and the other 3 was dry, so I cleaned it out and determined that the oil was coming out of the oil cap(or so it looked) and I put a gasket on the oil cap and took it for a drive and came back and oil was everywhere under the hood, mostly burning around near the o2 housing next to the turbo and I noticed that my oil dipstick was sticking out, I was sure I had put it all the way back in, so I checked the oil and put a quart in it and drove it again and made sure the dipstick was all the way in and when I got back again there was oil everywhere, mostly near the oil dipstick and again it was pushed out about 2-3 inches. Here's where it gets confusing, the engine was completely rebuilt, and the mechanic that did this for me put in synthetic 10W30 and the car had good to strong oil pressure and then I noticed all of this oil coming out and a friend of mine told me that it is a cardinal sin to use synthetic oil to break a engine in because it is too thin and the piston rings will not set right and other stuff, so we drained out the oil and flushed it twice with 20w50 and the oil pressure is low, very low and the oil is still coming out of the dipstick and now I am very confused, also before all of this the engine sounded great, now at about 3k rpm there is a very noticeable engine rattle/vibration, the noise is coming the back side of the engine around the intake manifold..... I am looking for some guidance, what can be causing the oil to do this, I have read almost every post and can't find anything, any help would be greatly appreciated.......

 

[lunarhybrid]

please.....

 

[drivemusicnow]

Mods please don't close this cause he bumped...

Anywho using synthetic to break in a new motor is a bad idea, and seeing as how the shop put it in, it makes me question their abilities to machine a motor. what it sounds like is that you're building a fair amount of crank case pressure, however i don't know that this alone would push the oil out. (PCV valve is what should be removing that pressure for you, try using a catch can and see how much oil comes out there) Also, try replacing the rubber o ring on the dipstick to hold it in better.

This however is a separate problem from the low oil pressure, and I'm not sure what is causing that.

Lets get this man some more ideas...

 

[karnsatron]

Blowing the dipstick out is common on these cars. If the motor was just rebuilt then check the dipstick. 2g style dipsicks have 2 o-rings on them that can go bad. 1G's just have a ribbed rubber section. Check to see if it's in good shape and replace if necessary.
As a last resort, I've seen people wire-tie these down so they can't come out.

As for the ticking from the intake area, my money is on a bad balance shaft bearing. You didn't state if they were taken out so I'm assuming they are still there. They are usually the first bearing to go from oiling problems.

 

[lunarhybrid]

still has balance shafts and the dipstick has both rings on it, seems to be a fair amount of tension holding it in. It it also pushing oil out of the oil cap. This engine has 500 miles on it now and was all using the synthetic, do you think any harm could come of this???

 

[spooledu1st]

How is the pvc routed? And how is the breather routed? Check taboo routing of the pvc system that will help you out.

 

[lunarhybrid]

is there a good link for taboo?

 

[BISHILVR]

Now me and the mad scientist are gonna have to rip apart the block and replace the piston rings you fried!!! Actually that's going to be the correct fix. Pull the pistons and rings out, re-hone the block and then put new rings in. The bad thing is that the damage is already done from using syn oil to break in the new rings. This is why they are blowing by so badly and there is no real cure except to do as I said with the teardown. You might be able to get the machine shop to pay since they are the ones who put the syn oil in to begin with. Really they should have known better. WTF

 

[lunarhybrid]

If the rings are bad now wouldn't it smoke out of the exhaust? If not is the only way to check this by tearing the engine back down?

 

[bfdahl]

First, get a new dip stick. Then check the PCV and hose routing and to see if its clear and functioning.
then crawl under it and ck to see if the engine brace between the Intake manni and block is tight. (known to rattle when loose)

now put in some 10-40 wt standard oil and new filter. and drive the car find a long stretch of road and get the car up to 40 to 50 mph in third gear and then pull out of the throttle and let the engine brake the car down to 20 mph and do this like 10 times.

then see if the dipstick is still popping out.

this process it to "pull" the rings up and down in the ring lands. there is still a good chance that nothing is wrong. Its a new engine thing every body goes though this!

after all Evos come right out of the factory with synthetic oil and its all good there

and if your reading oil presure off a dash gauge, dont get a real direct reading gauge and dont panic until you see whats really going on.

 

[BISHILVR]

Well the thing is that evo's as well as corvettes and other high end cars DO come from the factory with syn oil in them, BUT only after they have been broken in on dino oil in the factory first!!! We have had to replace complete long blocks at the dealership over this very same problem. There was actually a GM bulletin out for this very same problem, so it's not any type of joke or band-aid fix. The best thing to do right now is a leak down test to see if the problem is in fact what it sounds like, which is rings that wont seat. If so then you will be going ahead with a tear down.

 

[lunarhybrid]

new update: I performed cylinder leakdown test and it failed
now the shop that built this is not wanting anything to do with the car because now this shop says that the problem is nothing that they did. I guess its back to the drawing board. Also found out the when they installed the timing tensioner that it is not being oiled and that it is stationary and not adjusting with the ECM. Is this possible?? The jerk that did this work said that he couldn't get it to work because of the motor mount and did the best he could, I wish I knew this when he was doing the work and I wouldn't be here now. Also he said that the problem could also be the 2gen pistons/rings and because I asked to have these installed its my fault all of this happened. Any suggestions???

 

[BISHILVR]

Ok, first the timing tensioner does NOT get oiled period, It works just fine nice and dry. Number two, the tensioner has nothing to do with the ecu at all. The tensioner is basically just a spring loaded rod that puts pressure on your idler pulley to keep the slack out of the belt. The idiot that installed the front cover and motor mount must not have cut the mount to clear the tensioner arm??? Anyway, I kinda figured you had a ring problem, so plan a teardown and hone/replace on the rings. Also it has nothing to do with the 2g pistons, they will work fine if they are installed right.

 

[lunarhybrid]

I am a firm believer in 2nd opinions, so I had another shop check out my engine and what they came up with is that I have 135lbs of compression on all 4 cylinders and there is about 10%-12% leakage, is this what I should have???

 

[gsxtacy]

Like everyone else has stated....

PCV valve, catch can ect.

Compression sounds a bit low for 2g pistons. I tested my car a few weeks ago (with turned rod bearing) and I got 148, 150, 135, 148.

Does the rattle, vibration happen at about 2800-3400 when you blip the throttle?

Could be turned bearing, I don't recommend driving it due to possible further damage.

Re-hone, and ring it, and while your there you'll see if you need your crank turned and new bearings.

Good luck.

gsxtacy