Burning Oil , Why?

[flipnoy213]

I rebuild my engine 1,500 miles ago, I changed piston rings, all bearings, head job at a machine shop, and belts. After driving for about 120 miles my car started smoking when i start the car after sitting for awhile. Then just go away after just a minute of idling. Now about 1,500 from rebuild my car smokes when idling and doesn't go away, not a lot but enough to see from someone following (like a cop).

I did a compression test all 1,2,3,4 pistons are 178 psi. But i noticed oil on top of the 3rd piston looking though the plug hole. I checked the PCV valve but of course it wasn't that either. Not the turbo because i have a exhaust leak between the head and the exhaust manifold and i see little oil coming out, and the turbo has very little play.

I went back to the machine shop and they said it because the cylinder is like an oval and the piston rings haven't shaped to the cylinder walls, so that it would go away after awhile when the new rings shape to the walls. But its getting worse and smoking more.
My diagnostic is that maybe one of the valve seal wasn't installed properly and leaking oil from the intake side of the head. Because it can't be the piston rings because all the compression test on each cylinder are the same. Well that all i could think of, what do you guys think?

*edit* Im 2,500 miles from rebuild not 1,500

 

[Eclipsemblue]

make sure u broke in the engine properly, abusing it will cause the rings to #### up.
Your compression seems fine though.

Yes engines do smoke for the first 500 miles i would say, i know that for fact. but 1,500 miles in it should not smoke from what i know from experience. if you constantly boosted on those new pistons and such like racing and stuff, you proble just skrewed up your internals.

Hard Excel, constant boosting will cause damage and the rings to not form correctly. cars dont smoke from factory cause they run the engines at the essembly building. So when a person buys a car they dont have ppl F' them up and demand refunds.

Try tightening all the bolts that are on your valve cover, check oil levels. Look for oil build up on the engine case. Thats what i would do.

 

[flipnoy213]

Hard Excel, constant boosting will cause damage and the rings to not form correctly. cars dont smoke from factory cause they run the engines at the essembly building. So when a person buys a car they dont have ppl F' them up and demand refunds. Try tightening all the bolts that are on your valve cover, check oil levels. Look for oil build up on the engine case. Thats what i would do.

yeah i properly broke in the engine and i hardly have hard acceleration, and hardly boost because of high gas prices. only thing i can think of is the machine shop messed up my head by not installing the new valve seals properly. My oil level seems fine the car doesn't eat up a lot of oil. I could drive for over 100 miles and the oil level doesn't move much.
How does making the valve bolt tight help, and were the engine case do i look for oil build up? Thanks

 

[blue92laser]

well, i got a question...

What color is the smoke? You may think its oil, maybe its just a bad head install job on ur part.....is it white smoke? blue? black?

 

[flipnoy213]

blue smoke

 

[flipnoy213]

blue smoke is the head....bad install or the gasket is blown...prolly not the gasket though because the gasket was replaced...generally on older engines though that would be the gasket, or so im told. but check the head..blue smoke is generally the head...black would be oil (i think)

I installed new head gasket from the dealer. Im thinking of removing the intake manifold and looking for oil leaks at the intake valves. Any other suggestions on what should i do?

Oh and i think its blue smoke burning oil, black smoke to much gas, and white burning water?

 

[flipnoy213]

yea that what i think. ill see when i pull out the intake mani.

 

[blue92laser]

yeah black smoke is too much gas but u say blue so that would def. be oil. I would check out the head....only other thing i could think of is blow by, maybe.

but that would suck on a brand new engine wouldnt it? probably not that, if you really did break it in right.

Let us know what u find out.

 

[flipnoy213]

nope not the blow by, i tried to bypass that and give the car a run and that didn't help. i'm planning to remove the intake manifold tomorrow or new week (depending how HOT the day is). Ill keep u guys updated.

 

[pinknuggit]

make sure u broke in the engine properly, abusing it will cause the rings to #### up.
Your compression seems fine though.

Yes engines do smoke for the first 500 miles i would say, i know that for fact. but 1,500 miles in it should not smoke from what i know from experience. if you constantly boosted on those new pistons and such like racing and stuff, you proble just skrewed up your internals.

Hard Excel, constant boosting will cause damage and the rings to not form correctly. cars dont smoke from factory cause they run the engines at the essembly building. So when a person buys a car they dont have ppl F' them up and demand refunds.

what you said is completely false.
a rough break in Helps the rings seal better, not "####" them up.
and skrewing up internals is not dependant on how you break your motor in.

 

[Defiant]

Please don't guess if that's all you're doing.

Main suspect from what you describe is the valve stem seals. Did they replace them? Did you do a full engine rebuild including the head, or just bottom-end?

 

[flipnoy213]

Please don't guess if that's all you're doing.

Main suspect from what you describe is the valve stem seals. Did they replace them? Did you do a full engine rebuild including the head, or just bottom-end?

I did the bottom end and i just took the head to a machine shop to do the head, I asked them and they said they changed it.

 

[Kheldar]

are u using water too? cuz if u are it is exactly like my car
and i dont know what is wrong i was told by polk performance(rebuilt my bottom end) that it sounds like my head which was supposed to be rebuilt by the shop that warped some valves

 

[flipnoy213]

are u using water too? cuz if u are it is exactly like my car
and i dont know what is wrong i was told by polk performance(rebuilt my bottom end) that it sounds like my head which was supposed to be rebuilt by the shop that warped some valves

can you explain a little more i don't get what you mean. thanks

 

[Kheldar]

are u having to put more water in it like u r with oil?

i have had a profesional shop tell me that it sounds like my head and if u are using water also then it might be


or it might be anyway

 

[flipnoy213]

are u having to put more water in it like u r with oil?
i have had a profesional shop tell me that it sounds like my head and if u are using water also then it might be or it might be anyway

No my coolant fine never had to add more.

 

[SlowSpyder]

Call up the machine shop that did your head. Ask the what exactly did they do to it. Did the replace all the valves or use your old ones, samething with the valve guides. If the old ones were reused and not carefully inspected especially because all of valves,guides, springs, retaines, keepers are wear mated to each other. if the valve has some sort of taper, knick, or is under spec that can cause a whole lot of problems especially to the valve seal if there is rough spots on the valve. Also wrong installation of new valves and guides will creat problems especially if they used a hammer to put the valves in because the valve with proper clearances is suppose to fall into the guide under its own weight.

Also get a leak down test done to your engine and done forget to inspect your turbo. Blocking off the return line on the turbo will cause oil to come out of the seals on the turbo.
To be sure take a spark plug out and get a pen light and see how much oil is on your piston most likely if there is a seal/piston ring problem your piston will have a layer of oil on it.

 

[flipnoy213]

I took out my intake manifold today and i didn't see any signs of oil dripping down the valves everything looked nice and clean, now i guess i gotta remove the exhaust manifold and maybe its leaking there , ill keep u guys updated.

 

[DROOPY209]

im in Galt, what machine shop did your head machining? where in stockton are you located @???

 

[flipnoy213]

Im down at Northridge because of college. I had my head done at a machine shop in LA

 

[flipnoy213]

I added No Smoke and No leak to my oil 3 days ago and it seems to help. When idling it doesn't smoke, when cruising i think it smokes a little, but when i'm boosting, entering the freeway, then let go of the gas a really huge dense blue smoke comes out just for a second then stops smoking when cruising. any ideas wat up?

im still planning to remove my exhaust mani to see if its leaking for the valves, just haven't have a chance to do it.

 

[flipnoy213]

i removed the exhaust manifold and saw one of the 8 valves all overed with layers of oil. So i removed the head out and took it back to the machine shop, and they still insisted it was the cylinder walls, but then they said they were gonna replace the valve seal and get them from the dealer. ill keep ya guy informed

 

[flipnoy213]

got the head back, but he didn't put dealer seals because they cost about $100, he put new Fel-Pro as before. I put everything back then took it for a test drive and it smoked worse then before . my mechanic still blames the valve seals, and were going to buy them from the dealer and replace them ourselves. You guy got any other ideas? Also theres smoke when i open the oil cap, could that mean other symptoms?

 

[asexton6969]

Your problem sounds close to mine. I just rebuilt my engine and when u get up to about 3k it will kind of knock or rap. We figure its just everything getting seated. Well we started the car up and it blew smoke like no other. Theres no way that i could drive it and not get pulled over. Well my turbo had oil in the inlet and in my IC. cleaned it out bought a new t25. Put everything back on...and it still smokes. My dad and I messed with the PCV Valve and it doesnt smoke as bad as before but it still smokes too much. We have hardly driven it. I think maybe 5 miles MAX. should we just drive it and break it in or what. Do you think there is something else wrong. We are planning on getting a new PCV Valve and trying that. Let me know what u guys think.

 

[flipnoy213]

prob solved 5 days ago i got sum dealer valve seals put it in myself, now im smoke free, man quitting was so hard