Burning oil
10-31-2008, 08:18 PM
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Burning oil
This is driving me crazy. If I let my engine sit and idle then once I take off a puff of smoke (not really all that blue) shoots out of the tail pipe and smells bad. It isn't coolant because I am losing oil. I have about 1200 miles on my rebuild and I'm not sure whats going on. My guess would be the rings are lined up (bad) and oil is getting in the cylinder and its burning it. Other than that I have no clue. When my engine gets low on oil (quart low) it completely stops??
And, my truck is only holding about 3.7 quarts of oil. I did an oil change and put 4 quarts in (says 4.5) and changed the filter and its way above the mark??
Thanks!
And, my truck is only holding about 3.7 quarts of oil. I did an oil change and put 4 quarts in (says 4.5) and changed the filter and its way above the mark??
Thanks!
10-31-2008, 08:58 PM
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im in the same boat as you. I just did a head job and did the proper valve seal break in procedure and i have the same symptoms as you. I was thinking it was my rings. Im going to buy a pressure gauge and do a compression test to find out.
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10-31-2008, 09:25 PM
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No I didn't change the valve seals...because my head was off 2k miles prior to that and they were changed then. I didn't figure it was necessary. lol
10-31-2008, 09:40 PM
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when you rebuilt your engine did you seat the dip stick tube right? I have rebuilt a engine before and pushed the dip stick tube too far in and had the same symtoms you are describing.. just a thought
10-31-2008, 09:48 PM
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The op said he did a oil change and put 4qrts in. Oil is still in the head and what not probably making up the rest of the spec 4.5. On his dipstick if seated wrong it could read off and he adds more when he shouldnt. It was just a thought
10-31-2008, 10:21 PM
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What I don't get is, when he did the oil change he dumped 4 quarts in, regardless of what the dipstick says, there were 4 quarts in there, so what difference does it make what the dipstick said, he is still losing oil.
10-31-2008, 10:24 PM
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Im just suggesting things. Your right there would be oil loss. But if he removed the dipstick tube and was not properly seated he could be pulling the tube up when pulling dipstick. So when you clean off dipstick and reinsert to check level it could be not seating all the way back down causing miss readings. I may be way off on this but it has happened to me so i thought i would throw that out there.
11-01-2008, 12:44 PM
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how would the dipstick and the dipstick sheath affect the oil burning and the smoke?
When I did the head job, I saw the dipstick was not bolted onto the engine block like it should be, so I pulled it out of the engine a little and got it to line up with the mount point. So essentially, my dipstick sheath was about half an inch into the engine before the head job and I pulled it out that half-inch to bolt it onto the engine.
When I did the head job, I saw the dipstick was not bolted onto the engine block like it should be, so I pulled it out of the engine a little and got it to line up with the mount point. So essentially, my dipstick sheath was about half an inch into the engine before the head job and I pulled it out that half-inch to bolt it onto the engine.
11-01-2008, 01:46 PM
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how would the dipstick and the dipstick sheath affect the oil burning and the smoke?
When I did the head job, I saw the dipstick was not bolted onto the engine block like it should be, so I pulled it out of the engine a little and got it to line up with the mount point. So essentially, my dipstick sheath was about half an inch into the engine before the head job and I pulled it out that half-inch to bolt it onto the engine.
When I did the head job, I saw the dipstick was not bolted onto the engine block like it should be, so I pulled it out of the engine a little and got it to line up with the mount point. So essentially, my dipstick sheath was about half an inch into the engine before the head job and I pulled it out that half-inch to bolt it onto the engine.
11-01-2008, 03:06 PM
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Hey. Any and all suggestions are welcome, just as long as they seem reasonable. This dipstick seemed reasonable. Now if you suggested changing tire brands or air filters, that would be outrageous.
When I start my truck, it usually takes about 25 seconds for the smoke to start spewing out. I've found that within the first 20 seconds of startup, if I put the truck in first gear and foll it forward a little (6 feet maybe) it won't smoke.
11-01-2008, 04:33 PM
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Long story short, i need to change my valve stem seals, and i rebuilt the top and not to long ago, and my truck uses oil. However a mechanic friend of mine told me something. He said because the engine is re-sealed, there will be more pressure in various systems, and will cause oil blow by. I was a little skeptical, but it makes sense, after you guys seem to have the same problem, i think his theory might be right. I'm going to change the valve stem seals, and then watch my oil consumption to see if it goes away or at least decreases. However, for you guys, it seems logical that if your truck is burning oil, the rings are bad. If there isn't any oil in your coolant as that it really the only other place it could go. However, the rings might not necessarily be to worn, they may just be clogged and can't expand and contract properly. I don't know how you feel about seafoam, i haven't ever used it, but i guess its worth trying. On a final note, you need to do a compression test.
