My engine is using some serious oil. I talked to a mech about a head job. and he said it wasn't going to help because of the amount of oil I'm using (about 3/4-1 qt every time I fill up). There is smoke coming out of the back in the mornings when it's cold but not after it warms up so I assumed it's a top end problem and the bottom end is fine. Also, he said I would have to rebuild the engine because If I just do the head and the bottom end is old and loose, then it'll blow out the bottom end since there will be increased pressure in the combustion chambers. Any advice?

Thanks in advance

 

Unless you have some frightful external oil leaks, your mechanic is probably right that a complete rebuild is the ticket.

 

I don't agree with the fact that if you don't do the block the increased compression will make it blow, I think that's bull˟˟˟˟ but that doesn't mean it isn't a good idea to do it. There are rebuilt motors you can buy already done, if you can do the swap yourself it might be cheaper.

 

Yeah...I mean he most likely means well and getting some parts running correctly will often cause other worn out parts to fail. Like my headgasket leak which only developed after I put a new water pump in...

But why, on an old worn out engine, would you take the top end off and rebuild it, and not do the block? Unless money is really an issue, and the bottom end tested out really good.

I mean I guess you could have the top end rebuilt and just drop the oil pan and replace the rod bearings...but by then, again, why not just rebuild?

If money is real tight, and after testing and examining the block, you (or the mechanic) determine that it's in really good shape, then sure, just rebuild the head.

 

Id find out where the oil is going. That's a lot of oil to lose only burning at start up. I'd do a compression test. You could also have a friend drive behind you down the road and see if it's burning oil. It's hard to see smoke by yourself going down the road behind you.

 

I had the same exact problem - burning nearly a quart betweem fill ups. My compression was "ok" ranging from 145-160 and I had addressed a lot of other issues already. Turned out that I had a couple of slightly burnt valves, glazed cylinder walls and failed valve seals so I rebuilt the whole thing. Typically, if it burns the most oil on start up then it tends to be valve seals, but that isn't a definitive solution. If you are going to rebuild the head, might as well rebuild the lower half too. If you want to curb some of the oil consumption until you go to rebuild try running Rotella 15W-40. I used it for a summer before I started my resto and it cleared up about half of my oil consumption.

 

How many miles are on the engine? One insight not mentioned is worn rings causing blow-by. I'm not trying to negate responses, I agree a rebuild is definitely in order. Top and bottom. If you're going to do it, do it right and save yourself frustration.

 

Thanks for the info guys! Wolfman, the engine has 190K. Any idea at how much I'm looking at for a rebuild? Or would it just be a better idea to pick up a long block that's already been rebuilt and put it in there myself? I don't know if I trust picking up a used one just because you never really know where it's been. I don't want to end up with the same issue on another engine.

 

How much work can you do yourself?

I took my engine out, and apart. Then I put it back in. So the machine shop cleaned, bored and rebuilt the engine, but that's it.

Complete basic rebuild like that cost me somewhere between $1,000-$2,000, from what I remember. If they had to take your engine out and put it back in and get it all hooked back up, that's quite a bit more in labor.

The problem with that number is that it doesn't take into account all the other stuff you'll be tempted to replace while you're there...like coolant hoses, all the tune up stuff like wires and plugs and rotor and cap, maybe motor mounts, etc.

Just coolant hoses add up ridiculously fast...

Depends on the ideas you have for your truck...if it's just kind of a beater you like to have, a used engine isn't a terrible idea.

If it's your baby, get it rebuilt.

 

I can do quite of the R & R. But I think I'm going to be tempted to replace a few other parts while I'm in there (like you said). I'm trying to restore the truck so I don't really want to cut corners. I just wanted to see what everyone's take was on the head rebuild idea. But damn, $1000-2000 is no joke.

 

For the love of these trucks man!!! Look at it as an investment. Well worth a rebuild to get another 200,000 out of it.

 

To rebuild it yourself and rebuild it right, you'll be looking at a $1,000 minimum. That would include the rebuilt kit, top end rebuild parts and your machine shop bill. My engine, for example, cost me around $2,000 but that included a lot of parts that I didn't need to replace, but I did anyway because I am meticulous and I'm going for a complete restoration. You can see the process in my rebuild thread. If you decide to rebuild it yourself, download a FSM BEFORE you tear it down so you can do it properly and take your tolerance measurements along the way.

 

Thanks for the info guys. I'll keep you guys posted along the way when I decide to get this thing going.

 

Try a quart of Lucas oil stabalizer in your next oil change. I burn a lot of oil in my truck (both rings and valve stem seals) and this slows it down A LOT. Rotella isn't a bad idea either but I only have experience with the Lucas. Will buy you some time if nothing else.

 

ConSeann thanks man, I will try that. I was using CD2 (oil additive) a while back. It would really bump up my gas mileage but it was barely slowing down my oil usage. But every time I added it, my gas mileage would stay between 21-24 mpg. But now it seems like that doesn't even help anymore. That's why I'm wondering if my engine has gotten to the point where the consumption is that bad to where additives don't even affect it anymore

 

Your in SD, so you can get away with rotella 15w40. Its cheap and should slow the oil consumption down.