So I have this recently rebuilt engine in my 92 yota, I had the head completly redone including new valve guides and valves. the bottom end as well was completly redone. Problem is that I am burning oil. I cant figure out why, any suggestions?

 

somthing wasnt done right.

is the pcv valve new?

 

did you put in new valve seals?

 

i was gonan say the same thing. Even if you take out the valves and reinstall the mwit hthe same seals they are toast. You have to install them with the sleeve over the top and then never remove the valve after that. How much oil are you burning? It takes a little bit to seat the rings but it shoudlnt burn much.

 

New seals and everything, pcv isnt new but a pcv either works or it dont, mine works. Not sure exactly how much I am burning but its significant. The funny thing is I am not blowing blue smoke.

 

are you sure the oil isnt getting into your water? if your not blowing blue smoke then it is prob something else. regardless you should have 0 internal problems with a rebuilt engine when done right. Makes me glad i did my own rebuild. my friend just had his done by a shop and it burns a tiny bit of oil. only when it idles for a little bit which is kinda normal.

 

How do you know it is burning oil ? What signs of consumption ? any leaks ? How about blow by ? Are your plugs clean ? I think it is fairly normal for a motor to smoke for a few on intail start up after a rebuild , and it will take some time for things to seat and break in. I know I usually stress a bit over the first couple of runs on a new motor. Hope it's just you being over concerned. Good luck.

 

sounds like my problem buddy.. new rebuilt motor with 50k on it and its eatin a quart every 2 weeks or so my blow by is excessive so i guess they put in bad piston rings..wrong size..or incorrect installation

 

Zealot, do - or have done - a leak down test.
Most likely candidate is the rings... LEak down test can help you determine if it's rings.

Who did your rebuild?

 

defiently It can help u... my leakdown showed only 5% leakeage on all cylinders..which is totally fine.... unfortuneatly my oil is burning somewhere...

So if your cylinders are full of oil leaking past the rings the leakdown test will not be accurate.. unless u perhaps spray sum gasoline in the clyinders to clean them out first...

 

I bought the engine from my friend a couple months ago. He put 2k miles on it and ended up selling me the engine (long story). Found out the valves seats were bad and had the head redone. With the help from my friends who are experienced mechanics put the engine back together as correctly as you can get. Now I am having to put a quart a oil in a week. I dont drive my truck much because I have company vehicle, so it is a signifficant consumption. Leakdown test is new to me, what is it.

 

Oh yeah, I am barely leaking oil.

 

Zealot,
Valve job != rebuild
There really isn't any way to tell the condition of the rings without pulling them out.. So if you guys left the bottom end alone, it's likely that you've got a ring failure. Do you get a lot of oil burnt under load?
Ring failure an uncommon way for high mileage (or improperly assembled) 22R motors to go... And i hate rebuilds where people simply slap a new set of rings on an old bore and old pistons.. That's bad mojo - but I see it happen a lot!

 

dcg9381, My friend had a complete rebuild done, including bored cylinders, new pistons and new rings. You can see why this is perplexing.

 

Yes, that might cause one to be perplexed, but without knowing that a really reliable source did the work I wouldn't be surprised... Maybe this is why I ask for receipts for any "rebuilds" when I'm going to buy something.

Any idea in terms of what he paid for that service or if the shop that did it has experience with import motors? It's SSOOO easy to make a little mistake like not gap the rings, or put a ring in upside down...

Unfortunately, the vast majority of 22Rs that burn oil that I've seen are burning due to ring issues or HG issues.. hopefully yours will be the exception... As you've got good leak down, it could still be one of the oil control rings or an assembly issue. I think it's going to be a bear to find it..

 

I had my compleat top end done and it burns oil as well. About 1qt every 2 weeks, but I notice it more when I do long runs on the hwy.

 

im sort of happy to know im not alone :'(

on my rebuiild the PO had done (50000km ago) it cost 1300canadian and it was top and bottom end.. but who knows if they knew wut they were doing or used good parts.. i just assumed yes lol

Im holding out hope its my oil control rings... i did an engine flush then changed the oil so we will see... my hope is an engine flush might ungunk the oil control rings if they are the problem

 

So the cost is a big hint. Doing a rebuild myself, using parts the approximately the same cost as a shop, a quality rebuild costs between $700-$900 USD with the head work. So if this was done by a shop and they have to make money... hmmm.. makes you wonder what corners were cut. If you offered me $1300 CDN to do a rebuild, I'd say absolutely no way... Course, the fact that you are leaking oil is another indicator of bad rebuild mojo.

Any chance your buddy can take it back to the shop and ask "WTF"?

Advice:
1) Get your oil leak fixed.
2) Take it to the shop that built it and ask what the deal is.
3) Check compresssion, as you've already done leak down.


I've seen a motor that I built with good compression and great leak down burn oil. In my case, it was incompatiblility between the final finish on the bore and the "Total Seal" rings. The motor didn't smoke, didn't behave badly, it just ate a ton of oil. Incorrect installation of the factory rings would do the same thing.

Hope you get it sorted out.. but in cases like this, I'd expect to have to pull it apart completely and leave no stone unturned to get it right.

 

Thanks y'all for the input, but man I tell you I cringe at the thought of tearing my eninge apart again.

 

New question, what is a leak down test? I never heard of it.