rebuilt engine oil disaster..

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mopariffic

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OK.. so Im running in a rebuilt 318.. basically just a touch over stock.. slight boost in compression.. better factory intake and a 4bbl..

About 300 miles I put 10W30 mineral oil in, then about 500 miles in and 80 miles that day I notice it running rough on the highway.. and then in traffic slowing down it's more noticeable.. its got 4.11 rear gear on a 904 auto so revving between 2000-4500rpm peak..

next day I check the oil and it's REAL LOW.. I grab some thicker oil quicksmart and overfill the whole can.. runs a bit better. I get home and see there's a big spray on the front of the motor and all down the underside.. also the inside of the air filter cover.. where the breather tube runs in is stained dirty.. and the top of the carby too. It runs a bit rough and hesitates a bit but OK at speed.. seems to be holding the oil..

I take it out for some longer runs.. and it seems to be leaking/weeping on the front of the engine on the drivers side from when the intake meets the block or head and perhaps at the head a bit too.. changed the oil and filter again.. with a thick oil

Besides running a bit rough, and leaking a bit its clearly not spraying out.. but geez not what you want after the $$$$ of a rebuild.

What the F&*( happened is beyond me.. but perhaps a surge in oil pressure from a oil pressure relief valve that stuck/came unstuck... only thing I can think off to cause the massive oil loss that seems to have toned down to a dribble.. surely the thinner oil's no to blame??
any ideas before I do something stooped?
 
..oh and the oil pressure light seems to light up at startup for a few seconds.. a bit less so since I changed the oil
 
Oil leak and the light coming on are probably two different things happening...did you use silocone along the front and rear of the intake manifold...if not you probably leaking there if you just used the cork gaskets...second of all what oil pump are you running...stock...high pressure or high volumne? Take out you oil sending unit and buy you an oil pressure testing guage...screw it in were the oil pressure sending unit was...cold you shoud get 70-80 psi...warm at idle should be 36-40 psi if not something internal in the engine is wrong...bearings were not clearanced properly...etc and what is 30 wt mineral oil? also if you overfill with oil you will find oil trace all over the place...

Quote "I grab some thicker oil quicksmart and overfill the whole can.."
 
Yep.. its got a pCV valve..
not sure about the gaskets.. but they look like painted silcone rather than cork
its not a stock pump but a high volume unit..
Thanks for the oil pressure testing gauge..

It's certainly happier with new oil, filter and plugs but thanks for the tip with the gauge.. need to get to the bottom of this!
 
Uhh Ohhh.

Better trace that "leak" ultra fast....sounds like a valve cover gasket...the intake has only water and air in it.

Engines leak oil for 2 reasons.
Excessive Crankcase pressure....stuck/clogged valve...no breather filter.
Improper Installation/Seal of gasket in question.

Crank/Rod journal clearances determine the weight of oil to use on an engine....for a tight tolerance japanese engine....they use 5w-20.....for a loose drag engine...they use 20w-50.

If your tolerances are within wear specs....use recommended weight.
10w30....maybe some Lucas stabilizer additive.

That dum-dum oil light flickers at 9-10 where the pressure switch is opening and closing....when its on, its less than 10....BAD.
You could wipe a bearing at that pressure real easy depending on the heat of the engine.

I always glue the neoprene gaskets to the valve covers...seals em up good!

Good Luck.
 
I hope you put a hardened shaft in the motor when you put a HV oil pump in there
 
1970Duster said:
I hope you put a hardened shaft in the motor when you put a HV oil pump in there
Click to expand...

yes.

another would be...did the builder stick the balancer on the crank snout to center the front cover?
If not... possibly a wiped out front crank seal.

Just off the top of my head...

btw straight 30wt is what I would run in something with stock clearances.
 
This is prolly not the problem. but when i built my engine and got her going for the first time i had an awesome vacume leak and she was pretty bad out of time which had oil coming out of a few spots incuding my dipstick.

I also know a lot of guys that after a build run half a quart low do to similar problems.
 
out the dipstick and up th e breather tube to the air cleaner / carb sounds like excessive crankcase pressure ie.. serious Blow by , I have the same problem have you tried a 1/2 quart of tranny fluid in the oil to loosen up the rings ? It helped mine but in my case the ring wear was already there as well so it just pushes a little up the breather now , but still runs decent just need to clean the plugs and avoid heavy idle times till I get a stroker
 
Seen this.....

Beware!!!!!!


Running rough (vacuum leak), funny leaking........

Someone who doesn't wrench a lot wont catch......


A faulty torque wrench!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Better check it out, make sure everything is torqued right, and if by some off chance you have the issue that I have seen ONCE, a faulty tq wrench, pull the pan at once!
 
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