Ways to diagnose rings as source of oil consumption

[rfoll]

If it is an Edelbrock manifold, there is a chance it is leaking. One of my friends that builds a lot of race motors told me he always has to machine them to make them straight. I had 2 air gap manifolds that were so crooked, the gaps at the China wall corners differed by nearly 1/4". This could account for plugs being a different color in one location.

[smeg]

I know from personal experience that if the second ring is installed upside down it will eat oil like that.....

[zwede]

If it is just a weekend toy, one option would be just to enjoy the car as is. Pulling the engine out again, especially a Corvette with the fragile body panels, has potential for body and paint damage. Your call though, good luck with what ever you choose to do.

I don't think I'll do anything for now except drive it. It does run alright and it does seem to be getting better as far as the plugs. I'm glad to have a better idea of what's going on. I didn't know if those vertical lines/scratches on the walls were normal or not and now I know they are not.

I think next oil change I'll use one of those 'high mileage' oils and see how it does. Doesn't cost any more than regular oil and maybe it lowers consumption.

[zwede]

If it is an Edelbrock manifold, there is a chance it is leaking. One of my friends that builds a lot of race motors told me he always has to machine them to make them straight. I had 2 air gap manifolds that were so crooked, the gaps at the China wall corners differed by nearly 1/4". This could account for plugs being a different color in one location.

It's a Holley manifold and it has been machined to fit.

[zwede]

I know from personal experience that if the second ring is installed upside down it will eat oil like that.....

Still a possibility.

[zwede]

Here's what the patient looks like.

Engine_1.jpg

[roc]

Here's what the patient looks like.

Engine_1.jpg

That's a real beauty!

[Firedome8]

Here's what the patient looks like.

Engine_1.jpg

Nice

[Belgian1979]

On ebay you can get those cheap smoke machines that let you check for vacuum leaks.

[zwede]

Update: Decided this was a good time to try some snake oil. Engine is not worn out, but has bad ring seal so if a snake oil will ever work, this should be it. After some googling I went with 'Engine Restore' as it claims to use tiny particles of CSL (copper/silver/lead) to fill in cylinder wall scratches.

I had a couple months before the next oil change so added a bottle of engine restore. I figured it would take a while until the stuff did its thing and a fresh bottle with oil change would be good to get the claimed scratch fixing. I'd also be able to cut open the filter and see if it was clogged.

Starting point oil consumption with 15W-40 oil: 750 miles/qt
Added 'Engine Restore' and drove 270 miles before oil change: 1,000 miles/qt.
Oil change to 10W-30 + new bottle of Engine Restore. Drove 600 miles and checked dipstick: 1,500 miles/qt

Of course all measurements have a degree of error but there's no doubt consumption has dropped quite a bit even with the thinner 10W-30 oil. Engine runs smoother. I did cut the filter open and filter media looked fine. Engine Restore does not clog oil filters.

If there's interest I'll keep updating this thread with how consumption changes going forward. Seems it may still be dropping. So far I'm quite impressed with Engine Restore and will have to stop calling it snake oil. It works. Had the valve covers off a couple weeks ago and everything was clean, no hint of sludge, metal particles or anything to worry about.

[BobbyB]

Please do keep us updated.

[shoedoos]

Is this the stuff?

https://www.restoreusa.com/

[zwede]

Is this the stuff?

https://www.restoreusa.com/

Yes, that's it. One thing I don't know is how permanent the fix is. Will oil consumption go back up if I change the oil and don't put more Engine Restore in? But at $10 a can I don't really care, I'll happily add a can at every oil change from now on.

[Newold1]

The Restore product might be helping with the problem with bore finish and hence is helping with the oil consumption rate 750 miles/Qt. to 1500 miles per Qt.

This may cap as a rate at this point but its still not good low oil consumption rate but in you limited use and situation may be acceptable and if so great, you've got a quick easy fix!

What this really points out is how critical bore finish is to getting a good piston ring seal in most engines. I believe that maybe only 50% or so of new piston & ring package rebuilds have the proper bore honing, plateau final honing and finishing that will give great ring seal and provide great low oil consumption with today's ring packages. New OEM engines don't require any ring breakin procedures and start with low weight synthetic oils right out of the factory floor! These same engines easily go 3,000 to 5,000 miles with not even near 1 quart of oil being consumed.

How de do dat! Great pistons, good fitment ,bore finishes and great piston ring materials and designs with good oil and windage control.

[joespanova]

I didn't read all the posts but I get the idea. I had a 427 I built years ago that had similar issues . Assuming you get a good hone and everything else is in shape , DONT over lubricate the bores and rings at assy. Only a small amount to get a little oil on the bores..........LITTLE. Otherwise , my bet is some glazing has occurred.