This is quite possibly the last straw with this car. I am thinking this might just be a valve seal issue since the car started using oil immediately after swapping the heads onto it, but what is the proper process to go from here? One of the plugs has oil on it, not an immense amount, but good enough that there is an issue - and it does have some smoke at idle.



That is the best picture I could get. I have a good idea of what I am doing with a compression check/leakdown test, I just would like some good/educated people to help guide me on what to do from here. If you are guessing as to what to do from here, please don't post.

Thanks.

 

You just swapped heads...Did you do new valve guide seals, guessing yes? What cylinder was that plug out of? I would start there, pull the valve covers...I actually had pieces of valve seal sitting in the head when I recently pulled my 853s and old cam. I did have some consumption, it was borderline excessive prior to pulling them...Knock on wood its ok so far.

 

The heads were brand new from a company that will remain un-named at this point. They are ported 5.3 heads, and I have a 228/232 cam so it is nothing too insane. I figured new anything was not required - as they were brand new when I purchased them. Anyway, I think I went thru 1.5-2 quarts in 2500ish miles last summer. A lot of people said 1 quart in 3000 miles is common, so I just kinda shrugged it off until I started noticing smoke in the exhaust. The car never used a drop of oil prior to the heads/cam swap. You are thinking I should pull the valve cover first and see what it looks like? The oil was on the cylinder closest to the firewall on the drivers side (yikes).

 

How about smoke on first start up of the day?

 

That is number 7 and to Edgars question...smoke on startup?

 

Yes, it never 100% goes away though. It has been pretty cold here (30s and 40s still - don't ask why I live here) for some time so I can't officially say that it never goes away, but it seems worst right away.

EDIT: Yeah I know, 7 and 8 are known to run lean, so I am just hoping that it is not a cracked ring land.

 

I would think you would have a noticeable misfire with a broken ringland. Would not hurt to do a leakdown test etc.

 

One thing to check on ported 5.3 heads is the intake port rocker arm bolt hole. Removing material from the intake port exposes the bolt hole and if you do not use sealant on the intake bolt oil will get sucked into the intake port. One way to check is remove the intake manifold and with a rocker arm removed shine a light into its intake port and look for light thru the rocker arm bolt hole.

Good luck!

 

Ding Ding Ding! that sounds the most likely cause, I have not installed my heads yet but mine are ported and have the bolt hole exposed and I will be filling it with that plumber sealant, without that I would have an oil consumption problem too

 

+1 to sealant on intake rocker bolt. That will definitely cause a spark plug to look like that.

 

I would also ensure the intake bolts are sealed to prevent the oil from coming in that way. Also, there have been cases in the past where over zealous porting profiles have resulted in cracks through which oil gets into the combusion chamber. If the bolts sealant doesn't correct the issue and the valve seals are OK, you may want to look into this but it could also be a long shot.

 

I came BC I'm a newbie and op said I wasn't invited. I have no advice to offer.

 

Check the PCV valve before you go to far with it. Mine stuck sitting on jackstands in the driveway. Went from no smoke to a lot of smoke from one day of idling to another.

 

That is interesting. I have a FAST intake to install on this beast, but if the motor is shot I was going to de-mod and sell everything. I may just look into doing that now. Do you really think that would cause 1.5-2 quarts of oil loss in ~3000 miles though? That seems like a lot. Also, besides taking the valve cover off and visually inspecting the seals (thru the springs), what else can I do? Thanks.

I would have to have the heads magnetic particle inspected or something along those lines to check for cracks, wouldn't I? Thanks.

The car has the new/revised PCV valve in it, I think I got it from Speed Inc, but I could be wrong, maybe WS6Store? I installed that and a catch can last year and so far I get almost no oil at all in the catch can...I have actually found more coolant than anything...but that is a completely different story.

 

All you have to do is pull one intake rocker arm bolt and see if there is sealant on it. If not, add thread sealant to all 8 and monitor oil consumption.

 

I had a similar situation where number 7 was oiling the plug. The piston was damaged, seems cylinder number 7 runs leaner and hotter than the others.

 

I know there is not sealant on any of the threads...I built the motor myself last summer.

How did you know that the piston was damaged? Did you do a leakdown before you took the head off? Could you see damage to the piston with the head off? I have heard of the ring land damage not being visible until the piston was actually out of the block.

 

I broke ring lands on #5 and couldn't tell until the piston was out and in my hand while rotating rings. Had an intermittent miss sometimes letting out clutch. Would also throw a p0305 in 6th gear lugging. 60 psi cranking compression, others 180. Power fell off big time. If there isn't any sealant on the rocker bolts, put some. It's not only a matter of oil dripping past threads, but rather being sucked in past by the engine vacuum.

 

See that's why I can't see it being a broken ring land because the car still hauls major *** lol. At low RPM it does not misfire/lug, so I am really thinking that it is just sealant on the heads I guess. Do you guys just use Teflon tape on the threads of the rocker bolts or what?

 

Yeah and plus I had no oil on my plugs. Use some grey loctite rtv or any sealant that's meant for gaskets