Need Advice: Driving a car with bad rings
Need Advice: Driving a car with bad rings My motors rings are pretty much shot. Car smokes pretty good and goes through about 1qt/300 miles.. I really do not have the cash to get a new motor right now, and the car drives just fine and and still pulls really hard through all the gears. What adverse effects could it have if I just continue to drive it like this and keep filling it with oil? The oil comsumtion does not seem to be getting any worse.. I have already put about 10k miles on it like this. Motor has total seal gapless top rings..
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From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA
Originally Posted by Joel_SS
My motors rings are pretty much shot. Car smokes pretty good and goes through about 1qt/300 miles.. I really do not have the cash to get a new motor right now, and the car drives just fine and and still pulls really hard through all the gears. What adverse effects could it have if I just continue to drive it like this and keep filling it with oil? The oil comsumtion does not seem to be getting any worse.. I have already put about 10k miles on it like this. Motor has total seal gapless top rings..
When they pulled it apart to look at it and rebuild it, all the parts were perfect and they just honed it and re-ringed it. Its almost 2 years old now and it's running perfect, like the first day I started it up. Very little oil burn, maybe 1 qrt every 1,500 miles.Also, maybe your oil is going somewhere else, maybe the head seals. Tale off your oil fill cap and rev it a little, see if you can feel puffs of air coming out of it onto the palm of your hand. Mine was like a 200mph leafblower, which confirmed it was bad rings. If you don't feel anything it may not be your rings.
So, in my experience, there's nothing bad about driving it. BUT, I was told that a ring can break off and get into your bearings and that would/could cause total engine loss.
.
Originally Posted by Quickin
My 436 had bad rings 1 month after it was built and put in my car. For whatever reason (tune, assembly, whatever...) the rings were gone. I drove it for over 1 year until it was rebuilt by the original builder under warranty. I too added 1 qrt. every 200-300 miles. The engien ran perfect the whole time. When they cylinders were leaked down, all 8 were between 30-45% leakdown When they pulled it apart to look at it and rebuild it, all the parts were perfect and they just honed it and re-ringed it. Its almost 2 years old now and it's running perfect, like the first day I started it up. Very little oil burn, maybe 1 qrt every 1,500 miles.
Also, maybe your oil is going somewhere else, maybe the head seals. Tale off your oil fill cap and rev it a little, see if you can feel puffs of air coming out of it onto the palm of your hand. Mine was like a 200mph leafblower, which confirmed it was bad rings. If you don't feel anything it may not be your rings.
So, in my experience, there's nothing bad about driving it. BUT, I was told that a ring can break off and get into your bearings and that would/could cause total engine loss.
.
When they pulled it apart to look at it and rebuild it, all the parts were perfect and they just honed it and re-ringed it. Its almost 2 years old now and it's running perfect, like the first day I started it up. Very little oil burn, maybe 1 qrt every 1,500 miles.Also, maybe your oil is going somewhere else, maybe the head seals. Tale off your oil fill cap and rev it a little, see if you can feel puffs of air coming out of it onto the palm of your hand. Mine was like a 200mph leafblower, which confirmed it was bad rings. If you don't feel anything it may not be your rings.
So, in my experience, there's nothing bad about driving it. BUT, I was told that a ring can break off and get into your bearings and that would/could cause total engine loss.
.
17,16,15,14,13,12,11 Drvr
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From: Mont Belvieu, Texas
maybe valve stem seals are bad, letting oil leak buy, i do believe that is my problem, but i will do the oil cap trick tomorrow after work to see if my rings are gone.
Originally Posted by v8
maybe valve stem seals are bad, letting oil leak buy, i do believe that is my problem, but i will do the oil cap trick tomorrow after work to see if my rings are gone.
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Joined: Dec 2001
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From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA
Originally Posted by Joel_SS
Well, I just went outsode and took the oil cap off and reved the motor, and I felt no air coming out of the oil cap. I even put a piece of paper over it and it did not move. So could my rings be okay? I have modded my PCV already so it will not dump oil in the intake...
Does it smoke when you nail it from a roll or does it smoke at idle too?
What color?
.
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Originally Posted by Quickin
When I was going through my living hell with bad rings, everyone told me that if no puffs out while revving, the rings are fine. What about other seals in the heads.
Does it smoke when you nail it from a roll or does it smoke at idle too?
What color?
.
Does it smoke when you nail it from a roll or does it smoke at idle too?
What color?
.
http://members.torquecentral.com/joel/plug.jpg
What other oil seals are in the head other than valve stem seals? Could it be a bad head gasket?
Perform a cylinder leak test, if no more than 15% the rings should be ok. Did you put sealant on the intake rocker arm bolts? The intake ports on a ported head will expose the threaded hole for the intake rocker arm bolt, causing oil to be sucked into the port.
Russ Kemp
Russ Kemp
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From: IN A VAN, DOWN BY THE RIVER!
Originally Posted by Joel_SS
Sometimes it will smoke at startup, or if I rev it. At idle I have noticed very small amounts of blue smoke coming out, but not all the time. There is always puffs of smoke when going WOT. It is hard to tell the color because of my tinted windows but it looks white/blue.. Here is a picture of a plug I pulled out of #2.. Alll plugs we a little fouled but this was by far the worst!
http://members.torquecentral.com/joel/plug.jpg
What other oil seals are in the head other than valve stem seals? Could it be a bad head gasket?
http://members.torquecentral.com/joel/plug.jpg
What other oil seals are in the head other than valve stem seals? Could it be a bad head gasket?
