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Weird Oil Burning! Help!

luskeyclassics402

luskeyclassics402

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Fargo, ND
Ok, so here's the deal guys, I just traded my 1978 dodge for my first k5. (a 1988 with a tbi 350 and 700r4 tranny) I don't regret this transaction lol. However, here's the deal, this truck likes to burn oil when warm and it only seems to really do it when warm and idling/deceleration and just a little at acceleration but it seems to go away. Now, the guy claims the motor was rebuilt 50xxx miles ago and it seems to be true as all spark plugs are clean and it seems to run healthy, although it does seem to idle just a little low. I only get the burning oil out of 1 pipe on the truck and thats the driver side. I have replaced the pcv which is on the passenger side, and again, i have checked the plugs which seem to be all clean. Does anyone know what could cause this? It barely uses oil but it seems to smoke ALOT of blue smoke. I do know that a little oil can smoke a lot lol and that seems to be the case, id just like to get the bottom of this, I wish i could do a leakdown test on it but i have no access to a compressor or tester. Any help is appreciated!
Tucker
 
probably valve seals. You can get an air hold and change them with the heads on. It's a bit of a PITA but very doable and should take care of your smoking.
 
Could be the type, or brand of oil you're using. Some engines prefer certain types of oil believe it or not. We see an engine stay on full with one brand, or could be 1/2 to 1 quart low.

Could be the volatility of the oil (oil boil off). Something to check into
 
Well, I've had a few different types of oil in it and it doesnt seem to make a difference, and as for the valve seals, doesnt that smoking usually occur on startup?
 
Valve seals will smoke at startup sometimes, but usually will start smoking when you idle for a while.
Then smoke more when you rev up and then quit.

I have seen cars with bad valve seals drive up to a red light with no smoke and then start smoking while waiting for it to change.

There are tricks for changing the seals without using an air hold setup, but that is the most reliable.
 
sweet thanks! fordum! it does seem to be a valve problem lol, not a ring problem, im thinking either guides or seals, just wanted some other's opinions before i rip into it!
 
You may want to ensure your PVC valve is working correctly--and if any fancy aftermarket valve covers are on it,that its plumbed up correctly and has a breather--I have seen many engines that had the PVC valve left off or no breather on the vaslve cover to let air into the crankcasethat lets blowby build up pressure and force oil past the rings or valve stems and guides...

Valve stem seals symptoms are most noticeable when coasting ,especially after downshifting,or after idling awhile as already described,when intake manifold vaccum is at its highest...I had a 283 in an old Impala that didn't smoke hardly at all driving normally,but sit at a red light (or the drive thru window at McDonalds!) I'd belch a blue cloud out when I took off that looked like it had NO rings!...I did the valvestem seals and it helped a lot but didn't completely eliminate the smoke--the guides were probably well worn too...I had a 305 with a burnt valve and a loose guide that belched a cloud when you first started up up,then it barely smoked--I wanted it to run right,so I pulled both heads and had a valve job done--after that it smoked worse--tightening up the valves made the oil pass the worn rings easier--I learned the hard way its best to re-ring an engine when you do a valve job,or risk having that happen..

As a temporary "fix" you can add some LUCAS oil treatment or STP,or other "thickener" to help cut down the oil consumption..
 
thanks diesel4me! I did replace the pcv already and the valve covers are stock covers, everything seems to be ok, its sounding more and more like a vlave stem seal issue!
 
You can also have a intake gasket leaking. I've had one that started pulling air from the lifter valley. When the throttle was closed it would suck oil and smoke, when you start accelerating vacuum drops and it stops smoking.
 
it just doesnt seem like an intake leak to me though, haha either way the gaskets will get replaced lol if i have to pull the heads, i gotta pull the intake!
 
well, I did a wet compression test and talked to the PO again, or rather POS lol he told me that all of this started happening after he took it mudding one day when he didnt know how to mud and the truck wasnt set up for it, he said messed up the whole fuel system and thats when the oil burning occured, so I did the we compression test and it looks as if he may have burned a valve, I will be pulling the heads off in the next month and confirming but I'm pretty positive that's what happened, I'll get her on the road sooner rather than later, then I'm going to start saving for the 6.0 swap
 
Like someone already mentioned, if you have the valves redone it might be a good idea to rering it as well depending on how the cylinders look. I just put a different set of heads on my motor that are a little tighter and now it will burn oil every once in a while and thats with brand new valve seals.
 
well I'm not going to tear into it that far man, money is a little low right now, just trying to get it back on the road that motor will be pulled out in a couple of years anyways lol, i got something better in mind
 
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