I am losing some oil on the ground, changed the head gasket 3X in the last year, was told the oil behind the engine can only be from a bad head gasket. No luck, still leaks. Here are my symptoms for the last year. Is there a simple answer?

1. Have "Black sooty" particles on bumper, I know it is from a lack of tune at present.

2. Step on Gas, it looks like a "Diesel" with all the black smoke pouring out the back. (tune as well?)

3. PCV valve always pops off the back of the valve cover, even with a new PCV valve.

4. Open the oil cap on the valve cover, hand 12" away from open hole, it feels like you are putting your hand at the exhaust pipe. I was reminded of this today, as my starter might be going out, and I had to top it off with oil while the car was idling........... The "wind" coming out of the hole was so strong, it splattered me with oil, and not much went into the oil fill hole.

Any answers that even I can understand? Thanks in advance for your help!

 

The soot and "Diesel" look is due to being overly rich... i.e. you need a tune.

The PCV valve is popping out from excessive crank case pressure due to blow by. A compression test will reveal which pistons have failing (failed) rings which allow combustion gasses to flow by the rings and enter the crank case where they "look" for the easiest way out. Glue in the PCV and you will blow your dipstick. (I am NOT suggesting you do this btw) Blow by will also rob your engine of power... does it feel a bit sluggish lately?

 

Yeah, something is going on there....probably blow by. Considering you have a built stroker motor in there, I wouldnt be totally surprised if that was the case. Not knocking AMS, but if it has a fairly decent amount of miles on it, then I would imagine its time for a rebuild.

 

Thanks for the input guys! Actually the "Rich" condition was from "boost leaks" which I remedied those, and have to finish up my Mellon Tune. So I understand that. When my Mitsu Mechanic pulled the head off, and replaced it, he said "The pistons have alot of movement in them". But he, and many other locals who have stroker motors told me "They consume oil, and there should be "play" in the pistons". I left it at that, I am no mechanic, that's for sure.

I have maybe 10K miles on the motor now, mostly Highway miles (200 miles/day). Have a couple autox's and one visit to the strip, so maybe it is time for a "freshening up?" Hard to do? The "leaking" has been there shortly after the motor install, but seems to worsen. I can't say if it is "Sluggish" because of the lack of a tune,but I think it is still strong. (I never over drive it, that is what my friends are for! LOL) I am not knocking anyone either, just need some guidance as to my next step. The car comes apart over the winter months every year anyway, so I am fine with it being down for a while. You guys think i just need new rings? Again, thanks.

 

Could the increase in Crankcase pressure cause the oil leaks? Which came first, leaks or increased pressure? I have had the dye put in, was told head gasket/freeze plug/oil dipstick where it attaches to the motor, etc... could never find where the leak is coming from, but it is sure "wet" under the car. Even when I stay OUT of boost, the PCV plug pops out of the valve cover after 60-70 miles. I even found out, the dealership JB welded the old PCV onto the valve cover! WTH? Anyway, to wrap this thread, I just need to? Freshen up the rings?

Q. What other dammage (if any) could have been done with driving with increased crankcase pressure for all these miles?(10-15K)

 

I have a little oil coming from the oil pan. not too bad though. do a compression check

 

Thanks for the reply h.funk. I think that would be akin to doing an MRI on someone who has an axe sticking out of his forehead, to find out what is causing his splitting headaches. I am guessing by what people are saying here, is that the rings are bad? not sure what a compression test would show, maybe thee ring/piston which is bad, but if I have the motor apart that much, I think I should change ALL rings no matter what, correct? I did think of that, and a "leak down" test, but then decided not to because it doesn't matter to me which rings are bad, just that I am suffering from a "Ring" problem. Is that what the "Exhaust" feeling over the oil fill hole indicates? With the PCV blowing off the back of the valve cover? Thanks again for the reply h.funk, you are earning "Starbucks points" with me!

 

Cool! I just bought a compression tester and do it once a month just to make sure. Its a snap to use and it will tell the good news or the bad.

 

Did you plug the other valve cover vent?

 

A compression test might not reveal all. You need to do a leak down test too. You could have a scored cylinder wall from say a wrist pin clip that came loose and the rings are still building compression because the scoring doesnt cover the whole cylinder. You can have good compression, but still have problems. The leakdown test will let you figure out if the rings are leaking by, intake valve leak by, exhaust valve leaking by, or blown head gasket. Head gasket could be blown between cylinders or to a water passage.

My engine has a lot of air coming out of the oil fill too. I checked my PCV and it is good. I looked over everything on the car couldnt find anything wrong. Did a compression check 1800 +/- 2 psi on all 4 cylinders. Did a leak down test on all four cylinders. The leakdown test should be conducted at TDC because that is where the cylinder sees the most abuse. I had 2% leakdown on all 4 cylinders. No problems with my engine. I asked on of the tuners here in SoCal and he said the air coming out of the oil fill is normal.

 

I got one too, I might as well do it, and post up some numbers. Great idea.

 

Smoked,

Are u burning any coolent?

 

The "weep hole?" next to the passenger side plug? Valve cover side closest to the firewall? No that is not plugged...........should it be? (By the way, Nice hearing from you again my friend )

 

No sir.

 

i seen 2 cars with similar problems recently.

1 was rings didnt seal, causin oil consumption, but

2 (sounds like your problem) was fe(ked up rings

2 was also my car, though haven't stripped anythin yet, have had this same problem on an old car, though not rulin out piston damage, so im goin forged anyway.